Addendum, February 5:
Otvorene Oci would like to apologize for the misrepresentation of the
Bosnian Assistant Ombudsman. In this report from February 3, we quoted
the said ombudsman as saying that he
denied that any intimidation of returning refugees was taking place.
This is not the case, he actually upheld the allegations of harassment
and intimidation as reported by UNCivPol the Tripartite Force and other
International Organizations working in the Velika Kladusa area.
The Situation in Velika Kladusa and the Kupljensko Refugee Camp
On 1 February the Croatian Special Police, accompanied by some members of the Croatian media, entered the Kupljensko refugee camp and arrested 69 people. The people were arrested as part of a pre-planned operation, and the police had a list of those they wanted to arrest. The Special Police were there as protection for the Croatian Financial Police who were there to enforce the Croatian "Law on the Regulation and Taxation of Businesses." The road-side trade stands, video cinemas, cafes, hairdressers and mobitel booths set up by the refugees were all closed and many goods and equipment were confiscated. In the eyes of the Croatian Financial Police the refugees were breaking the law. However, the refugees were never given any recourse to remedy this situation. The Croatian Financial Police has never made any attempt to regulate, register or otherwise normalise the traders in the camp. For some months now the refugees, along with the international organisations in the camp, have been trying to persuade the Croatian authorities to allow the establishment of legal businesses and kiosks in the camp. The Croatian authorities have never taken any steps towards this end before their operation on 1 February. Twenty of the refugees arrested have been forcibly repatriated back to Velika Kladusa, twenty others returned to the camp, and the further twenty-nine are expected to be returned to Kladusa. No attempt has been made by the Croatian authorities to bring to trial those arrested.Apart from the tension created by this recent action on the part of the Croatian authorities, the situation in the camp remains relatively stable with the international organisations working towards improvements for the seven to eight thousand people who remain. A kindergarten has been established, as well as a mother and child medical unit, and Handicap International will establish a prosthetics programme in the camp. UNHCR hopes to provide "improvement in the quality of life," as it terms it, which will include education and social activity programmes. However, much depends on the Croatian authorities and whether they will allow such improvements to take place. As a UNHCR representative stated, "You know what we're facing, so we are not promising anything."
The main concern for both the refugees and the international organisations working in the camp is security. At the regular meeting between the international organisations from the camp and the refugee representatives on 1 February, the UNHCR representative stressed the need for refugees to be aware of the fact that there is restriction of movement for them. In January there were arrests of refugees who were found outside of the camp boundary by the Croatian Special Police. The UNHCR representative stated that although these arrests might eventually lead to refoulemant, back to Velika Kladusa, refoulement was a better conclusion for the refugees than being shot, which has been the case in the past. ECMM reports (ECMM Report no 3/96 ) that a refugee was shot dead on the 4 January while trying to escape the camp, according to the District Chief of Police in Vojnic. The Croatian Special Police opened fire on the man after he allegedly threw a grenade at the Special Forces. Other sources we have spoken to within the camp claim that the man was shot dead trying to smuggle black market goods into the camp and that there was no provocation on his part. The incident has been processed in the court in Karlovac and the matter is now closed for the Croatian authorities. The refugee representative Hrkic stated that the refugees were aware of the need for security in the camp and that they actively encouraged it. However, they would like to protest strongly against the Croatian Special Police and their handling of security, which they believe should be done humanely, not brutally as they feel the has been the case.
The flow of refugees from Kupljensko to Velika Kladusa has reduced substantially in January, and the small number of returns has lead UNHCR to cut their bus service to Velika Kladusa from the camp. At the same time, the situation in Velika Kladusa has deteriorated with returnees facing intimidation, threats and beatings by Bosnian soldiers, police and local residents. This has been confirmed by representatives of the Tripartite Police Force, UNCivPol and ICRC but denied by the Bosnian assistant ombudsman.
The Tripartite Force deployed to provide security for the returning refugees concede that abuses of returnees has occurred. The mandate of the Tripartite Force does not extend to investigating the activities of the military in the area, and they have no powers of arrest over the police. Many believe that the perpetrators of the harassment belong to the military. Therefore the extremely limited mandate of Tripartite Force virtually eliminates its ability to provide effective security for the returnees. Concern is also raised when it is reported by an ICRC representative in Kladusa that the Tripartite Commander did not know about the Vojnic Agreement, which guarantees amnesty for returnees, and that he has no concerns about the mobilisation of returnees, for as he puts it, "Of course they should be mobilised, they are Bosnian citizens".
UNCivPol are currently monitoring 56 cases in which abuse of returning refugees is being investigated.(UN SitRep 30 January). The commander of the UNCivPol in Kladusa believes that the harassment is reducing but concludes along with other international organisation in the area that there is a deliberate pattern to the abuses. The pattern follows that once a person has been targeted and beaten, they are left alone. Rumors abound that a list exists, and that once crossed off this list their "punishment " is finished. There is evidence also that there is one particular group which is carrying out these "punishment beatings".
Discrimination against the returnees is also occurring, according to an ICRC representative in Kladusa. It takes many forms, from the returnees having a different humanitarian aid card, to the head of housing in Kladusa stating that returnees "should not be entitled to state owned apartments because they fled as traitors". The situation in Velika Kladusa is bad, but there are many differing opinions as to how bad it actually is, even among the international organisations working there. One thing agreed upon by all, including the local authorities, is that the situation is not nearly as bad as was expected, considering the history of the conflict in this area.
Through the rumor mill and information brought into the camp by people who travel back from Kladusa, the refugees in Kupljensko hear what is happening in Velika Kladusa. They know that the areas where abuse of returnees is highest are the same areas where a large majority of them have there homes. This plays heavily in their decision whether or not to return home. Though accurate information on the situation at home has always been hard for the refugees to find in the Kupljensko camp, it will now be even more difficult for them, as the Croatian authorities have shut down the mobitel booths. Refugees can no longer contact their families directly.
Elizabeth Rehn, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, visited the Kupljensko and Velika Kladusa on Friday 2 February and pledged to help the people in the camp. What form this help will take remains to be seen.
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Otvorene Oci / Balkan Peace Team.