Migration News Sheet, July 1998
No. 183/98 -07
(Monthly Information Bulletin on Immigrants, Refugees and Ethnic Minorities, Brussels)

NO GENERAL HALT TO REPATRIATION
OF KOSOVO ALBANIANS

Despite the persistent conflicts in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo the Federal Länder with large numbers of Kosovo Albanians have continued to reject calls for a general halt to the repatriations of Kosovo Albanians (Abschiebestopp). However, in practice, since mid-June they have stopped repatriating Kosovo Albanians.

It is, in fact, theoretically impossible to repatriate any more Kosovo Albanians under the terms of the readmission agreeement signed between Bonn and Belgrade on 10 October 1996 and which came into force on 1st December 1996. Under one of the provisions of this agreement, repatriations are to be carried out by the Yugoslav State-run airline, the JAT. Sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia by the Contact Group Member States (except Russia) on 12 June include the banning of flights by the JAT. Using this airline to repatriate Kosovo Albanians would thus constitute a violation of the sanctions.

Bavaria, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Northrhein-Westfalen, Lower Saxony and Rheinland-Pfalz refuse to exclude the repatriation of those Kosovo Albanians who have committed offences.

On 5 June the Bavarian Minister of Interior, G. BECKSTEIN, announced that convicted Kosovo Albanians would provisionally be repatriated only to Belgrade. Like his counterparts in the other Federal Länder he requested the Foreign Ministry for an assessment of the situation of the conflicts in Kosovo. According to a refugee support agency, Pro Asyl, the Foreign Ministry had, on 8 June, advised against any more deportations of Kosovo Albanians.

Mr BECKSTEIN ruled out a general halt to the repatriation of Kosovo Albanians. Previously, in addition to convicted persons, Bavaria had also been repatriating women and children. Since January this year about a thousand Kosovo Albanians have already been expelled. The Green Group in the Bavarian Parliament estimates that the real figure is about three times more. It is estimated that all the Federal Länder have together repatriated some 7,000 Kosovo Albanians since the afore-mentioned readmission agreement came into force.

On 23 June, Bavarian Refugee Council (an NGO) warned that another group of expulsion of Kosovo Albanians was about to take place. The Bavarian Ministry of Interior refused to deny nor confirm this, pointing out that it never made declarations in advance of possible expulsions. If expulsions would take place at all, they would concern exclusively those who had committed offences. Moreover, the Ministry assured that such persons would not be expelled to Kosovo, but to Belgrade. „Yugoslavia is big“, said a ministry spokesman. The expelled persons can, for example, go from Belgrade to Montenegro „where thousands of Kosovo Albanians are living completely unmolested“.

The Land with the largest number of Kosovo Albanians awaiting repatriation is Northrhein-Westfalen. Some 49,000 are under expulsion orders. 338 Kosovo Albanians were repatriated in 1997 and another 538 since the beginning of this year until 8 June. As for the Federal Minister of Interior, M. KANTHER (CDU), he sees no reason for ordering a general halt to the repatriation of Kosovo Albanians. After all, the country, in its entirety, is not in civil war, added Mr KANTHER. Besides, the international community are trying to ensure that Kosovo Albanians be able to remain in their home region. „Under absolutely no circumstances“ will Germany accept more Kosovo Albanians, stressed Mr KANTHER. In the event of another wave of refugees (leaving Kosovo), the international community would have to look for reception possibilities near their home region.

Mr KANTHER reiterated his position in an interview with a daily, the Westdeutsche Zeitung (19.06.98), underlining that „killings, destruction and expulsions are not taking place in every part of Kosovo, but only in certain places“.

Another Kosovo Albanian repatriated from Germany is believed to have been killed by Serbian forces on 28 May. The youth used to live in Neuenburg (Baden-Württemberg).

Südd. Zeit., 6/7,12,18,26.06.98; Fr. Rundschau, 6,8.06.98; Tagesz., 9.06.98; Tagesz., 10.06.98