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

KOSOVO: UN MISSION TO LOOK INTO DISPLACED 18 May 99 – A UN mission has arrived in Belgrade on its way to Kosovo, where it hopes to establish the fate of tens of thousands of refugees in the Serbian province, reports the New York Times. Headed by the undersecretary-general for emergency relief, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the 13-member team plans to spend two to three days in Kosovo, despite NATO's refusal to guarantee its safety. "We cannot wait for a settlement of the problem to assist the immense need of the people inside Kosovo," Vieira de Mello said at a news conference. A UN official said none of the parties had welcomed the mission. The main aim is to review civilians' conditions like shelter, food and health, as well as human rights. Another objective is to find people reportedly taking refuge in the hills, he said, but he conceded that such work would be extremely difficult. AFP quotes Vieira de Mello as saying: "Clearly, the question of acceptable conditions, including security for the return of all those who have left Kosovo or are displaced inside Kosovo, will be central to our mission." [UN Team Arrives to Study Kosovars' Plight – www.nytimes.com; Terms for refugees' return key factor in UN mission to Belgrade – www.afp.com]

KOSOVO: NATO TRACKS DISPLACED GROUPS 18 May 99 – NATO said yesterday it was tracking three large groups of displaced civilians in Kosovo and had been told by ethnic Albanian refugees that Yugoslav forces were stopping another group of 40,000 from fleeing the province, reports Reuters. "We've been tracking over the last few days two large concentrations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the general area of Junik," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea told reporters. Another group of 70,000 displaced civilians west of Urosevac was trying to move southwest towards the border with central Albania, he said. "Refugees' reports also tell us that 40,000 internally displaced persons are currently blocked by (special police) forces from moving out of the region between Urosevac and Gnjilane," Shea said. NATO estimated that 590,000 ethnic Albanian civilians were sheltering wherever they could after being forced from their homes by Yugoslav troops and special police. CNN reports NATO launched its 55th day of airstrikes against Yugoslavia yesterday and accused President Slobodan Milosevic of the widespread use of civilians as "human shields" around targets in Kosovo. The Guardian also reports. [NATO tracks displaced Kosovo civilians – www.reuters.com; NATO says 'human shields' account for bombing deaths – http://cnn.com; Air strikes hampered by human shields – www.guardian.co.uk]

MACEDONIA: PRESIDENT WANTS 100,000 MOVED OUT 18 May 99 – Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov yesterday said up to 100,000 Kosovo refugees should be moved out of his country, reports Reuters. "It is important for the international community to take refugees out – 100,000 refugees," Gligorov said during a visit to the Bojane refugee camp. Macedonia, with a population of 2.2 million, has campaigned hard to reduce the number of refugees it is sheltering, now estimated at 230,000. Under Macedonia's pressure, nearly 50,000 people have been taken to third countries, but Gligorov said it was not enough. "It is being done every day but so far we are far away from the numbers we agreed upon a month ago," he said. AFP adds Gligorov urged the world to pitch in and help the displaced victims of Serbian ethnic cleansing that his country is sheltering as he paid his first visit to Kosovo Albanian refugee camps. "People are making a big effort to help the refugees," Gligorov said at the Brazda refugee camp. "All the countries of the world must show that they too are ready to help." The Daily Telegraph reports a Bosnian Serb who fled from Kosovo to Macedonia in a bus full of ethnic Albanians after his wife and daughter were killed by a Nato bomb has been told he does not qualify as a refugee. [Macedonia president wants to move 100,000 Kosovans – www.reuters.com; Macedonian leader makes first visit to Kosovo refugee camps – www.afp.com; Tormented Serb is rejected as a refugee – www.telegraph.co.uk]

ALBANIA: UNHCR PUSHES MOVE AS TENSION RISES 18 May 99 – Tension rose along Albania's border with Kosovo yesterday and UNHCR stepped up efforts to persuade more than 100,000 refugees to leave the area, reports Reuters. NATO jets swung into action near the main border crossing point at Morina for the sixth consecutive day as UNHCR officials toured one of the main camps at Kukes to convince refugees to move to better equipped installations in southern Albania. Gunfire could be heard from the other side of the border, across which no refugees had crossed in 36 hours. Touring camps with loudhailers, UNHCR officials have tried for more than a week to persuade Kosovo Albanians to head south. They have had some success clearing out makeshift camps which had no infrastructure at all, but on Monday found more resistance from refugees, who are unwilling to abandon comparatively secure conditions in more established camps. Moreover, some are waiting for relatives still stuck inside Kosovo. Others are reluctant to go even further from home. But Ray Wilkinson, a UNHCR spokesman, said the security imperative was getting more intense by the minute. [UN asks refugees to move, NATO bombs near border – www.reuters.com]

ALBANIA: US PLANS TO 'HANDLE' 900,000 18 May 1999 – With the refugee population in Albania expected to reach over 900,000 this summer, the United States announced yesterday it will pay thousands of Albanian families to host new Kosovo refugees in their homes until a peace settlement is reached, reports the New York Times. The Pentagon also said yesterday it had selected a site where it would build a second refugee camp in Albania to house another 20,000 refugees, following the construction of Camp Hope for 40,000 people. The programmes are part of the United Nations and NATO programmes to accommodate Kosovan refugees fleeing Yugoslav troops. "We're at the point where we can say we can handle the refugees," said Brian Atwood, director of the Agency for International Development. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports Atwood said 40 new camps are being built in Albania and aid officials are identifying empty buildings inside Albania to serve as hostels for refugees. All told, Atwood said, the emergency plans mean Albania can hold about 985,000 Kosovan refugees. Reuters reports Atwood said the US wants to help double the number of Albanian families taking in refugees from Kosovo and may finance repairs to up to 4,000 buildings in Albania for use as shelters. [US to Pay Albanians for Housing of Kosovans – www.nytimes.com; U.S. officials: We are getting a handle on refugee problem – www.dpa.com; US plans to help Albania take 1 million refugees – www.reuters.com]

MONTENEGRO: MEN RELEASED 18 May 99 – The Yugoslav army yesterday released 106 ethnic Albanian refugees who were seized across Montenegro at the weekend, UNHCR said, reports Reuters in Podgorica. The detention of male ethnic Albanians had been denounced by the government and sparked panic amongst the tens of thousands of Kosovo refugees in the republic. A UNHCR spokesman said the 106 men were freed in the eastern Montenegrin logging town of Rozaje. Nikola Camaj, of the Montenegrin Information Ministry, said two young ethnic Albanians had not been released. He said soldiers had driven the captured men to Serbia, but plans to take them back to Kosovo were dropped because of NATO operations there. The Daily Telegraph reports UNHCR was arranging for about 40 refugees to be taken by bus to Ulcinj from Rozaje. Meanwhile AP reports officials yesterday said a ship carrying flour sent by an Italian aid agency for refugees in Montenegro was prevented by the Yugoslav navy from unloading its cargo. Reuters adds the European Union yesterday said it was ready to unblock US$13.8m of economic aid to help Montenegro cope with the refugee influx. The Guardian carries an article contrasting the tales of two Kosovan women who escaped to Montenegro by public bus. [Yugoslav army frees refugees after Montenegro protests + Montenegro ready to receive EU funds – www.reuters.com; Yugoslavs free 100 held in Montenegro – www.telegraph.co.uk; Yugoslavia-Kosovo refugees – www.ap.org; Travels and travails of refugees – www.guardian.co.uk]

KOSOVANS: BRITAIN SEEKS GROUND ATTACK, RETURNS 18 May 99 – Britain is renewing its pressure on NATO allies to consider a ground attack in Kosovo so that refugees can return home before winter sets in, reports the New York Times. At NATO headquarters and later with fellow foreign ministers from the European Union yesterday, Foreign Minister Robin Cook revived a British proposal to send ground troops into Kosovo without a peace agreement. Given the time it would take to deploy a ground force, the British have become concerned that time is running out for a possible land attack that would help the refugees return home before winter. The Financial Times reports Russia yesterday called for a halt to Nato's bombing campaign saying it would still work with its G7 partners for a UN Security Council resolution to stop the conflict and allow refugees to return home. But Cook also restated Nato's "bottom line" that the refugees from Kosovo should be able to return with a credible military force to guarantee their protection. This would mean a force with a "strong Nato presence," he added. AP reports the EU yesterday supported diplomatic efforts but criticised the Yugoslav president for failing to meet conditions for ending NATO's bombardment. "Half or partial measures which do not meet the conditions will fail to provide the guarantees necessary for the safe return of the refugees," EU foreign ministers said. [British Pressing Partners to Deploy Ground Troops – www.nytimes.com; Russia vows to press on with peace drive – www.ft.com; EU regrets Milosevic continues to fight, backs diplomatic efforts – www.ap.org]

KOSOVANS: UNHCR ACCUSED 18 May 99 – The Kosovo crisis has revealed fault lines at UNHCR, says Le Monde in a special feature. The sudden exodus of hundreds of thousands of Kosovans fleeing Serb forces after NATO airstrikes began on March 24, was the start of an uneasy period at UNHCR. The agency has been blamed for its slow response, inaction and incompetence. UNHCR has become "an easy scapegoat," particularly in Europe, for politicians and some NGOs, says UNHCR's deputy chief, Soren Jessen-Petersen. A French Red Cross worker says: "UNHCR should have reacted, sounding the alarm on the first day of the NATO airstrikes." Medecins du Monde's president, Jacky Mamou, stressed UNHCR's "great unpreparedness." Accepting some of these criticisms, Jessen-Petersen said: "Yes, it's true, we were not prepared. Yes we slow . . . But who – among the military, heads of state, experts or NGOs – was able to foresee what happened?" Others say UNHCR's initial paralysis lasted longer. OSCE workers were particularly harsh, saying "four weeks into the crisis, people crossing the (Macedonian) border could not assured of a decent reception . . . They crossed from one hell into another. UNHCR bears a strong responsibility." But UNHCR workers at the former Yugoslavia desk in Geneva have been working seven days a week. And some 200 UNHCR workers have been now deployed to the field, an unprecedented number, according to UNHCR's logistics chief. [UNHCR accused – www.lemonde.fr]

KOSOVANS: UNHCR HITS BACK AT CRITICS 18 May 99 – UNHCR yesterday accused a commission of British MPs of failing to consult it directly in drawing up a report condemning its handling of the Kosovo refugee crisis, reports AFP. The parliamentary commission in a report published Saturday said the UNHCR had not coped when the problems began in March and was still failing to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled Kosovo. "UNHCR was never given a chance to speak to that commission, to testify in front of that commission even though they spoke to other UN agencies," spokesman Kris Janowski said in Geneva. The agency had only secured a copy of the report yesterday, he said. "The UNHCR had a lot of people working initially in Kosovo and then outside of Kosovo virtually day and night though we have a delegation coming for 24 hours and pronouncing a wholesale judgement without even speaking to us," Janowski said. [UNHCR slams British MPs on Kosovo – www.afp.com]

KOSOVANS: BELGRADE TO FORM NEW MINISTRY 18 May 99 – Top Yugoslav leadership which met yesterday with President Slobodan Milosevic decided to form a ministry for refugees and humanitarian issues, a statement quoted by Tanjug news agency said, reports AFP. The ministry would focus on "coordinating with efficiency all the activities linked to the humanitarian problems and return of refugees," it said. "Normalisation of the situation in Kosovo, (which has) intensified after the dismantling of the terrorist organisation of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army), allows the speeding up of work towards solving acute humanitarian problems caused by war activities, above all the refugee problems," the statement said. It added that "Continuous bombings is, obviously, the only obstacle not only towards a political solution, but also to a rapid normalisation of life and safe return of refugees." [Yugoslav leadership decides to form ministry for refugees – www.afp.com]