Are There Refugees from Kosovo in Macedonia?

Although undisputable facts exist about certain number of refugees from Kosovo already staying in Macedonia, officials claim that there are only people who are staying with relatives and friends, which prevents activating the existing humanitarian potentials.

AIM Skopje, 15 July, 1998

Are there refugees from Kosovo in Macedonia, is the question which provokes most controversies in the southernmost country established in the region of former Yugoslavia. The fact that the number of refugees, mostly women and children, in neighbouring Albania, Montenegro and in the Province itself, is expressed in tens of thousands, and in view of the close friendly and family links between ethnic Albanians from Macedonia and those in Kosovo, suggests that it is quite impossible that frightened people did not seek shelter here. Certain statements and activities of representatives of humanitarian organizations testify about it. The official Macedonian politics, however, still refuses to admit that anybody from Kosovo has fled to macedonia. The system has thus proved to be very much superior, although facts show otherwise. So much the worse for the facts, the founder of the most perfect philosophic system would say. This remark of Hegel's can be applied on the case of refugees from Kosovo who have sought protection with their relatives and friends in Macedonia.

Approximately at the same time when German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel was discussing with the highest Macedonian officials last Thursday, how Macedonia should react in case of a possible major tide of refugees from Kosovo, and the hosts were assuring their guest that there were no Albanians from Kosovo who had fled here, a practical denial of official statements was taking place in one part of Skopje. That very afternoon humanitarian organization "El Hilal" with headquarters in Tetovo, was distributing aid to families from Kosovo at its office in Skopje. A reporter of the local "Dnevnik" testified that the families were showing Yugoslav passports or some other documents when entering the mentioned office. After registration, they received a certificate and went to receive the indispensable supplies of food and personal hygiene goods in a local private store.

The refugees themselves openly avoid contacts with journalists since they fear that declaring themselves in public could bring them trouble with the local administration. Abdurauf Pruthi, President of "El Hilal", claims that his organization offered aid to more than two hundred families just in Skopje. Otherwise, Pruthi believes that there is more than one thousand people who deserve to be considered as refugees. The relevant Macedonian authorities have in most cases issued permits to these people to stay two or three months with relatives or friends, i.e. they are treated as guests. In fact, the hosts and their guests are mostly close relatives, but some of the "guests" are staying with completely unknown people. It should be kept in mind, though, that the hosts cannot cover the costs of food and other needs of their guests for long due to their own economic situation.

Besides "El Hilal", some other humanitarian organizations also showed interest in organized care for refugees. Organization "Majka Teresa" from Struga has up to now supplied with necessary goods about hundred people, and found lodging for some of them with the families of their members and followers. Catholic "Caritas" and the Red Cross Organization are at the disposal to refugees, but no one has yet applied to them. All these organizations have applied to the relevant authorities offering their programs for accommodation and collecting aid for refugees. But the Macedonian Government firmly sticks to its stand that there are no refugees. This attitude also prevents international humanitarian organizations to participate in helping the actual refugees, formally so-called "guests". Roze Dona Van Hoj, Head of the Mission of the High Commission for Refugees, explained to the mentioned "El Hilal" that UNHCR cannot activate its plans and reserves, although they exist, as long as the Government does not acknowledge the existence of refugees.

Therefore, numerous controversies related to possible and real refugees from Kosovo have practically continued. This started in the beginning of this year after the well known declaration of Kiro Gligorov, the state President, who said that Macedonia would create a corridor for transferring refugees to Albania. This statement caused very strong public reactions especially among opposition parties, and ever since then, the official authorities show absolute constraint whenever refugees are mentioned. So, Lazar Kitanovski, Minister of Defence, once said that Macedonia could possibly only assist in the transfer of refugees from Kosovo to other countries. Apparently, economic power of this country would not be sufficient to supply aid for a large number of people. Tito Petkovski, Parliament speaker, as well as Zoran Ivanov, Government spokesman, emphasized on several occasions that Macedonia did not even consider the possibility to receive refugees and did not have an elaborate relevant strategy. Only Ljubica Acevska, Ambassador in the USA, admitted to Washington journalists that camps for reception of refugees in Macedonia had already been marked. Somewhat later, although unwillingly, other officials have admitted that the Government was forced to face this unpleasant question.

It seems that this shift occurred owing to the pressure of the international community, above all of German diplomacy. As German minister Kinkel said during his recent visit to Skopje, in his country there are about 140,000 refuges from Kosovo who have applied for the status of political immigrants. Only last month 2,800 new refugees joined them. Kinkel said that Germany has manifested its humanity but it is not capable any more of relieving all the political and social crisis in the Balkans. For this reason, all the future refugees from Kosovo, certainly if there would be any, must under any circumstance, remain in the region, primarily in Macedonia and Albania.

Regardless of such a determined German attitude and possibly also of its powerful allies, independent circles in Macedonia have been assuring local authorities to adopt a more flexible or more realistic attitude concerning the problem. Being in fact a member of the United Nations and supporter of all the basic principles of the world organization, Macedonia is obliged to admit all the refugees independent of their number and ethnical prefix. On the other hand, no one could demand of this small and poor country to support permanently a large number of people especially at the time when majority of the native population lives under conditions which are very close to the limit of the survival minimum. This means that the international community would participate in sustaining Kosovo refugees. Owing to the specific position of some countries in Western Europe concerning immigrants, it is expected that the aid on the spot would be more generous than in all the previous similar operations. Some Macedonian circles explain the rather peculiar attitude of the Macedonian government towards the refugee problem in this context. According to their explanation, Macedonian authorities have tried to make use of the present situation and make a deal with the international community to gain a maximum benefit from the misfortune that has stricken their immediate neighbourhood.

But there is another completely different attitude. >From the very beginning of the Kosovo crisis, local opposition is scaring the majority, i.e. ethnic Macedonian population by an invasion of refugees from Kosovo, and accordingly by a big increase of the minority population of ethnic Albanians. According to official data 22,9 per cent of the population in Macedonia are Albanians. The opposition, as well as some independent political-demographic experts suggest that the majority of refugees from Kosovo would take the opportunity to settle down permanently in this country. This would lead to a disturbance in demographic equilibrium and "drive" unitary Macedonia to the slippery ground of a bi-national state, and, God forbid, amendment of the constitution. The current authorities, allegedly, do not want these speculations to gain support on the eve of the autumn parliamentary elections, and for this reason do not want to admit that presumable "Albanisation" of Western Macedonia has already started. No matter how many deficiencies both these fabrications have, the fact that the behaviour of the Government is rather strange concerning refugees from Kosovo, makes space for similar speculations. For this reason, people who were forced to leave their homes due to perils of war as well as those who welcomed them are suffering the most.

AIM Skopje

BUDO VUKOBRAT