BCHR: Serb Refugees in Kraljevo
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Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 13:53:02 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: BCHR: Serb Refugees in Kraljevo
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Greek Helsinki Monitor <[email protected]>
BCHR: Serb Refugees in Kraljevo
Narrative report on the visit of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
to Kraljevo - the situation with the internally displaced persons from
Kosovo
According to the data provided by the Forum of Non-Governmental
Organisations from Kraljevo, the Kraljevo community, which is the
largest one in Serbia, has the population of 123.000, while the city
of Kraljevo itself has about 70.000 inhabitants. There are 11.000
unemployed people (which makes 25% of the *working age population),
and 10.000 people on forced leaves.
According to the Municipal Commissioner for Refugees, there are
officially 20.000 refugees and displaced persons in the territory of
the Kraljevo municipality, and 30.000 unofficially. The figure
comprises 4.000 refugees from Bosnia and Croatia and 15.000 displaced
persons from Kosovo, who started arriving since the middle of June.
The unofficial number is 25.000, which makes about 25% of the entire
municipality�s population and the highest percentage in Serbia.
Out of 15.000 displaced persons from Kosovo, registered with the
Municipal Commissioner for Refugees, 13.500 have been accommodated by
private means (in rented apartments, with relatives, etc.). About
1.500 are placed in 11 collective centres � mostly village schools and
cultural centres, as well as *shacks. These collective centres are
situated in the following suburbs and villages: Cibukovac, Rocevici,
Lazac, Ladjevci, Adrani, Sirca, Beranovac, Ratina, Vrba, Dragosinjci,
Bukovica, Musina Reka and Mrsac.
Living conditions in the centres are extremely difficult due to the
lack of toilets, beds, mattresses, blankets, personal hygiene items,
medicines, health care and proper nutrition, with one hot meal a day
being provided. However, the number of applications for this kind of
accommodation has increased, indicating the exhaustion of private
funds for rent and food.
There are 5.000 pre-school and school children from Kosovo, out of
which 600 in collective centres. According to the data from the
Assembly of the Municipality of Kraljevo, there are 3.000
primary-school children and 1.000 secondary-school children from
Kosovo. Not until 26 August did the Ministry for Education of the
Republic of Serbia amend its decision according to which displaced
children from Kosovo (except for the children whose parents work with
the police, army or judiciary) had not been allowed to go to school
outside Kosovo. It was already 31 August when the Chief-of-Staff of
Municipal Headquarters for Civil Defence in Kraljevo received the
instruction for the enrollment of children from Kosovo. The
instruction does not explain where to place 3.000 children, the
accommodation of which would require 7 entire schools. Also,
secondary-school children from Kosovo can enroll classes for future
smelters and blacksmiths only.
According to President of the Executive Board of Kraljevo Municipal
Assembly, Mr. Zvonko Obradovic, on 30 August District Headquarters for
Civil Defence issued the oral order (there is no written evidence) for
schools in Kraljevo municipality to be vacated, since the school year
in Serbia starts on 1 September. The order has been put into effect by
Chief-of-Staff of District Headquarters, Mr. Milan Majstorovic,
Commander of District Headquarters, Mr. Mirko Rajicic, and the police.
Displaced persons are offered alternative accommodation in shacks
dozens of kilometres away from the city, with living conditions even
worse than in previous centres (there is no electricity, water and
heating).
Having been evicted from school buildings in the villages of Ladjevci
and Sirca, 220 persons spent two days (30 and 31 August) in two city
parks in the rain. Sixty percent of these people are children and old
persons. After the report on the local TV, they were taken to the
building which had been used for laundry in the near-by spa, Mataruska
banja.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Anti-War
Action visited this location on 2 September, bringing a quantity of
milk, food, medicines and hygiene items, and being told that no
authorities or organisation had visited them before. The building
lacks beds, mattresses, toilets and heating, its ground floor being
without electricity as well. Rooms are overcrowded, and people are
afraid of diseases due to extremely poor hygiene conditions. Thus some
20 persons sleep outside, under the eaves and in tractor-trailers.
Babies lack diapers and milk since the daily meal provided by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees through its Field Office
Kraljevo and distributed by Red Cross consists of rise or noodles,
with half a loaf of bread per person. Also weather conditions have
deteriorated, with temperature�s drop and heavy rain, which leaves
these people without proper clothing. There is a question of
schoolbooks and other material that school children need as well.
The Belgrade Centre and the Centre for Anti-War Action also had a
meeting with the municipal government officials, including the
President of the Executive Board, Mr. Zvonko Obradovic, and the
Chief-of-Staff for Social Activities, Mr. Branko Marusic. They
presented the situation in the Kraljevo community, stating the
following: this community has 140.000 inhabitants, while the city of
Kraljevo with its suburbs has the population of 80.000. There are over
12.000 unemployed people, and out of 25.000 formally employed two
thirds are on paid or unpaid leaves.
During the NATO intervention 23.000 men were mobilised. Forty-one were
killed and over 100 remained invalids. Sixty-five citizens were
injured. Three bridges were destroyed and 2.100 houses damaged, with
the overall damage estimated at DEM 11 million. Such economic
situation was further aggravated by floods in July: 10 bridges fell
down, 4 schools lost its roofs, and 40% of the territory was flooded �
damage totalled almost DEM 1 million.
When people from Kosovo started arriving, the International Committee
of Red Cross, UNHCR and some other humanitarian organisations
immediately sent tents and other humanitarian aid, which ended up in
the local Red Cross, or was transferred to another location. As Mr.
Obradovic explained, the issue of internally displaced persons is
under the jurisdiction of the Headquarters for Civil Defence of the
Republic of Serbia, which functions through its district headquarters.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Anti-War
Action visited the UNHCR Field Office Kraljevo as well, where
Community Services Assistant, Ms. Marijana Pavlovic explained that
this oraganisation can provide its help for IDPs in terms of
accommodation facilitating if the municipal authorities provide a
building or a building site and employment for one person per family.
Regarding food distribution by Red Cross, their monitoring is based on
occasional and random visits to a collective centre.
This dramatic situation does not provoke reactions. Local population
supports the vacation of village schools and does not allow these
people from Kosovo to enter cultural centres. Mostly, they refuse to
provide any other kind of help either.
With the approaching winter and expected electricity reduction, and
given the fact that municipal authorities will be unable to solve the
problem, a humanitarian catastrophe can be predicted, unless immediate
steps are taken for this situation to be solved.
Urgent appeal
Wednesday, 8 September, 1999, 4p.m.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the NGO Forum of Kraljevo
report that today at 8 a.m. 350 Kosovo refugees (IDPs), about 80
families, were expelled from the elementary school �Vuk Karadzic� in
the village of Beranovac, near Kraljevo. Those people were located
from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m in the town park in front of the Kraljevo railway
station.
The Civil Defense Headquarters of the Republic of Serbia offered them
accommodation in the Culture Centre of the Vitanovac village. The
associates of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the NGO Forum
of Kraljevo have seen this building which does not have a roof, water
supply nor the electricity, glass windows or toilets and on those
grounds remains an entirely unacceptable accommodation. After the
refugees decided to head for Belgrade on their tractors they were
stopped and the action was prohibited by the police and the Civil
Defense Headquarters of the Republic of Serbia. The refugees (IDPs)
were ordered to remain in Kraljevo. At this time all of those people
are on the road under a viaduct in Kraljevo.
WE APPEAL TO ALL JOURNALISTS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN
ORGANIZATIONS TO BE AWARE OF THIS AND INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE
REAL SITUATION OF REFUGEES (IDPs) IN KRALJEVO, WHICH NUMBER ACCORDING
TO THE OFFICIAL ESTIMATES IS AROUND 20,000, AND THE UNOFFICIAL
ESTIMATES UP TO 30,000. AROUND 1500 OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE LOCATED IN
COLLECTIVE CENTRES, MEANING SCHOOLS, CULTURE CENTRES, ETC., WITHOUT
SUFFICIENT FOOD, CLOTHING, WATER AND ELETRICITY AND THEY BELONG TO THE
MOST VULNERABLE CATEGORY. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AT PRESENT ON THE ROAD
BELONG TO THE MOST HELPLESS ONES. WE ALSO APPEAL THAT THE REST OF THE
170,000 REFUGEES AND IDPs CURRENTLY IN SERBIA ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.
For a detailed report from the field and more information on the
situation of the refugees in Kraljevo please contact the Belgrade
Centre for Human Rights or Mr. Radovan Milicevic from the NGO Forum of
Kraljevo at 036 / 331 146.
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