WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2799/98 by Leonie van BLADEL to the Commission. Refugees in Kosovo
Date: 1998-09-17
Institutions: European Parliament, VAN BLADEL
Subjects: Albania, Kosovo, UNHCR, aid to refugees, civil defence, humanitarian aid, international organisation, refugee, repatriation grant, settlement of disputes













EUR-Lex - 91998E2799 - EN






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91998E2799

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2799/98 by Leonie van BLADEL to the Commission. Refugees in Kosovo  


Official Journal C 135 , 14/05/1999 P. 0117 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2799/98by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Commission(17 September 1998)Subject: Refugees in KosovoMany people have fled from their homes because of the fighting in Kosovo. Some of them - representatives of humanitarian organisations put the figure at "maybe 50 000", albeit without being any more specific - are currently bivouacking in the open air.The following aspects call for comment:- The Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) is trying to prevent Albanian refugees from returning to their villages; columns of refugees returning under police escort are sometimes fired on.- In mid-August, Mr Ibrahim Rugova, who is accepted by the international community as the leader of the Albanians, initially advised the refugees against returning to their homes. Later he qualified his advice and said that people could return, but only "under the escort of international organisations".- Albanian newspapers have refused to publish an advertisement in which the Serbian Ministry of the Interior called on refugees, in Albanian, to return to their homes.Does not the Commission agree that it is unacceptable to use the plight of refugees as a means of exerting political pressure or influencing public opinion?Will the Commission urge the leaders of the Albanians to help make it possible for the refugees to return to their homes as soon as possible, in cooperation with the authorities and, where necessary, under international escort?Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission(21 October 1998)Over 280 000 people are now displaced from their homes in Kosovo. Some 200 000 are displaced within Kosovo, of whom the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that 50 000 could be without access to shelter. Figures can only be estimated given the difficulties in locating those displaced, and because many of them have been displaced more than once.The Commission is very much in favour of the rapid and safe return to their homes of all of the refugees and displaced people, particularly those forced to live in the open. However, with continuing Serb offensives, a steadily worsening security situation and increased targeting of civilians, widespread return is not likely at this time. The threat to their security which caused civilians to leave their homes in the first place remains, the deliberate destruction of their homes and livestock continues, and they are not convinced that it is safe to return. Serbian forces have already attacked three of the eleven "return sites" designated by the Serbian Government.As winter has already begun in the mountains, the most urgent task is not the promotion of organised returns to areas where the conditions for return have not yet been met, but rather the establishment of local distribution networks for humanitarian assistance in order to avoid a human disaster.However, the prerequisite for organised safe returns is a credible ceasefire, which would facilitate the work of aid agencies and convince those who are displaced to return to their homes.