Winter Moving

According to the latest figures of the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees, there are currently 619 thousand refugees in Serbia: 365 thousand registered and 110 unregistered from the first wave of refugees three years ago; five thousand registered and 25 thousand unregistered refugees from Western Slavonia and two hundred thousand and 65 exiles from the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK).

The Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and the Refugee and Exile Reception Headquarters in October drew up a Program for Refugees (it has not yet been officially adopted), the first "strategic" plan which is to decide on the destiny of the refugees. Deputy of the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees, Vladimir Curguz, has outlined for "Vreme" the major points of the program:

- Provision of basic accommodation and food for 70-100 thousand refugees from RSK who are still in the first reception centers (gyms, culture centers, barracks).

- Formation of new collective centers (some 300), to be carried out together with UNHCR, is running more than three months late, according to Curguz.

- Benefits for host families who received refugees and exiled persons in their homes (through a reduction of heating, electric power and telephone bills).

- Assistance to all state institutions which are required to offer services to refugees and which are in a difficult situation (some of the health centers have refused to treat refugees because the Serbian Government did not pay them for such treatments in the past).

- Planned distribution of refugees and exiled persons throughout Serbia, so that all the regions would be equally burdened.

- Enabling the refugees and exiles to return to their homes, as achievements in peace talks are expected, after which the return would be possible. Curguz underscored that the "return is the only possible solution, because Serbia cannot sustain the burden of 700 thousand people, which is eight percent of its total population.

We have unofficially learned that there are some problems concerning the adoption of the program. This might lead to the resignations of some officials who have been in charge of the refugees. In the meantime, it started snowing. The implementation of the Serbian Government's Program for Refugees will cost 120 million Dinars a month and only nine percent is provided by international humanitarian organizations. Here is what Vladimir Curguz told "Vreme":

Why was little done before winter?

First of all because the state does not have the necessary means. For example, it costs 200 Dinars to move a family from Apatin to Knjazevac and there are 70 thousand people who should be moved. There is also a lack of understanding of the problem of refugees in Serbia. People are tired of it. This has been a long period of facing the problem.

How will the money for the program be provided?

Probably not through increased income taxes because this would burden those who have the least. Probably by increasing taxes on luxury goods, which would affect only the wealthiest and from budget reserves or savings.

What will happen with the 30 thousand refugees in Omarska near Banja Luka who are outdoors?

The Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have sent all the available goods to the Bosnian Serb Republic. We are not evading to give help, but these people are refugees in the Bosnian Serb Republic. There have been great migrations there from one territory to another and the leadership of the Bosnian Serb Republic bears the responsibility for the accommodation and care for these people. We are aware they cannot do much. International humanitarian agencies give half of their relief to them and the other half to us and it is quite clear that the inflow is not so great. The refugees who learned the lesson from the earlier migration wave are staying there because it is their last chance to be on their land. In this way they also contribute to the peace process.

Does the Program foresee a permanent resolution of the status of people who cannot or do not want to return to Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina?

The state may not, by any of its acts, prejudge or make decisions on behalf of these people, nor can it give them citizenship, as this would probably disenable them to ever return. Most of the newly formed states do not offer the possibility of double citizenship. Each state has the right to implement its citizenship policy and it must consider what is in the best interest of the state and its citizens.

In the appeals to the world at the end of last winter, the Commissioner said that if another winter came and the circumstances were the same, people would be dying. The winter has come.

The essential things have been provided and, despite the difficulties, I am an optimist, I believe no one will die because he is a refugee, but it's true that most of them will have nothing more than survival. The program should be adopted at the last moment so that the whole thing does not burst because of the tension. That's what I expect.