Refugees from Kosovo in Macedonia!?

Corridors in the Minds

AIM Skopje, 24 June, 1998

Although almost six months have passed since the apocalyptic projection of the Macedonian president about half a million Albanians who would in case of escalation of the conflict in Kosovo flow into Macedonia over the Sara mountain, nothing has happened so far. Despite many investigations both of the journalists and the government, not a signgle refugee from Kosovo has been "detected" in Macedonia!? As known, during his visit to Slovenia at the time, the Macedonian president declared that the international community had to consider the possibility of creating a corridor along which, in case of explosion of the conflict in Kosovo, the Albanian refugees would be taken, via Macedonia, to Albania or other countries. In other words, this corridor which would pass through north-western parts of Macedonia in the direction of Albania, should prevent Albanian refugees from staying on the territory of Macedonia, because, as Gligorov stressed, such a large number of the Albanians would disturb the ethnic balance in the country (in which the Albanians form one quarter of the total population) which Macedonia would not be able to survive.

The Macedonian administration appeared quite confused during the short refugee tide in mid June when thousands of Kosovo Albanians passed on to Albania, probably expecting the mentioned apocalyptic forecast of the first man of the state to come true. As it later turned out, at least when official statements are concerned, not a single refugee has come to Macedonia! This situation, although eagerly hoped for and quite welcomed by Macedonian politicians and a large part of public, in a way proved to be unpleasant because it on the one hand showed a specific frivolity of the Macedonian president who had hurried to make what turned out to be a wrong estimate, and on the other, opened the question why Kosovo refugees are so obviously avoiding Macedonia!?

Since it has become clear to everybody in Macedionia that there will be no tide of Kosovo Albanian refugees and that the question of opening the corridor for refugees remains in the domain of imagination, the main issue for the domestic public remains to be the one about readiness of the government to accept possible refugees if they ever appear. The answer to this question is at the same time an explanation why Kosovo Albanians are avoiding Macedonia as a refuge offering salvation.

The Macedonian public still remembers very well the treatment the Albanian refugees had during last-year's disorders. All those who crossed the Albanian-Macedonian border were with no explanation proclaimed to be intruders and a few of them have paid with their lives for "Macedonian hospitality". On the other hand, from the beginning of the Kosovo crisis, Macedonian officials have persistently denied that any preparations for reception of refugees were made in this country. On the contrary, in parallel with the statements such as the one that instead of the notorious corridor, the border should simply be closed, there were statements that no reception of refugees was planned and that therefore no preparatons are being made in that direction.

The only voice that differed at the time of the appearance of the refugee tide was the statement of the spokesman of United Nations mission in Macedonia, UNPREDEP, who "revealed the secret" that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Macedonia had the capacity for reception of 20 thousand refugees at his disposal, but that he had to wait for a signal from the Macedonian government. However, the Macedonian government has turned a deaf ear. Only after the NATO air demonstration of power above Macedonia, government spokesman "admitted" that "the government has a plan for reception of refugees from Kosovo", but refused to make details about this plan public, because according to his statement, this was "in the domain of security plans of the state (!?)". Macedonian foreign minister, Blagoj Handjiski was more precise in this respect when he confirmed that plans for reception of refugees existed, that there were camps, but that there existed plans for return of refugees as well. The head of Macedonian diplomacy repeated the known stand that "the border should be shut as much as possible" and that one should react for humanitarian reasons (!?).

Despite secrecy on the level of state security which Macedonian state officials wrapped the question of Kosovo Albanians in, details on the government plan on reception of possible refugees leaked in public. According to these information, the government would re-open collective centres in which refugees from Bosnia & Herzegovina used to stay. Since the number of Bosnian refugees on the territory of Macedonia has nowadays been reduced to a couple hundred, former reception centres are empty and could be reconstructed. According to one, still unofficial possibility, refugees would be received in Macedonia for just a short while, and then they would be sent to third countries (nobody knows how and where!?). According to the other possibility, refugees from Kosovo would remain in Macedonia and they would be accommodated in camps equipped for a longer stay. The Red Cross of Macedinia and the High Commissioner for Refugees claim that they are ready to help refugees, but at the same time stress that they still have received no signal from the Macedonian government.

While the Macedonian government is faltering and probably "praying to God" that not a single refugee from Kosovo comes to Macedonia, the Albanians in Macedonia claim that the government should not be worried because they will take care of their brethren on their own if need arises. Judging by the way the Albanians reacted at the time when refugees from B&H had arrived in Macedonia, there should be no doubt about such declarations. When five years ago, ethnic Macedonians, headed by opposition parties, protested in the streets of Skopje against construction of the camp for Bosnian refugees in their part of the city, the government found the solution in the choice of an Albanian settlement in the vicinity of Skopje where the refugees have remained to this day. These episodes and disposition towards the refugees at the same time explain the secrecy of government plans concerning refugees. Although this tactic seems to have a "successful" "discouraging" measure against the avalanche of Kosovo refugees, on the other hand it is not hard to assume that making places of future reception centres known could cause negative reactions of a part of the domestic public and probably make action of the government more difficult. Negative reactions such as those against construction of the camp for Bosnian refugees could raise interethnic tensions which are high as it is. That is the reason why inertia of the Macedonian government concerning refugees from Kosovo is not too surprising, and it seems that such a stand is not criticised by international sponsors who seem to have accepted such a stand as "justified". This stand might possibly be changed by a new, an even greater excalation of the conflict and consequently a greater avalanche of refugees which would not skirt Macedonia, but for the time being such a possibility, at least from the Macedonian angle, does not seem highly possible.

AIM Skopje

IBRAHIM MEHMETI