12.05.99

SECURITY SITUATION

Troops of French contingent of NATO forces in Macedonia, which are settled in region of Kumanovo, yesterday about midnight, again have been attacked from missiles. The missile exploded near to the place where soldiers are settled, but nobody was injured or died.

According to the daily newspaper Dnenvik, the famous world news agency Reuters, accused Skopje and Belgrade, that secretly had agreed to "cleanse" the border from refugees. Reuters, is claiming this, according to the statements of foreign humanitarian workers, including the workers of UNHCR, although in yesterday’s press conference, the UNHCR spokesman in Macedonia declined that.

NUMBER OF REFUGEES

According to Ministry of interior (MVR), in the last 24 hours, 254 new refugees entered Macedonia, so that the total number of refugees in Macedonia is 236.006, while 117.823 of them has the status of humanitarian cared person.

1.144 refugees left Macedonia, yesterday until 5 o’clock, while more 8 flights were planed for yesterday. Until yesterday, 45.878 refugees have left Macedonia using airlift.

In yesterday’s press conference at the Macedonian government, vice-minister of foreign affairs, Boris Trajkovski, said that although a month ago the international community said that would accept about 100.000 refugees, they still haven’t realized that promise.

According to the daily newspaper Fakti and the information form MVR, 8.703 refugees have been settled in Struga.

According to the daily newspaper Fakti, 1.400 refugees have been settled in Tetovo village Poroj, while 700 refugees have been settled in village Pallatica.

According to the daily newspaper Dnevnik, up to now no refugee has asked asylum in Macedonia. But, according to MVR, after the end of the war some refugees will do that.

 

CAMPS

After yesterday’s protest, today the situation in camps Stenkovec 1 and 2 is quiet. According to the daily newspaper Dnevnik, in order to avoid new protests in camp Steknovec, representatives from MVR, from refugees and from UNHCR, yesterday agreed to meet every day, and to solve the problems day by day. Also, refugees accepted a compromise, to increase the number of policeman from MVR, but they must be Albanians, and they will take care of security in camp. But, according to the daily newspaper Vecer, uniformed policeman will be substituted with policeman in plain clothes.

According to the daily newspaper Fakti, police is demonstrating force in camps. That was told by refugees from camp Stenkovec, and voluntary humanitarian worker Muzafer Haruni from Skopje.

According to the daily newspaper Vecer, since yesterday, strictly is controlled entrance in refugee camps in Macedonia. Everybody, who wants to enter camps, before must be signed in the police station near to the camps.

 

SUPPORT

According to all the daily newspapers, UNHCR is having financial problems and if donations will not come soon, all the projects of UNHCR will be interrupted. The problem is that, from 143 million US dollars which UNHCR has requested for first six months of this year, up to now, they got just 77 millions, which are spent (15 millions are spent in Macedonia).

According to the daily newspaper Makedonija Denes, The Agency for local democracy, with seat in Ohrid, which founder is Council of Europe, started to participate in campaign of helping refugees.

According to the daily newspaper Nova Makedonija, Croatian government, decided to help Macedonia with humanitarian aid valuable to 17 millions of Croatian kuns (4.500.000 German marks).