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UNHCR's Refugee Report - July 1999
- Subject: UNHCR's Refugee Report - July 1999
- From: Rangoonp@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 01:41:00
Thursday
29 July,
1999
Africa
ANGOLA: MORE FLEE TO HUAMBO 29 Jul. 99 The number of
refugees in central Angola's war-torn Huambo Province has
reached 250,000, Huambo's governor said yesterday, reports
Xinhua. Paulo Cassoma said frequent attacks by UNITA rebels
have caused innocent citizens to flood into
government-controlled Huambo City and the nearby towns,
sharply increasing the number of refugees from 170,000 three
months ago to 250,000 now. Cassama said food in Huambo and
surrounding towns can only last for one or two weeks. Xinhua
adds UNHCR in Lusaka said a rising number of Angolan refugees
have been coming into Zambia's Western Province, escaping
forced conscription by UINTA rebels. They numbered 50 at last
count. The Post of Zambia newspaper quoted spokesman
Dominik Bartsch as saying UNHCR was studying the situation
closely and officials were taking care of the influx.
[Refugees
Tops 25,000 in Central Angola + Angolan Refugees Flee Into W.
Zambia www.xinhua.org]
SIERRA LEONE: HELP PROMISED 29 Jul. 99 International
representatives meeting in London yesterday pledged to
provide
emergency humanitarian aid, to help refugees and assist in
rebuilding Sierra Leone, reports Reuters. Sierra Leone's
President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah pledged to consolidate the
peace accord with rebel forces by building an inclusive
government and army. Meanwhile BBC News reports the UN
special representative for Sierra Leone, Francis Okello, said
if a
fraction of the resources being donated to Kosovo were
diverted
to Sierra Leone, it would go a long way to solving the
country's
problems. Okello said the UN was currently receiving less
than
15% of what it needed for Sierra Leone, echoing a recent
statement by UNHCR chief Sadako Ogata. Ogata noted refugees
in Africa were receiving only a fraction of the aid earmarked
for
Kosovo. [Kabbah pledges to unite Sierra Leone after peace
www.reuters.com; Sierra Leone left out on aid
http://news.bbc.co.uk]
TANZANIA: MORE CONGOLESE SETTLE, SUFFER 29 Jul. 99
The tide of refugees chased into western Tanzania is again
rising
after rebel groups aiming to overthrow President Laurent
Kabila
refused to signing a peace accord earlier this month, reports
AP.
"We have been receiving between 250 and 1,500 refugees a
day,'' said Adan Diis Ilmi, a UN official at Lugufu said.
Since July
5, nearly 7,400 refugees have arrived at Lugufu, pushing its
population to 62,000, one-third more than the camp was
designed to hold. Much to the dismay of Tanzanian
authorities,
who view the camps as a haven for crime and a drain on
natural
resources and international aid, Lugufu has taken on the
appearance of permanence. Besides a flourishing market, the
camp also has a well-defined bureaucracy to handle ties with
aid
organisations. Some refugees in the camp have begun building
mud brick houses. The new influx of Congolese refugees has
caught aid agencies by surprise. They had hoped to close
Lugufu soon. Now they are planning a second camp. With the
new facility, aid agencies now face a budget shortfall of
US$1.5m
by the end of the year, said an official from the
International
Federation of the Red Cross. Meanwhile, the recent influx of
refugees has overwhelmed the camp and its resources. The
mortality rate of children under five has recently doubled.
Rations
have been halved. Queues for water and medical care wind
through the camp. Stress-related illnesses abound. [As
fighting
goes on, Congolese refugees crowd into Tanzania www.ap.org]
Americas
MEXICO: LAST GUATEMALANS RETURN 29 Jul. 99 The last
Guatemalan refugees left Mexico yesterday for their homeland
after 17 years in refugee camps and towns near the border,
saying 'Thank you Mexico,' reports Reuters. "This is the time
for
a warm hug for those who return from an exile that never
should
have happened, and a time for hope and good wishes for those
who decide to stay here," Guatemalan President Alvaro said at
a
ceremony attended by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and
UNHCR chief Sadako Ogata. Tens of thousands, mostly Mayan
Indian peasants, fled to Mexico from 1982 to 1984 at the
height
of Guatemala's 36-year civil war, which claimed some 200,000
lives. Many were neutral villagers caught up in the
military's
campaign to wipe out rebel support by burning houses and
killing
peasants. UNHCR estimates 42,488 refugees have returned to
Guatemala, while 23,000 have stayed in Mexico under a
naturalisation programme. Ogata congratulated Guatemala and
Mexico, saying the refugees were returning home under secure
conditions. It has not always been easy for Guatemala to
convince war-traumatised refugees that their country was now
safe. Life is not easy for the returnees. Many are living
hardscrabble lives on poor, remote pieces of land, far from
the
mountain villages where they once lived. Their children, born
in
exile, miss the schools and relative comfort of Mexico.
[Guatemalan refugees leave, saying "thank you Mexico"
www.reuters.com]
Asia
SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT RETURNS TAMILS 29 Jul. 99 A
convoy of buses and trucks drove hundreds of Sri Lankan
Tamils
yesterday back toward villages they were forced to abandon a
month ago, in the government's first attempt to return
refugees,
reports AP. The 16-year-old civil conflict has produced an
estimated 500,000 refugees who live in makeshift camps. Most
camps are in the north where the war is concentrated. A
convoy
of 29 buses and four trucks left the northern town of
Vavuniya
carrying 2,210 Tamils, stuck there since June 25. The
refugees
will make a three-hour journey to a cluster of villages in
the
Wanni area, which is under the control of the separatist
Tamil
rebels. The government says it asked the rebel Liberation
Tigers
of Tamil Eelam to allow the refugees to return home but
received
no response and decided to make its own arrangements to
return
them. There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers.
The refugees will be taken to the edge of
government-controlled
territory. [Convoy takes Tamil refugees home www.ap.org]
EAST TIMOR: DISEASES, MALNUTRITION KILL 100 UN 29
Jul. 99 At least 100 displaced people in Faulara hamlet,
some
50km west of Dili, have died of various contagious diseases
and
malnutrition since January, a UN official said yesterday,
reports
the Jakarta Post. Yasuhiro Ueki, spokesman for the UN Mission
in
East Timor (UNAMET), told a media conference that the finding
was reported by a UNHCR mission who last week visited the
area,
where 3,600 people are taking shelter. He said malaria and
tuberculosis were among the diseases attributable to the
fatalities. A joint team involving UNAMET, UNHCR, the UN
Emergency Fund, the International Commission for the Red
Cross and the Indonesian government, had planned to undertake
a humanitarian mission to the refugee centres in the village
next
week, Ueki said. [Disease, malnutrition claim lives of 100
East
Timor refugees www.thejakartapost.com]
INDONESIA: THOUSANDS MORE VIOLENTLY DISPLACED? 29
Jul. 99 At least 11 people have been killed on the
Indonesian
island of Batam, just south of Singapore, in a further
outbreak of
ethnic violence, reports BBC News. Reports from the island
say
clashes between rival migrant communities from Sumatra and
Flores followed a weekend dispute over the running of local
bus
operations. The violence is said have forced thousands of
people
from their homes, and closed down schools, shops and
businesses. [New ethnic clashes hit Indonesia
http://news.bbc.co.uk]
TAJIKISTAN: 'WARLIKE' UZBEKS 29 Jul. 99 A high-ranking
Tajik official voiced concern yesterday over the presence of
about 1,000 people from the neighbouring Uzbekistan, who call
themselves refugees, reports Itar-Tass. "The further illegal
presence in eastern Tajikistan of a considerable number of
Uzbek citizens is creating an inflammable situation and
threatening not only the peace process in the republic, but
also
the country's national security," said Amirkul Azimov,
secretary of
the Security Council. He is also chairman of a commission to
find
out why the Uzbeks are there. Most of the self-styled
refugees
are "people aged 18 to 40 who can bear arms", he said, adding
they are openly speaking about their (Islamic) fundamentalist
mood and doing special training for fighting in mountains.
[Tajikistan concerned over warlike refugees from Uzbekistan
www.itar-tass.com]
Europe
KOSOVO: DONORS' $2bn PLEDGES EXCEED NEEDS 29 Jul.
99 The world opened its heart and wallet yesterday to
Kosovo
refugees who have gone home, with more than 60 nations and
dozens of organisations offering over US$2bn in humanitarian
aid, reports AP. Unusually, the funds pledged at the donors
conference in Brussels far exceeded the immediate need. UN
agencies had requested US$200m for refugee aid, and US$45m
to begin paying police and civil servants to restore Kosovo's
society. The European Union asked for US$319m as the first
instalment to begin paying for home repair. Those urgent
needs
totalled US$564m. By the end of the day, pledges at the World
Bank- and European Union-sponsored conference reached
US$2.082bn, almost four times the amount sought, said the
World Bank's vice president for Europe and Central Asia. The
surplus funds will be applied toward rebuilding more housing
and
a wider programme to revive Kosovo, to be announced at
another pledging conference in October. AFP reports donors
pledged a total of more than US$2bn to rebuild Kosovo,
including
at least 245 million dollars in emergency funds over the next
five
months to see returning refugees through the winter. Kyodo
reports Japan pledged to provide a further US$20m to help
refugees returning to Kosovo, including US$16m to UNHCR.
[International donors pledge dlrs 2 billion to help Kosovo
www.ap.org; Two billion dollars pledged for Kosovo
www.afp.com; Japan pledges total of 220 mil. dlrs for Kosovo
www.kyodo.co.jp]
KOSOVO: INFORMATION CHALLENGE 29 Jul. 99 An urgent
challenge now facing the international community in Kosovo is
to
provide credible information about what the United Nations
Mission in Kosovo, the NATO-led military force and the
international aid agencies are up to, says Edward Girardet,
editor
of Crosslines Global Report and a co-founder of Media Action
International, in an op-ed for the International Herald
Tribune.
International broadcasters such as Deutsche Welle, the BBC
and
Voice of America are providing Kosovars (among them nearly
650,000 returning refugees) with conventional news coverage,
but there is little local humanitarian or needs-based
information.
What is urgently needed is reliable news-you-can-use produced
by independent journalists to help people better understand
the
mandates of the international organisations, particularly
with
regard to security and civil administration. Humanitarian
radio
broadcasts aimed at Kosovan refugees were set up last April
in
Albania and later in Macedonia by Media Action International,
operating with local partners. Produced on an editorially
independent basis by local and expatriate journalists, these
daily
half-hour programs are still being broadcast on more than a
dozen private and state stations. Now that most refugees have
returned, however, the emphasis needs to be on Kosovo.
Initiatives are being supported by UNHCR, the British
government
and other donors.[Rehabilitating Local Media Is the Way
www.iht.com]
ITALY: MORE KOSOVO GYPSIES ARRIVE 29 Jul. 99 A total of
889 Gypsies, more than half of them children, arrived at the
Italian port of Brindisi yesterday, having crossed the
Adriatic Sea
from Montenegro on a fishing boat, port officials said,
reports
AFP. The latest arrivals bring to more than 2,000 the number
of
Gypsies who have arrived in Brindisi since the beginning of
July.
The latest group totalled 889, including 454 children and 242
women. They said they had fled Kosovo fearing reprisals from
ethnic Albanians who accused them of collaborating with
Serbia.
More than half of Kosovo's 120,000-150,000 Gypsy population
has fled since mid-June, fearing reprisals from Kosovan
Albanians, according to the Congressional Party of Roms,
which
represents the community. Italy has decided not to give
refugee
status to new arrivals from Kosovo and will treat them as
illegal
immigrants who will face eventual expulsion. Meanwhile AP
reports a five-year-old Gypsy girl from Kosovo who was dumped
into the sea as she was trying to reach Italy with her family
was in
good condition yesterday, hospital officials in Otranto said.
It is
not unusual that smugglers, fearing arrest by Italian sea
police,
suddenly abandon their charges near the coast or force them
into the sea. [Hundreds of Kosovo Gypsy refugees arrive in
Italy
www.afp.com; Roma girl from Kosovo who was dumped into sea
is recovering ashore www.ap.org]
BRITAIN: CZECH GYPSIES INCREASE 29 Jul. 99 The number
of Romanies from the Czech Republic seeking asylum in Britain
reached a record last month, the British embassy said
yesterday,
prompting London to consider reimposing visas for all Czech
nationals, reports AFP. A total of 143 gypsies applied for
asylum
in the United Kingdom during June, bringing the number to 588
this year, (Czech government) spokesman Zbynek Havranek
said, adding that only one application was allowed per
family. "If
there a new increase in the number, the danger of a
restoration
of a visa requirement for Czechs will be equally higher," he
said.
The number of asylum-seekers is significantly up on last
year. In
the whole of 1998, 512 Czech citizens usually gypsies
sought
asylum in Britain, the spokesman said. In late 1998, an
influx of
Romanies from Slovakia led Britain to demand visas for that
country. Britain, Ireland, Finland and Norway have recently
restored the visa regime with Slovakia for the same reason,
describing asylum seekers from there as "economic refugees."
[Czech gypsies queue for asylum in Britain www.ap.org]
Middle East
LEBANON: MORE FAMILIES EXPELLED HRW 29 Jul. 99 A
leading human rights organisation said today civilian
expulsions
from Israeli-controlled territory in southern Lebanon have
increased, often to punish the families of men regarded as
security threats, reports the Washington Post. Human Rights
Watch described a sharp increase in sudden, unannounced
expulsions of men, women, children and the elderly from their
homes in the zone of southern Lebanon that Israel has
controlled
for two decades. Hundreds of people have been thrown out of
their homes since 1985 "in a summary, arbitrary and often
cruel
manner," deprived of their possessions and usually their
livelihoods, the group said. The expulsions are generally
carried
out by the South Lebanon Army, a Lebanese militia trained,
armed, financed and commanded by Israel. Many of those
evicted have refused to cooperate with the militia or are
suspected of collaborating with the Islamic guerrillas of
Hezbollah.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said
Israel bears ultimate responsibility for the actions of the
South
Lebanon Army. The Independent adds Israel's campaign of
family expulsions is now so rapid that even human rights
groups
cannot keep pace with it. [Israel Criticized for S. Lebanon
Expulsions www.washingtonpost.com; Israeli purge of
families
accelerates drives out South Lebanese
www.independent.co.uk]
Global
NOTES 29 Jul. 99 PANA reports Democratic Republic of Congo
President Laurent Kabila has vehemently denied reports that
he
intended to seek political asylum in South Africa or that he
was
losing the war in his country. Reuters reports a third Cuban
athlete at the Pan American Games has approached Canadian
authorities seeking asylum, the government said yesterday.
The
Globe and Mail reports Chinese refugee claimants at the
centre
of a human-smuggling investigation revolted yesterday after a
week in Canada locked up in a military gymnasium under police
watch.
More on September 1