Does UNHCR support ethnic cleansings?
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Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 18:22:11 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Does UNHCR support ethnic cleansings?
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Alexander Ossipov <[email protected]>
Does UNHCR support ethnic cleansings?
DOES UNHCR SUPPORT ETHNIC CLEANSINGS?
We have recently received one short article published 2 months ago in
the Krasnodar newspaper "Kubanskiye Novosti", which raises some
questions. The article was kindly translated into English by Michael
Lashkevich. Here is the text.
"Kubanskiye Novosti", Krasnodar, 5.09.1998
A VISIT OF A UNO ADVISOR TO KUBAN
The Krai Administration continues to solve the problem of the
Meskhetian Turks' resettlement rising to the international level.
Recently an advisor of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, Professor Lars Hansen visited the Krai for a week for
detailed study of the situation.
The UNO representative, accompanied by the Chief of the Department of
Interethnic Relations of the Krai Administration G.A.Klinov, visited
Krymsk and Abinsk Districts. In Krymsk he met with the Head of the
District Administration D.N.Tsymbal, leaders of the Turkish Meskhetian
community, visited households of some Meskhetian Turks in the town
Nizhnebakanskiy. In Abinsk District he had several meetings with the
Assistant of the Head of Administration on Interethnic Issues
Yu.A.Gnutov and with representatives of the local Cossacks. In the
village Kholmskiy, a settlement which is mostly densely populated by
Meskhetian Turks, a conversation with those of them, who move to
Turkey, took place.
As a result of the previous visits of UNO representatives there were
concluded the agreements of granting 230 thousands dollars for the
needs of resettlers. The District Administrations have received and
spent one third of this sum.
In the Krai center the UNO representative had talks on the substance
of the concerned problem with the Deputy Ataman on Military Issues of
the All-Kuban Cossack Army* (AKCA) G.A.Tyvanyuk and the Chief of the
Staff of AKCA Yu.M.Gavrilenko.
Professor Lars Hansen met with the Deputy Head of the Krai
Administration N.I.Kharchenko, who stressed that the position of the
Krai Administration remains hard and invariable: the justice to this
long-suffering people must be restored, and the Turks-Meskhetians must
be allowed to return to their historical homeland.
This process is gathering speed with active contribution of the Krai
Administration. More than 180 Meskhetian Turks (22 families) have
already moved to Turkey. The Krai Migration Service redeemed 22
dwellings. Another 70 families from Krymsk District and 30 families
from Abinsk District (totally 500 persons) are already going to leave.
N.I.Kharchenko thanked Professor Lars Hansen and his colleague, the
Head of the UNO Legal Directorate Adriano Silvestri**, who visited the
Krai earlier with a similar mission, for the understanding the
position of the Krai Administration and for essential financial
assistance of the UNO for solving the problem of voluntary
resettlement of the Meskhetian Turks.
During the conversation the Deputy Head of the Krai Administration
N.I.Kharchenko expressed his gratitude to the Minister of
Nationalities Affairs of Russian Federation E.S.Sapiro, Deputy
Minister V.A.Bauer, and a Department Head of this Ministry N.F.Bugai,
who are rendering significant assistance and support to the Krai
Administration in solving this problem, which is sharp for Kuban.
Press Service of the Krai Administration
* AKCA is a paramilitary nationalist organisation with semi-official
status in the Krasnodar krai, the representatives of which occupy
influential positions within the krai administration. - A.O.
** A wrong definition. Adriano Silvestri is the Head of Protection
Unit within the Office of Regional Representative UNHCR Moscow. - A.O.
--------------------------------------------
I should remind that the Meskhetian Turks (Meskhetians) are the
persons, belonging to a small Turkish-speaking Muslim ethnic group,
who fled from Uzbekistan and sought asylum in Krasnodar territory
(Krasnodarski krai) of southern Russia in 1989-1990. More than 12,000
Turks were arbitrarily deprived by the regional authorities of
residence permission ('propiska' in the Soviet period, or registration
by a place of residence since 1993) and, respectively, of the basic
civil, political and social rights. The Administration of the
Krasnodar krai also does not consider them to be the RF citizens
contrary to the federal law "On Citisenship in Russian Federation".
The regional authorities overtly confirmed, that they had negative
attitude against the settlement of this ethnic group as such within
the krai, and a strategy of "squeezing" the Meskhetians out of the
krai's territory was publicly announced many times. This summer the
regional administration started to purchase Turkish dwellings to evict
Meskhetians to Turkey without any agreement on this matter with the
Turkish government. Meanwhile, Meskhetian Turks were displaced in 1944
from Southern Georgia and have no links with Turkey itself.
What is the actual content of the article from "Kubanskiye Novosti"?
1. The regional administration stands for resettlement of Meskhetian
Turks and asserts that this is the only way of solving the "problem".
2. Regional authorities declare that there are no discord between
UNHCR and them.
3. UNHCR grants funds to the local authorities for some purposes
related with Meskhetians and probably, for their displacement.
4. The paper tells about definite staff members or experts of UNHCR,
who are personally involved in the case.
As far as I know, money was really transferred by UNHCR to the local
administrations in Krasnodar krai for some migration-related purposes
without any preliminary conditions of implementing the Russian
legislation and international obligations of the country. The articles
like put above have been regularly published in the local newspapers
within the last year. As far as I know, UNHCR has been keeping silence
and never remonstrated against such publications and statements of the
regional administration. A position of this kind looks like a clear
support to the "solution" of the "problem" by "quiet" eviction of a
minority group. I would highly appreciate if anybody, who knows the
UNHCR machinery and the related matters, gives some comments on the
issue.
Alexander Ossipov,
programme manager,
The Memorial Human Rights Centre,
Maly Karetny per. 12, Moscow, 103051 Russia
tel. 7 095 282 08 16
fax 7 095 209 57 79
e-mail <[email protected]>
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