A digest of the latest refugee news,
as reported by the world's media.

KOSOVANS: PEACE, RETURNS AGREED 4 Jun. 99 – NATO planes have continued to attack Yugoslavia as western leaders watch for a Serb withdrawal from Kosovo as required by the peace plan agreed yesterday by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, reports BBC News. The agreement provides for an end to the fighting in Kosovo, the rapid withdrawal of Serb forces, deployment of a security force "with essential NATO participation," safe and free return of the refugees and autonomy for Kosovo. The New York Times quotes the text as saying: "The international security presence with substantial NATO participation must be deployed under unified command and control and authorised to establish a safe environment of all people in Kosovo and to facilitate the safe return to their homes of all displaced persons and refugees." It also proposes: "Safe and free return of all refugees and displaced persons under the supervision of the UNHCR and unimpeded access to Kosovo by humanitarian aid organisations." The Guardian reports the promise of peace and a safe return for a million refugees under NATO protection came yesterday when Milosevic formally accepted the joint European Union-Russian peace terms. The Times reports British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday the top priority was to get the refugees home "as swiftly as possible." [Deal agreed but bombing continues – http://news.bbc.co.uk; Kosovo Peace Accord – 10 Steps To Verifiable End Of Violence – www.nytimes.com; 'Peace is within our grasp' – www.newsunlimited.co.uk; Too soon to claim victory, Blair says – www.the-times.co.uk]

KOSOVANS: REJOICE WITH RETURNS ONLY 4 Jun. 99 – Rejoicing should only come if and when the one million refugees from Kosovo are able to return in peace and security to their homes, says the Financial Times in an editorial. NATO's predominant role will be essential to reassure the Kosovan Albanian refugees. The first task is to persuade the refugees that they are safe to go home. The Washington Post says the key elements of the agreement are those that President Clinton has repeated with welcome consistency: Serb forces out, NATO troops in. Only under such conditions will a million terrorised Kosovans return. The New York Times says more than a million displaced ethnic Albanians should be able to return home safely later this year and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans will stop, assuming critical details can be worked out with Belgrade. The Guardian says the bombing gave President Slobodan Milosevic and his cronies an alibi for the biggest war crime in Europe for half a century, the deportation of almost a million people from their homes and the execution of several hundreds. [Hope for peace in Kosovo – www.ft.com; Kosovo Agreement – www.washingtonpost.com; The Kosovo Peace Plan – www.nytimes.com; Peace at last for Kosovo – www.newsunlimited.co.uk]

KOSOVANS: MIXED REACTIONS IN CAMPS 4 Jun. 99 – Ethnic Albanian refugees in Macedonia and Albania had mixed reactions yesterday to news of a possible Kosovo peace accord, hoping for an end to war but wary of Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, reports Reuters. In camps in northern Albania, whose border with Kosovo has been the scene of intensive fighting between Serb forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army, refugees treated the peace moves in Belgrade with extreme suspicion. [Refugees wary of peace news, suspect Milosevic – www.reuters.com]

KOSOVANS: CAUTIOUSLY, UNHCR WELCOMES DEAL 4 Jun. 99 – UNHCR yesterday welcomed the reported Yugoslav acceptance of a Kosovo peace plan, but said it would have little impact on the refugees while Serb forces were still in the province, reports AFP. "Even though we welcome the Group of Eight proposal, we don't expect the news that Belgrade accepted it to change the minds and hearts of the refugees," said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski. "Yesterday men were still being taken off tractors trying to flee Kosovo," he said. "For us the refugee return is the key issue and that will depend on the actual real security situation on the ground." Only the removal of all Serb forces and the deployment of a strong international presence in Kosovo would pave the way for a large return of the refugees, he said. [UNHCR cautious on refugee returns after Belgrade OKs pact – www.afp.com]

KOSOVANS: AGENCIES BRACE FOR RETURNS 4 Jun. 99 – Aid agencies are bracing for the movement of almost two million refugees after the Kosovo conflict ends, UNHCR said yesterday, reports Reuters in Skopje. "This is a major challenge to the international community," said Dennis McNamara, UNHCR's special envoy. McNamara said the international community should commit "massive" resources to helping them go home, a project UNHCR will coordinate closely with NATO to ensure refugees' safety. UNHCR expected many refugees to pack up and go home as soon as the war ended despite the danger of returning to an unsafe environment. The Guardian reports aid agencies fear refugees in camps in Macedonia and Albania might be so keen to return home that they would rush across the border before troops have cleared mines on the main routes. The Daily Telegraph reports UNHCR fears huge numbers of refugees could return immediately to Kosovo regardless of dangers, creating chaos at the borders. Reuters says land mines, booby-traps and unexploded ordnance pose a threat to refugees. Food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care will be urgent problems everywhere in Kosovo. A New York Times editorial says returning Kosovans will probably rally behind the Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas, making them even less likely to disarm or abandon independence dreams. [UNHCR braces for return of two million refugees + Peril awaits those going back to Kosovo – www.reuters.com; Perilous return for 1m forced out of Kosovo – www.newsunlimited.co.uk; Returning Kosovars risk border chaos – www.telegraph.co.uk; Kosovo Problems Just Beginning – www.nytimes.com]

KOSOVANS: UNHCR HAS RETURN PLAN 4 Jun. 99 – A massive international aid programme will be needed to prepare for the return of hundreds of thousands of Kosovan refugees to a war-ravaged homeland, according to a report by the United Nations, reports the Washington Post. The report sets out in detail plans for positioning of food, medicine, gasoline, tools and construction materials for the repatriation of more than 900,000 refugees who fled abroad and the estimated 600,000 others hiding inside Kosovo. Of particular concern, according to the report, is the disarming of land mines, unexploded bombs and booby-traps, particularly in the border areas and entry points that returning refugees are most likely to use. Another key problem is ensuring the return of refugees whose personal identity documents were destroyed, according to the 19-page ''concept paper'' prepared by UNHCR three weeks ago. ''If there is to be lasting peace in the area, there must be reconciliation between the different ethnic groups," it adds. The report said UN officials should start demining the border and launch a ''mine awareness'' campaign in refugee camps. The UN should also survey housing in Kosovo and inform refugees about the level of destruction, and other living conditions. If needed, community leaders should be allowed ''go and see'' trips to assess the situation for themselves. [UN Plans Vast Project to Help Refugees Go Home – www.washingtonpost.com; www.iht.com]

KOSOVO: MORE FLEEING HUNGER, SAYS WFP 4 Jun. 99 – As ethnic Albanian refugees continue to flee Kosovo, a growing number are leaving less out of fear of Serb oppression and more because of simple hunger, UN officials said yesterday, reports AP. "They are starting to see the camps outside Kosovo as an opportunity to eat," noted a WFP document based on observations of local employees who had recently left Kosovo. Refugees tell of leaving behind looted stores, burned homes and fallow fields. There is also concern that some 130,000 internally displaced persons will be compelled to leave Kosovo because of food shortages. Meanwhile AP reports the International Rescue Committee, a US-based aid group, yesterday dropped 100 meal packets to some 50,000 people thought to be starving in Kosovo's mountains. It said technical problems prevented it from dropping the full load of 2,000 meals. [Food shortages sparking refugee flights from Kosovo + Aid group starts dropping meal packets to refugees inside Kosovo – www.ap.org]

ALBANIA: SCEPTICISM AT PEACE DEAL 4 Jun. 99 – Kosovo Albanian refugees reacted with scepticism yesterday to reports that President Slobodan Milosevic had accepted a peace deal which will eventually allow them to return home, reports AP. "We're not going to believe Milosevic any more. But if NATO goes into Kosovo we will follow immediately," said one refugee. The Independent reports the refugees were far too traumatised to celebrate. As the word spread slowly that their homeland may soon be at peace, the refugees living in tents, on the back of tractor trailers or in the humble homes of Albanians in Kukes reacted quietly and sceptically. They said they would go back if NATO or UN troops guaranteed their safety but not if Serb troops, police or paramilitary forces remained. Many said they would go back only if every Serb, including civilians, left Kosovo. And they were under no illusions as to what they expect to find, a Dante's inferno of torched homes, slaughtered or missing relatives, possessions destroyed or stolen, livestock killed, a country without infrastructure where they will need massive aid to rebuild from scratch. UNHCR is faced with the dilemma of whether to continue relocating refugees from the border. [Refugees react to news of Kosovo breakthrough with skepticism – www.ap.org; Too tired to celebrate and too scared to return home – www.independent.co.uk]

ALBANIA: LOAN APPROVED 4 Jun. 99 – The World Bank said yesterday it has approved US$69m in loans for Albania which has been reeling in recent months from an influx of refugees from Kosovo, reports Reuters. The bank said in a statement it gave Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries, a US$45m Structural Adjusted Credit and US$24m to back irrigation and drainage projects. Both loans were planned before the Kosovo conflict began in March. On top of the problems already facing the beleaguered economy, the bank said, "The Kosovo conflict and the sudden surge of refugees has placed extraordinary demands on its public sector to provide basic infrastructure and public services." [Albania secures $69 million in World Bank loans – www.reuters.com]

MACEDONIA: 'SCEPTICAL OPTIMISM' 4 Jun. 99 – When loudspeakers at Stenkovec I refugee camp broadcast the news yesterday of a potential peace agreement for Kosovo, it was met with scepticism, reports the New York Times. No one there or in Cegrane, the largest refugee camp, put any faith in the agreement by President Slobodan Milosevic and the Serbian Parliament to accept the NATO peace agreement. Refugees began discussing the few details they knew about the agreement and wondering if they could take it seriously. Tentatively, they began imagining the only way they thought they could return – escorted by NATO troops. The refugees also worried that the Kosovo they find may be little more than a burnt shell. The Washington Post reports UNHCR spokeswoman Paula Ghedini described the reaction at the refugee camps in Macedonia as: "sceptical optimism." The Guardian reports one refugee summed up the feelings of his fellows: "I cannot believe Milosevic will honour the agreement." BBC News reports UNHCR says Kosovan refugees in Macedonia could return rapidly in large numbers if it became clear that Yugoslav forces had left Kosovo. Aid workers say the onset of summer heat has made conditions in the camps intolerable, and they've seldom encountered refugees so intent on going home. [Refugees Are Skeptical of Pledges – www.nytimes.com; In Skeptical Macedonia Camp, Sounds of Two Hands Clapping – www.washingtonpost.com; 'We cannot trust Serbs' – www.newsunlimited.co.uk; Refugees set to return en masse – http://news.bbc.co.uk]

MACEDONIA: GOV'T WELCOMES DEAL 4 Jun. 99 – Macedonia welcomed the Serbian parliament's acceptance yesterday of the West's peace plan for Kosovo, saying it brought ethnic Albanian refugees a step closer to going home, reports Reuters. "This is a great sign," Foreign Minister Aleksandar Dimitrov said. "It shows that we are coming closer to a political resolution of the problem." He said a peace deal would be extremely important for Macedonia, buckling under the burden of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees. The Independent reports Macedonian authorities would like to tip all 270,000 refugees back into Kosovo the minute peace is declared, but NATO has said it would be at least a month before the roads and the land, with their mines and fallen allied weaponry, can be made safe. [Macedonia welcomes Serb agreement to peace plan – www.reuters.com; 'Are our days of suffering going to end?' – www.independent.co.uk]

MACEDONIA: KOSOVANS LEAVE FAMILIES FOR CAMPS 4 Jun. 99 – Kosovo refugees are leaving overburdened host families in Macedonia by the thousand and swarming into already crammed refugee camps, UNHCR said yesterday, reports Reuters in Skopje. "In recent days we have seen a steady stream of people coming from host families to refugee camps, saying their hosts can no longer help them," said UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond. "Unfortunately the camps are at or very near capacity and there is very little space for these new host-family arrivals," he said. About 110,000 ethnic Albanians who fled violence in Kosovo are in refugee camps but more than 150,000 are believed to have taken refuge among their ethnic kin in Macedonia. As weeks go by, host families are finding the burden too heavy to bear and refugees are increasingly seeking shelter at the overcrowded camps, where many hope to catch flights abroad. [Refugees leave hosts, pack into camps in Macedonia – www.reuters.com]

MACEDONIA: EVACUEES 'TOO PICKY' 4 Jun. 99 – Kosovo refugees in Macedonia are increasingly keen to be evacuated to popular destinations such as Germany, but they are showing signs of becoming too selective, aid officials said yesterday, reports AP in Geneva. "It's becoming a little bit too picky," said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski. "This is not a menu of choices that we're offering people in terms of countries." Around 75,000 refugees have so far been flown out of Macedonia to third countries to reduce the pressure on Macedonia, which is worried about the effect of the exodus on its delicate ethnic balance. "There's a growing demand for refugees to leave for certain countries which are perceived as being best choices," said Jean-Philippe Chauzy, spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration, which is organising the evacuation. "We have established that refugees are moving from camp to camp and registering in each camp to increase their chances of getting on a humanitarian evacuation flight," he said. IOM staff are working to erase multiple entries from the database of refugees in Macedonian camps, which currently holds some 160,000 names. [UN says refugees becoming too `picky' about destinations – www.ap.org]

KOSOVO NOTES 4 Jun. 99 – Reuters reports Pope John Paul yesterday told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the United Nations should oversee the return of refugees to Kosovo.

This document is intended for public information purposes only. It is not an official UN document.