no doubt it is the case that the escalating war in the province has been a significant feature producing refugees from the area. I have not once claimed otherwise. but, whilst this particular snippet you posted (below) might prove that this was the case for one family, it does not disprove the claims of harassment and persecution of those who defined themselves, or were seen by the authorities, as ethnically Albanian.
what you argue however is that, based on one German govt refugee tribunal report that by any reckoning is not a valid source of information on these matters, this harassment and persecution is entirely a fabrication. will you remove the passages I was referring to from your article?
I've appended (below) a statement from the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), 4 October 1998, below. they should not be taken as a decisive source, but they are certainly more credible than the German govt. this is a fragment from another paper of their's:
"Legally speaking, not even civil war refugees from the former Yugoslavia find effective protection here. There is no law to which they can appeal, which will prevent e.g. consciencious objectors who have fled, from being returned. In our opinion, it is presently not ensured, that these persons will not be coerced into military service or become victims of attacks. For that reason, we are also trying in this area of concern to change the legal situation by means of supporting individual cases."
Angela --- rcollins at netlink.com.au _______________________________
Louis wrote:
>There is other evidence that "ethnic cleansing" was not producing a refugee
>problem prior to Nato's war if you seek it out. For example, an Oct 2, 1998
>LA Times article on the refugee problem states:
>
>========
>Secic fled Kosovo province in neighboring Yugoslavia six weeks ago with her
>husband and their four children, driven from their farm in the village of
>Ladrovic by fighting between Kosovo Liberation Army rebels and Yugoslav
>forces. "There was fighting all around," she said. "We were afraid for our
>children and ourselves. That's why we left."
________________________ appendix:
REFUGEES FROM KOSOVO NEED PROTECTION, NOT REJECTION
Statement by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) 4 October 1998
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles calls upon the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis of Kosovar refugees and immediately act in accordance with principles of international solidarity by admitting asylum seekers from Kosovo to safe countries of asylum and instituting regimes of temporary protection. This must be in parallel with measures to ensure that refugees can return home in safety and dignity.
ECRE expresses its solidarity with NGOs working in the region. By the end of September 1998, about 300,000 persons were internally displaced within Kosovo, many thousands of whom are living in the open without basic essentials. A further 150,000 persons fled to neighbouring countries or to western asylum States. The approach of winter further escalates the humanitarian crisis. It is likely that the number of asylum seekers moving on to other host States will increase. ECRE emphasises that the international community should not attempt to contain displaced persons within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), or the other entities of the former Yugoslavia. Everyone has the right to leave their country to seek asylum and ECRE therefore calls on European States to refrain from the closure of borders or the imposition of visa requirements. Such measures merely force refugees into the hands of traffickers and into unsafe attempts to cross the sea.
The current displacements of Kosovo Albanians appear in large measure to be driven by the threat of serious harm which is often meted out on the basis of ethnicity and imputed political opinion. They would thus qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention. However, in an emergency situation of large scale arrivals, temporary protection regimes are necessary. The rights of those afforded temporary protection must be fully respected, including the right to apply for Convention status. In this respect, ECRE regrets EU Member States' delay in adopting the European Commission Proposal for a Joint Action on Temporary Protection. ECRE condemns any attempt to forcibly return rejected asylum seekers to the region. For the majority of Kosovo Albanian claims, which involve fear of persecution by State agents who are able to act throughout the FRY, no 'internal flight alternative' exists in either Kosovo, Montenegro or Serbia. ECRE also calls upon States to refrain from enforcing 'safe third country' returns of Kosovar asylum seekers to Albania, as such a policy would reveal the declared principles of international solidarity to be empty rhetoric. Rather, States should continue to supply humanitarian assistance to these countries, but not as compensation for containment. ECRE concludes that the situation throughout Kosovo is unsafe and deteriorating, that ethnically based persecution is a growing feature of the situation, that protection within the borders of FRY is not available for the displaced, and that the neighbouring host countries are rapidly reaching their limits. The refugees must be protected. The mistakes of Bosnia must not continue to be repeated.