FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 37

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Subject: FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 37

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FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 37


FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 37
September 18, 1998
 

FIGHTING IN KOSOVO STIRS POLITICAL TENSION IN NEIGHBORING MONTENEGRO
 
The conflict in Kosovo is stirring tension in the neighboring Yugoslav
republic of Montenegro with grave ramifications for displaced persons.
Montenegro on September 11 announced that its borders were closed for
entry by persons displaced by fighting in neighboring Kosovo.
Meanwhile, about 2,000 Roma who have fled Kosovo and Bosnia have been
forced to live in "inhumane" conditions at a Montenegrin camp in
Podgorica, the advocacy group Roma Union said in a press release. A
Forced Migration Projects consultant, based in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, reports that a rift is growing between reformist political
leaders in Montenegro, headed by Milo Djukanovic, and federal
authorities in Belgrade. Montenegro on paper enjoys the same rights
and powers as Serbia, but, in fact, the federation is dominated by
Serbian authorities. If Kosovo is offered enhanced political status, a
position urged by some international diplomats, Montenegro's position
within the Yugoslav federation would be significantly weakened,
dangerously undermining the political stature of the incumbent
government, according to the FMP consultant. In a newspaper interview
Djukanovic warned that the Yugoslav federation may disintegrate if
federal authorities did not treat Montenegro as Serbia's equal.
Thousands of Kosovars have fled to Montenegro in recent months. Human
Rights Watch has assailed the border-closing decision, expressing
concern about the fate of Kosovar displaced persons barred from
entering Montenegro. 
(For additional information see FM Alert of August 28 and August 21).
 

MEETING ACHIEVES BREAKTHROUGH ON MESKHETIAN ISSUE
 
A meeting, co-sponsored by the Forced Migration Projects, created a
potential breakthrough in the search for durable solutions for
Meskhetians, a formerly deported people seeking rehabilitation and the
right to return to their traditional homeland in Georgia. The meeting,
held September 7-10 in The Hague, The Netherlands, was attended by
officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation, as well
as representatives of international organizations and Meskhetian
public organizations, including Vatan. The OSCE High Commissioner for
National Minorities and UNHCR were the other co-sponsors. The meeting
marked the first substantial effort to bring all the major parties
together for dialogue on Meskhetian issues, in particular human
rights, repatriation and local integration. A non-binding document
adopted by participants said solutions should be sought under the
framework provided by the 1996 CIS Conference on migration-related
issues, and the 1992 Bishkek agreement. The document also stressed the
need to regularize the status of Meskhetians in their current
countries of residence, and underscored the importance of
international humanitarian assistance in achieving durable solutions.
The participants also agreed to hold future meetings aimed at
establishing a framework for activities that promote both repatriation
and the regularization of status. Meskhetians were deported from
Georgia in 1944. There are approximately 200,000 Meskhetians today
living in former Soviet republics. 
(For additional information see FM Alert of April 24 and March 6).
 

TALLINN MEETING DEBATES CITIZENSHIP MEASURES FOR CHILDREN
 
About 75 people, including nongovernmental organization leaders and
legislators, debated legislative amendments that would provide
expedited citizenship to stateless children. The September 11 meeting
in Tallinn was co-sponsored by the Forced Migration Projects, the
Estonian Presidential Roundtable on National Minorities and the Open
Estonia Foundation, which is part of the Soros foundations network.
The Estonian parliament is scheduled to reconvene in late September to
discuss the amendments, which in their present form would provide for
expedited citizenship for children of non-citizens born in independent
Estonia. Roughly 7,000 youths would become eligible for expedited
citizenship under the amendments. Forced Migration Projects Director
Arthur C. Helton, one of the meeting's speakers, urged Estonian
legislators to take steps to grant children born in the republic with
automatic citizenship. "Children are owed special protections," Helton
said. "Citizenship is perhaps the preeminent guarantor of human
rights." The amendments in principle were widely supported by meeting
participants, although they voiced differences on details. Some,
including Jiri Adams, a member of the parliament's Constitutional
Committee, expressed reservations about the legislative changes.
Eizenija Aldermane, Director of Latvia's Naturalization Board, also
addressed the meeting, speaking on Latvia's proposed citizenship
amendments, which will face a referendum on October 3.
(For additional information see FM Alert of September 4, August 7, and
July 17).
 

For more information contact:
The Forced Migration Projects
400 West 59th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10019
tel: (212)548-0655
fax: (212) 548-4676
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.soros.org/migrate.html

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