THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES FROM KOSOVO HAVE FLOODED INTO ALBANIA

Tirana Mar 29, 1999

AIM TIRANA, 28 MARCH

The city of Kukes in the north of Albania has turned in a gigantic refugees camp on Saturday evening. Over 50 thousand Albanians from Kosovo, most of them women, old people and children, have crossed within few hours the border in their attempt to escape the massacres perpetuated by Serbian forces or forcibly driven away from their homes by the same. The exact figures are yet unknown.

The scenes passed on the TV channels of Tirana have been very dramatic. "We have left behind only dead and fire, there is nothing left anymore," said a woman who had lost her husband. According to the descriptions of refugees at least 20 villages have been burned down and destroyed during the operations of ethnic cleansing that Serb forces undertook last Saturday. The city of Prizren now is completely empty.

The sayings of those coming from Kosovo are very shocking. They talk about hundreds of men fusillated, thousands of houses burned down. The Serbian soldiers push away the people telling them "Go away from the Serbian land, go to Albania." It seems that this is part of Milosevic's scenario for a massive ethnic cleansing of the Albanians. Until some days ago those who were seeking to go to Albania for escaping the combats were brutally halted, while the Saturday evening they are pushed away using the Serbian military trucks as well.

There is a great anxiety in Tirana concerning the fate of political leaders of Kosovo. There is no news for the fate of Rugova, Qosja, Surroi, Shala ecc. In a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it is said that the hadquarters of DLK and the house of Rugova have been blown, while there are no news about the Kosovo leader. According news published in Tirana there some "black lists" of chetnicks of Arkan against known intellectuals and political leaders of Kosovo.

The massive cleansing of Albanians happened only few hours after the Albanian President Mejdani and the Prime Minister Majko visited the north of the country, inspected the army troops and the missiles installed close to the border. Mejdani told to the journalists that "Albania is ready prepared to confront any kind of situation."

Meanwhile, it is impossible to foresee how long Albania can support such a great flux of refugees. The refugees arrived have been sheltered temporarily in the city of Kukes and the families there. The situation is extremely difficult. The Minister of Information, Ulqini, announced that the "Government will organize the transfer of the refugees in other parts of the country." The city of Kukes, less than 20 thousands inhabitants, now has tripled its population turning in vast war camp. Tirana has called the international community for help to sustain in case of a human catastrophe. It is not excluded that the North of the country will be declared State of Emergency.

Along with the crisis of refugees, it still persist tension and incidents in the border between Albania and Yugoslavia. In Tropoja and Has, Serbian forces have shelled two Albanian border posts. Differently form the passive reaction of before the Albanian forces have responded opening fire to the provocations from across the border. The population living along the border have been entirely evacuated.

In Tirana there is an increase of voices asking for immediate break of diplomatic relations with Belgrade. The pleasure feeling for the bombardments of NATO and the fear in case the conflict spills over Albania now seems to have been substituted with strong indignation throughout the country. The are voices that Albania should enter the war as well. "We can not continue to observe this butchery against the other half of the nation," wrote the daily "Albania" on Sunday. Massive meetings in support of Kosovo have been organized throughout of Albania contributing to raise the temperature.

The official Tirana seems determined in being controlled, posing its hopes to NATO and international community. The notes of protest consigned to the Yugoslav Ambassador have become a daily matter. The Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Pellumb Xhufi excluded the possibility of break of diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia, at least for the moment. "We consider that for the moment a break of diplomatic relations is not necessary," said Xhufi. Belgrade, for it's side, last week warned Albania and some other Balkan countries that it should break diplomatic relations as a result of support they are giving to NATO. In fact, the break of diplomatic relations is closer than ever but who is going to take the initiative it depends on the steadiness of the nerves of both parts.

There is an increase of voices in Tirana asking NATO to intervene military in Kosovo. "If NATO does not intervene with troops in Kosovo, then the conflict will quickly escalate in Albania, Macedonia and all the rest of Balkans will burn in it," declared from Kosovo its newly Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. The request for intervention of troops of NATO through the Albanian territory has been repeated also by the leader of the opposition, Berisha.

It seems that what was considered the capitulation of Milosevoc after NATO strikes was too early thought easy. Instead reacting roughly in the skies, from where the NATO bombs and missiles are coming, he is brutally reacting on the ground against the Albanian population. Both parts continue with their job: Nato the strikes and Milosevic the killings.

The long convoys of refugees rend it more scaring the menace of what is considered the Balkan Domino. The fragile Balkan balances may be altered not only from armed clashes but also from the impossibility to support the great refugees fluxes. Albania is still not a stabilized country and it does exist the fear that a great wave of refugees would drive the country in great economic difficulties, into an economic war that would destabilize everything. Macedonia, independently the fact that for the moment they have excluded from the vocabulary the word "Refugees corridor" it would hardly prefer that the figures of the Albanian percentages in the ethnical balance of the country should raise. While Greece and Italy, are taking measures to protect their borders from waves of refugees that can be Albanians of Kosovo but also Albanians of Albania as well, that can never renounce of their "Italian dream."

In these conditions it can possibly happen that Albania turns into a gigantic refugees camp, not to say a closed canned.

Remzi Lani