Für
eine Welt ohne Rassismus
Seit dem Beginn der Eskalation des Krieges in Kosov@ und der nachfolgenden Bombardierung Jugoslawiens durch die NATO enschieden sich viele Männer zur Flucht, zur Desertion. Dazu wurden sie u.a. von der NATO aufgefordert, die westlichen Staaten sehen allerdings gleichzeitig keinen Grund, jenen Menschen Asyl zu gewähren. Jene Fahnenflüchtige und Deserteure aus Serbien kamen vor allem nach Ungarn, wo die meisten in Flüchtlingslagern unter unmenschlichen Bedingungen leben. Die auf ein Jahr erteilten Duldungen der jugoslawischen Deserteure (kein einziger erhielt Asyl) stellen keine dauerhaften Schutz dar. Im Mai 1999 entstand die Idee des Projekts "Save House" , das von Bojan Aleksov initiiert wurde. Daraus entwickelte sich in Selbstorganisation die Gruppe "Seobe99", deren Eintragung als Verein von den ungarischen Behörden lange Zeit verhindert wurde. Jetzt haben sie eine Homepage http://seobe99.tripod.com
Why
I can´t go back to Yugoslavia
Zur Situation von Deserteuren aus Serbien in Ungarn 6. Juni 2000
Presse:
Why I can´t go back to Yugoslavia
I know that those who never deserted and left their country will never understand why I cant go back. At the beginning of all the circles of hell, which started in Yugoslavia in 1990., I made the decision that I will never particpate in any war, and so I made also the DECISION to leave the country and to never come back. What was obvious for me and for all those seeking political asylum, was not acceptable to the international community and the hungarian government - and that is a recognition of the status which belonged to us. It is now demanded of us to forget everything, as if nothing had ever happened. We all know what had happened: over 350 000 killed, more than 3 000 000 violently removed from their homes. Almost 10 million have the feeling of an immediate loss of something, of their beloved ones, of material goods. Some had supported that, others had approved it, and the third ones rationally opposed it. The latter ones were skillfully silenced. Some had consciously agreed to humiliation for "higher goals", while others were simply not aware. It is my belief, that every society represents a community, consisting of individual persons, who carry in themselves different views about happiness and bout the purpose of their lives. I start from that, that society is made of persons who manage their own ideas of nature and the way of achieving their understanding of happiness and act in different circumstances in accordance to their own beliefs, convictions or prejudices. I was not an opportunist, a conformist and a spinessless one. In the last ten years of the yugoslav crisis, I had not participated in any war.
I AM NOT AN EMIGRANT FOR
ECONOMIC REASONS.
My return to the country would draw with it a venturing into new uncertainty
and a danger for my own life. I am afraid of nobody, I am afraid that I may
become like them? A long-lasting state of pressure on my life and the inability
to control it has created a state of passive resistance mostly of a negative
tone. I still cant believe in the changes which have brought only weak hope
that everything will change itself from the roots. The goal which the EU had
set before itself only a decade ago, "to create a peaceloving, democratic and
united Europe" is today seen as a too ambitious and relatively short deadline.
Time has brought its correctives : Transition of the countries of Eastern Europe
is slower than forseen and the developed countries have developed faster, so
that higher barriers have been set for the joining or reception of new member
states. Western Europeans were less and less thrilled with the expansion of
Europe from the Atlantic to the Ural and the EU expansion procedure has grown
bureaucratically more and more complex. And while the eastern countries started
to understand that they would inavoidably have second-grade status in the new
family, a reasonable fear had developed in the west, from a flood of economic
immigrants and of infiltration by criminals. What has also appeared, I will
say it openly, is a special kind of xenophobia, based on the egoistic and jealous
guarding of the hardly earned priviledges. When developing peoples, such as
the slaves of the long gone pharaons, wouldnt had known how the "other side"
was living, maybe they would had continued their difficult lives, without moaning.
But the telecommunication sattelites and the world-wide television network have
put an end to that kind of ignorance. Will they accept the world in which a
half lives in freedom, and the other half in slavery, in which some do not know
what to do with all their plenty, while other cant afford the basics commodities.
Can it be expected that the protests of those people wont grow into local conflicts
and ever wider unrests.
The current state in Yugoslavia can be described like this:
* ZORAN LILIC (ex-president of Yugoslavia under Milosevic) "What is certain and what I know from my experience, because they had followed me before and they are following me now, is that SDB (secret service) has a very great influence on all events in Serbia. The fact that practically nothing has changed in that service, points to that, that Milosevic is still pulling the strings on state level. What can come out of case Markovic? - The elections in December, can in neither case suit SPS, SRS or SPO. They can suit only DOS, which points to the fact that there is some trade between somebody from SPS and somebody from DOS, not only on the issue of parliamentary elections, but also on the issue of of the presidential function in the republic itself. WHat DOS may not be aware of, is that they're falling into their own trap. There is no more government in this country. Neither the interim, nor the federal government are functioning and hold that this is all slowly leading into a dangerous situation and it is certain that great responsibility for that will fall on DOS."
* The statement of the chief of State Security of Serbia, Radomir Markovic, that he will not resign, is a pure provocation and a throwing of the glove into the face of the democratic public and a clear sign that the work is still not finished - said president of the Democratic Party and one of the DOS leaders, Zoran Djindjic. He assessed, that Markovic is trying to stop the democratic processes in the country and that his goal is the returning of Slobodan Milosevic to the political scene of Serbia.
* Why has Rade Markovic, the head of SDB, not yet removed from his position? This is the question which has been occupying the citizenry for the last few days, and to which there is no answer. Vojislav Kostunica, president of Yugoslavia, recently stated that he didnt request removals in the army and police, and that they should just do their jobs according to the law, which he confirmed in an interview to "Politika". Are the same people from the top levers of the "10-year regime" which had worked according to the rules of the family oligarchy, capable of changing their characters and becoming some other people and starting to act in accordance to the law ? Are some biographies being "washed", evidence destroyed? Are individuals buying their head and freedom by sucking up to the new government or does the new government not yet have the power and instruments to engage itself in cleaning up the inherited chaos in the country? Are there compromising evidence about some representatives of the new government, with which the ex-regime members are trying to trade? Bozidar Spasic, owner of the SIA agency and ex-highly positioned member of SDB, points out that there are legal mechanisms to remove Markovic and that this should be done immediately.
* A regime has been brought down in Serbia, and the new government has not yet taken root, nor come to the levers of power. The minister of internal affairs, Vlajko Stojiljkovic, has fallen, but his main associates are still in the game. The SDB technical apparatus is still working, and a document has been exposed to the public, about the following of Slavko Curuvija, the murdered chief editor of Dnevni Telegraf. Are Kostunica and DOS wrong when they do not remove Markovic, or do the law and the current disposition of forces do not allow them that? The idea of peaceful step-by-step changes is also legitimate in this state of vacuum and co-ministerial pat-position in the government of Serbia.
- Of course that Kostunica and DOS are wrong not to replace Markovic. The SDB technical apparatus is still working. Besides, there is a so-called bridge in the service. If there is a doubt that Slavko Curuvija was followed by the service immediately before his murder, which was a terrorist act (sanctioned by the federal law), the federal minister of internal affairs, Zoran Zivkovic, could replace Markovic Beside that, there are the elements of endangering the constitutional order. There are interpretations, which are not excluded, that Kostunica and the representatives of the new government have some silent deal with the representatives of the ex-regime, but it is difficult to say what kind it is. The power of the service is great and there may be also fear, that after removals it wouldnt be easy to find adequate men of sufficient quality to replace them.
But, I ask the question, where are now the arrests and why isnt SDB doing its job. There is talk from official positions, about possible sabotages in the EPS (electricity monopoly). Why wouldnt the service check what is really happening there. There is also the question who is in this moment the last user of the information at SDBs disposal. Demanding the removal of Vlajko Stojiljkovic has been justified with the same reasons as in the case of Markovic, who is still in his function. But, the dynamics of the removal is very important so as not to leave much time for a possible hiding of evidence, microfilming and removal of dossieurs, or simply their destruction. The unity with organised criminal should also not be forgotten, because many of the new rich, who were not on high positions, might keep certain levers of power.
- The sitation cant remain as it is. Those "ex" have the opportunity to open dossieurs, especially the ones which they want, microfilm them, remove or destroy them. Even recently, a man from the SPS, was appointed to a post in the service, in the name of the party. Of course, to destroy the appropriate evidence and similar. A selection will be made as to what of the dossieurs will be kept, which parts, and which not. Some will probably get published some time later. It is certain that those speaking of the collaboration of certain people from the new government with the ex-regime, will be kept. Even the people from the new government will be perhaps even more interested to see the dossieurs of their previously oppositional and now possitional colleagues, than those of the members of the ex-regime. Reports about the work of a part of the operatives (cops -transl.) will probably be saved as well. Kostunica and the new government have no power, the army is passive and the police is not under their control.
People from the "second"
and "third" line of the ex-nomenklatur are very dangerous, and they will also
be destroying evidence, keeping the financial power and acting as gray eminencies,
the men from the shadow. We already have sabotages in certain companies and
because of this it is very important to put SDB and its technics under control
in the shortest possible time. A proposition has been sent to the president
of Yugoslavia, for the forming of a federal council for the protection of the
constitutional order and a commission for controlling the work of SDB.
Is there actually a quiet and invisible fight of different interest groups for
gaining the position of the new elite? For those who get it first will have
in their possession terrible power, from the use which will depend the fate
of the country and of the citizens.
Markovic is "on the last
assignment of the chief of secret police". That means, that maybe not even by
his will he is playing the key role of the breaker of DOS. By this theory, among
"vukians" and "dosians", supposedly, there are many who would, sooner than quickly
removing Markovic, want to "remove" their own dossieurs from the archives of
the serbian secret police.
The chief of the secret police of Serbia, Radomir Rade Markovic still sits confidently
in his official armchair and watches spears breaking over his possition all
over the political scene. Both "deaf" and "blind" to the consequences of such
a stance, which has caused the crisis of the interim government in Serbia, shortly
before the december elections. There is also the news that Markovic supposedly
threatened the co-ministers of police, with mafia, during a conversation which
was about demanding his resignation and discovering more about the murder of
the journalist Slavko Curuvija. Supposedly, his acquaintances from the underground,
which are in his debt due to his proffesionalism, had called him to ask who
is making problems for him. Though, knowing about the political situation, we
emphasize that about the fate, that is, the resignation of Rade Markovic is
decided the least by himself - Rade Markovic. S. Milosevic would like to see
him in that position at least for a while still, with understandable reasons,
and the same could be said about the tops of SPS and JUL, who are no less worried
about their fates. Himself also worried, Markovic has, ignoring the hierarchy
he belongs to, offered his resignation ten days ago, but to president Vojislav
Kostunica and not to the state government which is in charge over the service.
As addition, just after the october changes, the chief of the secret police
had appeared before cameras of state television and said that he has put himself
in the position of the new president. The protests and conflicts started when
the spoken promise of SPS that Markovic would be removed a week after the forming
of the interim government, was broken. The loudest in the insistence on resignation
was the SPO, which has been accusing SDB and Markovic personally for the tragic
drama on the Ibar magistral, the armed attack on the the SPO-leader in Budva
this Sommer, and at the same time cant forgive the time when the married couple
Danica and Vuk Draskovic were arrested and torchered in jail.
DOS also doesnt contest the responsibility of Markovic for a series of unresolved murders with political background, starting from the chief of the resor of public security, Radovan Stojcic Badza, to the minister of army, Pavle Bulatovic, showing in this, a certain "wideness" - from those who would replace Markovic immediately, to the moderate ones, who are trying to act legalistically, even at the price of him staying at his current function. "Members of the army and police had, during the events on 5.October, when the people rose to defend its election will, acted alltogether sobberly. That is a fact which all must accept and which must be respected...
I have neither asked, nor am I asking for resignations of the heads of army and police. This demand was not mentioned in the agreement to which I am a guarantor. On the contrary, I asked from the army and police to work hardly in serving the people and the state, which they do...", stated president of FR Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica.
Some heads of DOS, such as Zoran Djindjic and Vladan Batic, are already racing in their sharp condemnations of president Kostunica, who they say is "protecting" Markovic, with Nebojsa Pavkovic, the head of the Generalstab (general headquarters) of VJ (Army of Yugoslavia). "The chief of SDB is not under the jurisdiction of the federal organs and I dont know what this statement is for. The law predicts precisely to whom Markovic is responsible and who may replace him", says president of the Demochristian Party of Serbia, Vladan Batic. President of the Democratic Party, Zoran Djindjic, concludes that it wouldnt be good if a chief of state went on the footsteps of Milosevic, who had SDB under his control", meaning primarily Markovic, "took his resignation to Kostunica, as if he didnt know whom he is supposed to take it to". All might had stayed on the level of verbal accusations, had not a secret document appeared in the public last week, concerning the following of the journalist Slavko Curuvija, up until the moment of his liquidation, which seriously accuses Rade Markovic and Milan Radonjic (head of SDB Belgrade). This report is the first firm trace pointing to the organisers and witnesses of the murder which happened more than a year and a half ago, and after which there was no investigation Even Rade Markovic, in answer to the demand of the collegium of ministers of internal affairs, confirmed that the document first the form of work of the service, but without the key answer if it was authentical or not. This he will probably have to tell the public prosecutor, who has formed a case on this issue.
* The public, actually, is just beginning to face the real proportions of the police repression under Slobodan Milosevic's regime. If Slavko Curuvija was followed, we can only presume who else was followed and why. Why is the SDB publicly more mystified than the "normal" police? According to the law and internal regulations, SDB's job is to protect the order, by applying the regulatively prescribed methods. But, paragraphs are one things and life and praxis another. With the erosion of the state, has come also the erosion of the service, which has turned from a well organised secret police, into a public disgrace about which even kids in elementary school are discussing - publicly.
Milosevic's Service cant be spoken about, without mentioning Markovic's predecessor Jovica Stanicic, who had spent seven years on the position of SDB chief (1991-98). Stanicic's climb could had been senced still in the tame of the disempowerment of SDB (october 1992), when he himself had played a significant role. His opponents claim that he had shown ambition from the very start, to take over the entire security system into his hands, which had brought to a conflict between the serbian and montenegrian SDB, an on the other side a conflict with military security system which was marginalised soon after. Still, it is highly unprobable that it was just about personal ambition, when it is known that he was Milosevic's most trusted man and that, probably, he made no move without Milosevic's knowledge. After all, he was surrounded with a kind of lobby, which, since the coming of Milosevic to power, no SDB chief was prepared to work without. This lobby had consisted of: Milorad Vucelic, Radovan Pankov, Mihalj Kertes and, the first violin among them, Brana Crncevic. "They were sitting in Kertes's cabinet abd meditating on different subjects, then Brana Crncevic would call Milosevic on the telephone to give a proposal, because he was the only one who dared, while Jovica Stanisic would tell it to Milosevic in more detail, afterwards", says a well informed person, about the situation in the old SDB.
It is not bad to be reminded, that SDB had, under the "command" of Jovica Stanisic, played an extremely suspicious role in Republika Srpska Krajina and in Republika Srpska, especially in the downfall of RSKs government. Very suspicious also is the forming of the unit for special application, later renamed to the unit for special operations (JSO), the so-called frenkies, or the red berets, for which those informed say that it was a parapolice unit both by composition and by task which it did. "It was, actually, a threat and sword for the internal enemy, meaning the opposition", says an ex-proffessional police officer. "From RSK through RS, to Kosovo and Metohija, The Service didnt perform its basic tasks, which is preventing the armament of separatists and the spreading of terrorist activities. It seems that the main task of The Service was - secret operations on account of the personal regime of Slobodan Milosevic". With the removal of Jovica Stanicic and the changes in The Service, which are brought with the new head of the resor of state security, Rade Markovic, has come a new "era" of The Service, whose end we are witnessing on this and the next days. Since the service exists, general-colonel Rade Markovic is only the thirds head of SDB in Serbia, which didnt come to that place from within the service, which is appaled at by his colleagues. The only thing which he quickly fit into, was the new "tradition" of surrounding oneself with a political lobby. First he was very obedient to the president of the Republic (S.Milosevic). He especially took care of Marko Milosevic. Later, a permanent surrounding was formed around him, including Goran Matic, Ivan Markovic, Gorica Gajevic, Uros Suvakovic and of course, Marko Milosevic. It is obvious that the service was turning from a purely SPS background, slowly to JUL. SPSs line was protected by the "weight" of one Uros Suvakovic, which had acquired a high position in The Service (head of the management for analytics and informatics). The public has already discovered that every printed thing in Serbia had to go through his hands first. The distribution of interesting materials was carried out by Suvakovic himself, first to Milosevic and Mira Markovic, then to chosen party comrades. He also put together different political pamphlets, most often published in the paper "Politika", under different pseudonims or as materials of the Tanjug agency. It is claimed that he publishes his most brutal texts immediately before elections, in which he insults the dignity of Vojislav Kostunica and signs the articles with the pseudonim U.R. His task was to, with a few associates, think up different affairs, like the "Spiders" and other "insects", which were so skillfully delivered to the public by Goran Matic. U his Service, Markovic can claim another curiousity. The third management within the resor of state security, better known as The Management for the internal enemy, had become the main and the biggest. There are claims that the number of people in The Service was more than doubled in comparisment to the time of Jovica Stanicic, when it counted around 2000 permanent employees. Even such human resources were insufficient for terrain work, so that the processing of "otporians" to which the mentioned lobbyists were pointing fingers, as foreign mercenaries and terrorists, was entrusted to the criminalistic police to form dossieurs about them.
Career
Radomir Rade Markovic is a Belgradian, born 1946., who started working in the police at the beginning of the seventies, at SUP Beograd, in the 9th department, which was then still used for following people for the needs of public security. Colleagues which remember him, say that he worked only by orders, without personal initiative. It was routine technical jobs, normally assigned to less successful inspectors (in that dept. were also the children of Svetomir Lalovic, then sec. of internal affairs of Serbia). When Nikola Curcic (current second in charge to Rade Markovic) became sec.of internal affairs, Rade started to hang out with him. At the same times, Nikola, through his brother Veljko Curcic, which had previously worked with Slobodan Milosevic in Beogradska Banka (and is now ambasador to Slovakia) establishes and deepens the link to Milosevic, a climbing politician. When Sloba needed someone to look after little Marko, Nikola entrusted this "assignment" to Rade Markovic. Already in 1988., Nikola Curcic gives Markovic the position of head of security department at airport "Beograd", although Rade didnt have the qualifications (he finished law faculty in the nineties). The position at the airport creates him the possibility to make favors to many, especially to members of "the family", which are later heavily repayed. Soon after Nikola Curcic had a heavy traffic accident, Markovic becomes the head of public security. He becomes head of SUP (regular police) Beograd. In those days, such a position was given only to people of the highest trust with Milosevic. Radovan Stojicic Badza removed him relatively quickly and set him to the position of assistent minister of internal affairs, for unimportant tasks. When ranks were introduced and the first seven generals made, Markovic was not one of them. Badza was killed in 1997. and Rade Markovic becomes assistent minister for criminality and gains the rank of general. Next year, after the removal of Jovica Stanisic, Rade is set as chief of the resor of state security, although he had no previous experience in that service.
Rudi Friedrich, Connection e.V. und Eva Rose, Bündnis 8. Mai, Münster
Zur Situation von Deserteuren aus Serbien in Ungarn
Ende Mai 2000 waren wir, Rudi Friedrich von Connection e.V. und Eva Rose vom Bündnis 8. Mai, Münster, für ein Wochenende zu einer Informationsreise in Ungarn. Wir besuchten dort Deserteure in einem Flüchtlingslager in Debrecen, die Selbsthilfegruppe der Deserteure in Buda-pest, führten Gespräche mit dem deutschen Konsulat, dem Helsinkikomitee und dem UNCHR und trafen Aktive des serbischen Netzwerkes zur Kriegsdienstverweige-rung.
Bestandsaufnahme
Nach Zahlen des Helsinkikomitees haben inzwischen annähernd alle Deserteure aus der Bundesrepublik Jugo-slawien, die Asyl beantragt haben, eine Duldung erhalten, nach Angaben des Helsinkikomitees insgesamt 1.400. Das heißt aber auch: bei allen Deserteuren wurde der Antrag auf Asyl abgelehnt. Von insgesamt 5.000 Flüchtlingen aus der Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien erhielten 37 Asyl, keiner von ihnen ist ein Deserteur. Die Duldung wurde oft mit den gleichen Argumenten erteilt, mit denen der Asylantrag abgelehnt wurde (drohende staatliche Verfolgung). Der Sozialdienst in den Flüchtlingslagern hatte die Betroffenen im Anschluss an die Entscheidung der ungarischen Flüchtlingsbehörde teilweise darauf hin-gewiesen, dass ein Widerspruch, der übrigens innerhalb von fünf Tagen erfolgen muss, selbst den minimalen Schutz einer Duldung in Frage stellen könnte, so dass viele aus Unwissenheit und ohne anwaltliche Beistandschaft diese Möglichkeit erst gar nicht wahrnahmen. Die Duldung wird in aller Regel für ein Jahr ausgesprochen. Sie beinhaltet die Möglichkeit, in einem Flüchtlingslager zu leben und dort Essen und in Notfällen eine medizini-sche Versorgung zu erhalten (siehe unten). Dem Gesetz nach ist es auch möglich, eine Arbeit aufzunehmen. Da damit aber oft die Bedingung verbunden ist, die ungari-sche Sprache zu können und alle Dokumente wie Zeug-nisse etc. offiziell, d.h. teuer, übersetzt werden müssen, gibt es praktisch niemanden, der wirklich legal arbeiten kann. Illegal aufgenommene Arbeit wird mit 8 bis 10 DM täglich (oder weniger) bezahlt.
Gravierender ist, dass die Duldung nur einen befriste-ten Schutz darstellt. Sie gewährt keine Möglichkeit, zu einem dauerhaften Aufenthalt zu kommen. Ein erneuter Asylantrag wäre zudem nur bei Vorliegen neuer Flucht-gründe möglich.
Das UNHCR hat sich zugunsten eines abgelehnten Asylantrags eines Deserteurs eingeschaltet und unterstützt den Widerspruch gegen die Entscheidung der ungarischen Flüchtlingsbehörde. Das UNHCR ist der Auffassung, dass ein großer Teil der Deserteure aus Jugoslawien Asyl erhalten müsste, weil sie sich einem völker-rechtswidrigen Krieg entzogen haben. Der von ihnen aufgegriffene Fall soll zugleich ein Präzedenzfall sein. Allerdings bleibt unklar, wie die eigentlich schon abgeschlos-senen Verfahren von Deserteuren wieder aufgenommen werden könnten.Eine weitere Möglichkeit für die jugoslawischen Deserteure, in Ungarn einen Flüchtlingsstatus zu erhalten, bestünde in einem Regierungsdekret. Angesichts der rechtskonservativen Regierung in Ungarn ist diese Mög-lichkeit eher unwahrscheinlich.
Im Flüchtlingslager in Debrecen
Nur mit großen Schwierigkeiten gelang es uns, Deserteu-re im Flüchtlingslager in Debrecen, im Osten Ungarns, zu besuchen. Alle Gäste benötigen eine Genehmigung der staatlichen Flüchtlingsbehörde. Diese wurde uns zunächst verwehrt, schließlich für den falschen Tag ausgestellt, so dass wir am Eingang länger mit den vorhandenen Sicher-heitskräften diskutieren mussten, um Einlass zu erhalten. Das Flüchtlingslager ist mit Stacheldraht bewehrt. In De-brecen sind es ehemalige sowjetische Kasernen. Flücht-linge können zwar tagsüber das Lager verlassen, wenn sie ihren Lagerausweis an der Pforte hinterlegen, ohne Genehmigung nicht aber über Nacht. Das Essen wird von den Behörden zur Verfügung ge-stellt. An dem Wochenende, als wir in Debrecen waren, gab es kein warmes Essen, das ansonsten meist aus Reis oder Nudeln mit etwas Fleisch besteht. Die zuge-teilten Lebensmittel waren äußerst knapp bemessen und beinhalteten auch keinerlei Obst oder Gemüse. Kinder erhalten das gleiche Essen wie Erwachsene. Zusätzlich dazu erhält jeder Flüchtling pro Monat umgerechnet 20 DM.
Die Lebenshaltungskosten in Ungarn sind nicht we-sentlich geringer als in Deutschland. Für die Monatskarte, die man braucht, um mit dem Bus in die Stadt zu kom-men, zahlen die Flüchtlinge von ihrem Taschengeld ca. 8 DM. Die sanitären Einrichtungen sind in einem katastro-phalen Zustand. Von den wenigen Duschen in dem von uns aufgesuchten Block hatten lediglich zwei warmes Wasser, so dass 500 Flüchtlinge sich diese teilen müs-sen. Die Toiletten waren nicht abschließbar, total ver-dreckt, und von ca. 20 Waschbecken hatte ein einziges einen Wasserhahn. Eine medizinische Versorgung gibt es nur in besonders dringenden Fällen. Es gibt kein Be-schäftigungsprogramm im Lager, die Flüchtlinge sind zur Passivität gezwungen, es sei denn, sie finden (illegale) Arbeit. Gewöhnlich sind 6 Personen auf einem Zimmer unter-gebracht. Familien wird dabei kein eigenes Zimmer zuge-standen. Lediglich unter der Hand ist es ihnen möglich, gegen einen Geldbetrag von bis zu 50 DM pro Monat, ein eigenes Zimmer zu erhalten. In den Flüchtlingsunterkünften gibt es keine Küche. Das warme Essen wird zentral gebracht. Falls Flüchtlinge sich selbst etwas kochen wollen, müssen sie sich dafür entsprechende Gerätschaften besorgen.
Ihre rechtlose Stellung dokumentiert sich auch an ei-nem weiteren Beispiel, das uns die Deserteure schilder-ten: einem der Flüchtlinge war es gelungen, von der ka-nadischen Botschaft ein Visum zu erhalten, um nach Ka-nada auszuwandern. Nach insgesamt eineinhalb Jahren fragte er in der Botschaft nach und erhielt zur Antwort, dass das Visum längst versandt worden sei. Er ging dar-aufhin zum Sozialdienst und verlangte die Herausgabe des Visums und erhielt es schließlich auch, nachdem es monatelang zurückgehalten worden war. Der zuständige Sozialarbeiter wurde zwar entlassen, aber das Helsinki-komitee bestätigte uns die weiterhin schlechten Be-dingungen des Lagers. Zwei Mal in der Woche gibt es die Möglichkeit, sich von einem/r VertreterIn des Helsinkikomitees beraten zu lassen. Zwei Anwälte arbeiten dafür in Debrecen. Aller-dings lassen sie sich oft von StudentInnen vertreten. Zu-dem sind sie offensichtlich vollkommen mit der Zahl der Flüchtlinge überfordert. Insgesamt dürften mehr als Tau-send Flüchtlinge in Debrecen leben, viele davon aus Af-ghanistan und anderen Ländern.
Die von uns besuchten jugoslawischen Flüchtlinge hatten aus Eigeninitiative ihr Zimmer renoviert, um sich zumindest eine freundlichere Umgebung zu verschaffen. Unter ihnen waren neben Deserteuren, die 1998/99 ge-flüchtet waren, auch ein Kriegsdienstverweigerer, der erst nach dem Krieg um den Kosovo vor der Einberufung zum regulären Militärdienst geflüchtet war. Ein Bosnier, der bis heute nicht zurückkehren konnte, lebt jetzt im sechsten Jahr im Lager. In dieser menschenunwürdigen Situation, ohne Aus-sicht auf irgendeine Verbesserung ihrer Lage, werden die Flüchtlinge hoffnungslos und passiv. Es erstaunt nicht, dass jede Möglichkeit genutzt wird, dieses Lager zu ver-lassen. Allerdings heißt das in der Konsequenz auch, dass der ungarische Staat ihnen keinerlei soziale Unter-stützung mehr gewährt. Diese ist an den Aufenthalt im Flüchtlingslager gebunden.
Zur Arbeit der Selbsthilfegruppe
Zu Beginn wurde das Projekt von Bojan Aleksov als "Haus für Deserteure" initiiert. Eine Wohnung wurde an-gemietet, um Deserteuren Obdach geben und auch politi-sche Aktivitäten initiieren zu können. Davon profitierten Deserteure unterschiedlicher ethnischer Herkunft. Es ge-lang darüber, eine größere Gruppe von Deserteuren und ihren Familien zu finden, die Interesse an einer gemein-samen Arbeit haben. Einbezogen wurden auch einige Deserteure aus den Flüchtlingslagern. Nach einigen Monaten wurde diese Struktur aufgelöst. Bei einem Treffen entschieden die Deserteure, dass es sinnvoller wäre, wenn jeder auf eigene Faust eine Unter-kunft sucht und die Unterstützung als soziale Hilfe verteilt wird. Zudem sah man dadurch die Möglichkeit, die Miete für die Wohnung für das Projekt zu sparen. Außerdem stellte es sich als schwierig heraus, zu entscheiden, wer von dem Wohn-Angebot eigentlich profitieren solle und wer ausgeschlossen bleiben musste. So entschied die Gruppe, allen Deserteuren, für die es notwendig ist, eine minimale soziale Unterstützung aus-zuzahlen. Sie gründeten einen Verein, bestimmten einen Koordinator, der diese Auszahlung regelmäßig vornimmt und wählten ein Gremium, dass über Neuaufnahmen oder auch über die Beendigung dieser sozialen Unterstützung entscheidet.
Grundsätzlich erhalten demnach bei Bedürf-tigkeit Einzelpersonen umgerechnet etwa 80 DM pro Mo-nat, Familien 150-200 DM pro Monat. Dieser Betrag reicht keineswegs aus, um damit die Lebenshaltungskosten zu bestreiten. Es ist praktisch ein Sockelbetrag, der helfen soll, die dringendsten Bedürfnisse zu erfüllen. Da es schwierig ist, die Kontakte zu den Deserteuren in den Flüchtlingslagern zu halten und diese dort eine (schlech-te) Versorgung erhalten, gibt es nur eine Familie aus den Flüchtlingslagern, die an dieser Verteilung beteiligt ist. Alle anderen leben in Budapest oder in der Nähe von Bu-dapest. Von dieser Hilfe ausgeschlossen wurden Deserteure, die über finanzielle Ressourcen (z.B. Arbeit) verfügen oder nicht an den regelmäßigen Treffen der Gruppe teil-nehmen. Desweiteren wurde von ihnen definiert, dass nur diejenigen Deserteure oder Verweigerer an der Gruppe partizipieren können, die einen Asylantrag bei der ungari-schen Flüchtlingsbehörde gestellt und für die Gruppe eine Art Biographie zusammengestellt haben.
Die Gruppe selbst hat sich den Namen "Seobe 99" gegeben. ‚Seobe' ist ein bekanntes Buch über die Emi-gration von Serben nach Ungarn vor zweihundert Jahren. Die Gruppe trifft sich regelmäßig, um ihre weiteren Akti-vitäten zu besprechen. Ihr vorrangiges Ziel ist es, entwe-der weiterzuwandern oder direkt in Ungarn einen sicheren und dauerhaften Aufenthalt zu bekommen. Bedauerli-cherweise haben sich bislang nur Einzelpersonen aus Ungarn gefunden, von denen sie mit ihren Anliegen un-terstützt werden. Es fehlen ihnen gute Rechtsanwälte und ungarische Organisationen, die sie beraten und unterstüt-zen könnten. Kontakt zu weiteren Deserteuren gibt es über in Bu-dapest tätige Organisationen, über Ämterbesuche, per-sönliche Kontakte, über die serbische Gemeinde. Die Gruppe bietet bislang keine Beratung an, da ihnen sowohl eine offizielle Adresse, wie ein Büro dafür fehlt. Ihre Ver-suche, über eine andere Organisation einen Raum zu erhalten, schlugen bisher fehl. Nach einer langen Phase, in der fast niemand von ih-nen öffentlich auftreten wollte, hat sich dies inzwischen gewandelt. Sie geben zahlreiche Interviews und machen ihre Situation publik. Interviews wurden in monitor, auf Canal+ und von verschiedenen Radiostationen gesendet. Bislang treten sie allerdings persönlich und nicht im Na-men der Gruppe auf, da der Verein bislang nicht offiziell eingetragen wurden und sie im Falle öffentlicher Aktivitä-ten des Vereins eine Ablehnung der Registrierung be-fürchten. Mit der Eintragung des Vereins erhoffen sie sich, ein Büro einrichten zu können, den Austausch mit den Deserteuren in den Flüchtlingslagern zu verbessern, besser erreichbar zu sein und mit mehr Gewicht ge-genüber den ungarischen Behörden und dem UNHCR auftreten zu können. Ihr größtes Problem ist daher im Moment die fehlende Registrierung durch die ungarischen Behörden. Da diese verschleppt wird, haben wir internationale Unterstützung zugesagt und hoffen, dieses Problem in den nächsten Wochen lösen zu können.
Besuch in der deutschen Botschaft
Inzwischen gibt es sieben Städte in Deutschland, die beschlossen haben, Deserteure aufzunehmen. Allerdings gelang es bislang nur in Münster, diesen Beschluss bei zwei Personen umzusetzen. Die Probleme fingen schon bei der deutschen Botschaft in Budapest an: Kam ein Deserteur mit einem Einladungsschreiben einer Stadt zur Botschaft, um ein Visa zu beantragen, wurde er vom Pförtner abgewiesen. Wir sprachen daher mit der Leiterin der Visastelle, um in Zukunft einen direkten Kontakt zu haben und zu hören, nach welchen Kriterien dort die Anträge behandelt werden. Sie verwies uns auf die notwendige Prüfung "humanitärer Gründe" nach § 30 Abs. 1 des AuslG. Damit seien also nur Fälle gemeint, die aus der Masse der Deserteure herausragten. Wir kennen diese Definition auch von deutschen Gerichten. Auch wenn die Situation für alle noch so schlecht ist, der jeweilige Antragsteller muss noch schwerwiegendere Gründe vorweisen, um etwas zu erreichen. Dennoch halten wir es für möglich, mit gut begründeten Anträgen und entsprechender politischer Unterstützung aus Deutschland weitere Deserteure einzuladen.
Netzwerk zur Kriegsdienstverweigerung in Serbien
Vom 5.-7. Mai fand in Studenica, Südserbien, ein Treffen zur Kriegsdienstverweigerung statt. In Budapest hatten wir die Gelegenheit, Näheres dazu vom Koordinator für das Netzwerk zur Kriegsdienstverweigerung zu hören. An dem Seminar nahmen 60 Personen aus 19 Städ-ten teil. Ausführlich wurde über die Bedeutung der Kriegsdienstverweigerung, gewaltfreies Handeln und Friedenspolitik diskutiert. Die TeilnehmerInnen verein-barten schließlich, an allen Orten Aktionen zum Interna-tionalen Tag der Kriegsdienstverweigerung, dem 15. Mai, durchzuführen. An dem Tag wurden daraufhin mehrere Tausend Flugblätter, Plakate und Aufkleber über ganz Serbien verteilt: "Ich will keinen Krieg, ich will keine Ge-walt, ich will Kriegsdienstverweigerung!" Desweiteren forderten die TeilnehmerInnen die Verabschiedung eines Amnestiegesetzes in Jugoslawien sowie die Aufnahme von Deserteuren, die ins Ausland geflohen sind. Inzwischen ist es in Serbien wieder möglich, Öffent-lichkeitsarbeit für die Kriegsdienstverweigerung durch-zuführen. Repressionen erfolgten insbesondere bei öffentlichen Aktionen gegen Rekrutierungen oder bei Berichten über die Korruption des Regimes. Allerdings sehen die Aktiven große Schwierigkeiten für die Ver-abschiedung eines Amnestiegesetzes. Es ist im Par-lament keine Partei in Sicht, die einen solchen Antrag unterstützen würde. Zum 15. Mai wurde auch eine weitere Ausgabe von ‚prigovor', der Zeitung zur Kriegsdienstverweigerung, veröffentlicht. Diese lag zum einen einer anderen Zeitung mit einer Auflage von 8.000 Exemplaren bei, 2.000 wur-den vom Netzwerk selbst verteilt. Eine weitere Ausgabe mit Berichten zu den Aktionen am 15. Mai ist in Arbeit und soll in zwei Monaten erscheinen.
Weitere Schritte
Es zeigt sich sehr deutlich, dass die Deserteure aus der Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien von der NATO lediglich be-nutzt wurden. Aus der massenhaften Verbreitung von Flugblättern durch die NATO, in denen zur Desertion auf-gerufen wurde, resultierte keinerlei Hilfe. Ein Skandal, den die Deserteure in Ungarn immer wieder anklagen. Kurz nach der Rückkehr nach Deutschland konnten wir der Deserteursgruppe "Seobe 99" in Budapest weite-re Kontakte zu Medien vermitteln. In den nächsten Wo-chen wird vor allen Dingen die Eintragung in das ungari-sche Vereinsregister vorangetrieben werden - mit inter-nationaler Unterstützung. Vorgesehen ist, dass die Grup-pe eine Selbstdarstellung vorbereitet, sich einen Raum sucht, sich um Equipment für ein Büro kümmert, um nach der Registrierung ihre Arbeit wirklich offiziell aufnehmen zu können.
Das deutsche Innenministerium hatte im April den Be-arbeitungsstopp der Anträge von Deserteuren und Ver-weigerern aus der Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien aufgeho-ben und zugleich darauf hingewiesen, dass sie einen Flüchtlingsschutz erhalten müssten. Dieser Schritt war überfällig. Es wird sich aber erst in der Praxis zeigen, was er wert ist. Viele Verweigerer können nur schwer nach-weisen, dass sie sich einer konkreten Einberufung entzo-gen haben. Dabei ist klar, dass zu dieser Zeit wahllos auf Plätzen, Straßen, in Bussen kontrolliert und Wehrpflichti-ge rekrutiert wurden. Es stellt sich auch die Frage, wie mit denjenigen umgegangen wird, die bislang nur eine Dul-dung durch die Ausländerbehörden erhielten und noch keinen Asylantrag stellten. Noch immer gibt es Deserteure aus der Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien, denen der Schutz verwehrt wird. Gerade in den letzten Wochen wendeten sich Flüchtlinge an uns, die sich zwischen 1991 und 1995 dem Militärdienst entzogen oder desertierten. Trotz Am-nestiegesetz haben sie Haftstrafen zu befürchten. Offizie-re waren von der Amnestie ausgenommen, ein Flüchtling hat sogar inzwischen die Anklageschrift erhalten. Wir werden die Entwicklung weiter beobachten und Flüchtlin-ge in ihren Verfahren unterstützen.
Einige deutsche Städte (nach Münster jetzt Rostock, Freiburg und Bonn) haben weitere Einladungen ausge-sprochen, die in den nächsten Wochen umgesetzt werden sollen. Initiativen aus Göttingen und München werden folgen, in einer Reihe anderer Städte gibt es Vorbereitun-gen für ähnliche Beschlüsse. Am 17. und 18. Juni wird in Münster eine Fachtagung stattfinden, damit die Initiativen sich austauschen und gemeinsame politische Aktivitäten entwickelt werden können. Auch wenn uns die Stellungnahme vom Innen-ministerium für die Gruppe von Deserteuren, die im Zu-sammenhang mit dem Kosovo-Krieg in Deutschland einen Asylantrag gestellt haben, freut, es wird noch ein weiter Weg sein, dass die Entscheidung von Kriegsdienstver-weigerern, sich den Verbrechen eines Krieges zu entzie-hen, die eigene Entscheidung vor den Gehorsam des Militärs zu stellen und dem eigenen Gewissen zu folgen, wirklich respektiert wird. Weiterhin ist die Kriegsdienst-verweigerung kein Asylgrund. Immer noch werden viele Kriegsdienstverweigerer aus anderen Ländern abgelehnt, abgeschoben, den Kriegsherren wieder ausgeliefert.
(Rudi Friedrich und Eva Rose: Zur Situation von Deserteuren aus Serbien in Ungarn. 6. Juni 2000)
Spenden für das Projekt werden erbeten auf Konto 70 85 703, Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, BLZ 370 20 500 Connection e.V., Gerberstr. 5, D-63065 Offenbach, Tel.: +49-69-82375534, Fax: +49-69-82375535
DER STANDARD, 20.
Juni 2000
"Wir
wollen keine Gnade, wir wollen eine Chance"
Wohin mit uns, fragen serbische Deserteure und erhalten keine Antwort
Gerhard Plott
Wien - "Da protestierst Du jahrelang gegen Milosevic, dann sollst Du zur
Armee und in seinem Namen im Kosovo kämpfen, und
schließlich fielen dann auch noch die Nato-Bomben. Das reichte." Milomir
Mostic flüchtete via Sarajewo nach Budapest, seine Eltern
blieben in der Kleinstadt Lazarevac südlich von Belgrad zurück. Milorad lebt
heute noch gemeinsam mit acht Landsleuten in einer
Budapester Zweizimmerwohnung und kann nicht zurück: Er wird als Deserteur in
Serbien gesucht, darauf stehen fünf bis zwanzig Jahre
Gefängnis. Rund 40.000 junge Serben sind mit einer Klage wegen Fahnenflucht
konfrontiert, schätzt Milorad.
Mit viel Glück bekam er damals in Budapest eine Aufenthaltsbewilligung, die
auf ein Jahr befristet war. In wenigen Wochen laufen diese
Fristen nun ab, und niemand, weder die Budapester Behörden noch die internationalen
Organisationen, weiß, was mit den Deserteuren
passieren soll, klagt der 34-jährige Serbe: "Irgendwer muss uns helfen,
wir wollen ja keine Gnade oder Wohltätigkeiten, wir wollen eine
Chance."
Nato-Flugblätter
Schließlich habe die Nato Flugblätter abgeworfen und zur Fahnenflucht aufgerufen:
"Bleibt hier und riskiert Kopf und Kragen, oder
flüchtet, so schnell Ihr könnt. Die Entscheidung liegt bei Euch", stand
auf den Zetteln. Im Fall eines Nato-Bodenangriffs wäre die
Generalmobilmachung aller Männer ab dem 14. Lebensjahr verkündet worden, betont
Milomir.
In Ungarn ist Milorad genauso wie seine rund 400 serbischen Schicksalsgenossen
nicht als Flüchtling anerkannt. Außer von einer
deutschen Hilfsorganisation und Amnesty International, von denen er umgerechnet
rund 500 Schilling bekommt, erhält er keine
Unterstützung. Und das ist zum Leben zu wenig. Arbeiten will er, doch bei der
hohen Arbeitslosigkeit in Ungarn ist das ein fast
aussichtsloses Unterfangen, zumal seine Ungarischkenntnisse bescheiden sind.
Ausreisen wollte er, doch es scheitert an den fehlenden Papieren: "Die
Behörden schicken uns immer eine Tür weiter", niemand
kümmere sich um sie. Auch die US-Botschaft erklärte sich für unzuständig.
Dabei sei ihm gar keine andere Wahl als die Desertion geblieben, sich vor der
allgegenwärtigen serbischen Geheimpolizei zu verstecken
war unmöglich: "In einer Kleinstadt kennt jeder jeden, die hätten mich
auch aus dem Kaffeehaus heraus verhaftet." Sein Freund sei
krankheitshalber um zwei Wochen zu spät eingerückt und habe dafür nach dem Kosovo-Krieg
ein Jahr Gefängnis ausgefasst. Als dieser
das Urteil beeinspruchte, verdonnerte ihn der Richter im zweiten Prozess zu
zwei Jahren, erzählt Milomir.
In Wien will der junge Serbe die Öffentlichkeit auf das Schicksal der serbischen
Deserteure aufmerksam machen, er wandert von
politischer Partei zu Partei und hofft auch vor Regierungsbeamten Gehör zu finden.
Presse-Erklärung
"Krieg darf kein Mittel der Politik sein" -
auf diese gemeinsame Haltung einigten sich die rund 60 Teilnehmer einer Veranstaltung am Sonnabend, dem 11. Dezember 1999, im Waldemarhof in Rostock. Dazu eingeladen hatten die Initiatoren des Aufrufes "Krieg ist kein Mittel der Politik", mit dem sich im Frühjahr 1999 viele Menschen aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und darüber hinaus gegen die Militätintervention der NATO gewandt hatten. Die Veranstaltung beschäftigte sich mit Folgen der NATO-Intervention in Jugoslawien, über die heute kaum in der Öffentlichkeit gesprochen wird. Drei Themen standen zur Diskussion: Die Vertreibung der Roma nach dem Krieg aus dem Kosovo; die Situation der Deserteure aus Jugoslawien; die von der NATO eingesetzten Waffen und ihre Auswirkungen für die Zivilbevölkerung. Die Teilnehmer der Veranstaltung beschlossen, die Deserteure aus Jugoslawien zu unterstützen und bildeten dafür das Komitee "Gastfreundschaft für Deserteure". Trotz der zahlreichen Flugblätter, mit denen die NATO während des Krieges zur Desertion aufgerufen hatte, interessiert sich heute offiziel kein NATO-Land für deren Schicksal. Auch von der BRD aus waren Flugzeuge gestartet, um Flugblätter mit diesem Aufruf über Jugoslawien abzuwerfen. Die genaue Zahl der Deserteure ist nicht bekannt. Nach Schätzungen von Amnesty International geht es um mindestens 30.000 Kriegsdienstverweigerer; manche halten sich in Jugoslawien versteckt, viele leben illegal in Ungarn, Mazedonien oder anderen Ländern. Auf der Veranstaltung verlasen die zwei anwesenden Deserteure einen Aufruf an die Öffentlichkeit, in dem sie auf die untragbare Situation der Deserteure hinwiesen und um Unterstützung in jeder Form baten. In Ungarn haben sie mit anderen das "Haus der Deserteure" geschaffen, um den Tausenden eine Kontaktstelle zu bieten. Sie versuchen, einzelnen materiell zu helfen und vor allem, ihre Situation in der Öffentlichkeit bekannt zu machen. In der BRD wird ihre Initiative bisher von dem Verein "Connection e.V." aus Offenbach unterstützt. Daß die beiden Deserteure in Rostock öffentlich auftreten konnten, verdanken sie der Stadt Münster, die sie aufgenommen hat. Volker Maria Hügel von Pro Asyl erklärte dazu, daß Deserteure in Deutschland kein Asyl erhalten, und die Stadt nur die Einreise nach Deutschland ermöglichen konnte, indem sie sich bereit erklärt hat, für die Kosten der beiden jungen Männer aufzukommen. Er bezeichnete den Beschluß von Münster eine symbolische Initiative, der möglichst viele Städte und Gemeinden in Deutschland folgen sollten. Nur so könne die Verfolgung der Deserteure bekanntgemacht werden, um schließlich auch den Bund und die Länder zu einer anderen Haltung zu bewegen. In Freiburg/Breisgau, Bonn und Osnarbrück werden bereits ähnliche Initiativen in den Gemeinderäten besprochen. Die Versammlung im Waldemarhof beschloß, in Mecklenburg Vorpommern eine breite Unterstützung für die Deserteure aus Jugoslawien zu suchen. Das Komitee "Gastfreundschaft für Deserteure" wurde dafür gegründet. Die Versammlung erklärte sich auch solidarisch mit denjenigen, die deutsche Soldaten während der NATO-Intervention zur Befehlsverweigerung aufgerufen haben und deshalb heute vor Gericht stehen. Bei der Eröffnung der Ausstellung "Wo ist die Wahrheit über den Krieg?", die vom 15. Dezember 1999 bis zum 15. Januar 2000 in der Marienkriche von Rostock zu sehen ist, rief das Komitee vor allem Schulen und Jugendgruppen auf, sich hier über den Krieg in Jugoslawien zu informieren.
Die Deserteure aus Jugoslawien brauchen gerade auch die Unterstützung junger Menschen in anderen Ländern, denn es geht um ihre gemeinsame Zukunft.
Das Initiativkomitee des Aufrufes "Krieg ist kein Mittel der Politik" Reinhard Knisch, DGB-Kreisvorsitzender, Rostock, Dr. Jens Langer, Pastor von St. Marien, Dr. Fred Mahlburg, Leiter der Evangelischen Akademie Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Barbara Rachor, Europäisches Bürgerforum, Stubbendorf Rostock, den 16. 12. 1999
The Guardian, Wednesday December 22, 1999
As bombs fell on Belgrade, Nato called for Yugoslav soldiers to turn against Milosevic. Thousands deserted and fled to Hungary. Now they are trapped - facing prison back home but denied visas by the very countries that urged them to rebel.
Veronique Mistiaen meets the 'forgotten resisters' of the Kosovo conflict
Last year Goran, a 28-year-old Serbian technician, was building a ranch with his father, mother and sister on a beautiful plot in the Yugoslav countryside. Today he is sitting on the lower bunk of an iron bed in a dank room he shares with four young men and a middle-aged woman at the refugee camp in Debrecen in eastern Hungary. His horizon ends on rows of dilapidated barracks surrounded by barbed wire. Only clothes hanging to dry in every room - and outside in the snow - bring a twirl of colour to his bleak environment. All day, Goran sits on his thin foam mattress, staring into space, reading, dreaming and sinking deep into despair; there is nothing else to do at the former Soviet army base turned "reception centre" for some 1,000 asylum seekers from all over the world. Goran, his roommate Dejan, an electrical engineer, and dozens of other Serbs and ethnic Hungarians ended up in this dreary place because they opposed Slobodan Milosevic's policies and refused to fight in the military against Kosovo Albanians. They are among the thousands of young men who instead chose to flee their country, leaving behind family, friends, home and job. Now they are paying a heavy price. These deserters and draft evaders - many of whom sought refuge in Hungary, the sole Nato country bordering theirs - are seen as traitors at home and face lengthy prison sentences if they go back. Hungarian authorities don't recognise them as refugees, and not one of the Nato countries that fought Milosevic has opened its doors to them. These young men, sometimes accompanied by wife and children, live in limbo - stranded in refugee camps or surviving in overcrowded and inadequate private accommodation in Hungary. In the words of Amnesty International, they are the "forgotten resisters" of the Kosovo war. "Throughout the conflict in Kosovo, Nato member states made repeated calls to those serving in the Yugoslav military to resist their lead ership," says Brian Phillips of Amnesty International, one of the few organisations campaigning on their behalf. "Now the men who - often at great personal risk - heeded these calls and the prompting of their consciences find themselves in urgent need of protection. But the governments who issued the calls to resistance appear to take little interest in the uncertain future facing these men." It is hard to know how many deserters and draft evaders may be in this predicament, as many entered Hungary illegally or with tourist visas, or haven't applied for asylum. "Although newspapers have reported different figures - up to 20,000 - nobody, including the authorities, knows how many Yugoslavs are currently in Hungary," says Lorenzo Pasquali, deputy representative for the United Nations high commission for refugees (UNHCR) in Budapest. Amnesty International and other human rights organisations estimate their numbers in the thousands. On March 31, a few days after Nato started bombing Serbia, the military police came to Goran's house to deliver his draft papers. Luckily, he was out, and his sister was able to warn him over the telephone. Goran had already made up his mind. "I knew the risks. Milosevic had declared a state of war and the borders were closed," says the tall, dark-haired man in hesitant but clear English. "But I didn't agree with his senseless policies. I had always opposed him. I wasn't going to serve in his war. I would never go to war." So he grabbed a change of clothes, a piece of bread, his passport and some meagre savings and took off through fields and woods across what refugees call the "green border" - the smuggling route into Hungary. Goran was "overjoyed" when he crossed the border. "I felt so optimistic. I thought my worries were behind me." But he was soon picked up by Hungarian border patrolmen and sent to two different refugee camps before ending up at Debrecen. There, he was told his application for asylum had been refused for lack of evidence. Now after almost a year in camps awaiting a decision on his appeal, Goran feels utterly abandoned. "I know I did the right thing by refusing to fight in the war. I don't regret it, but it costs me so much. I have no job. I miss my friends and family. I am afraid." Hunched on his bed, slowly sipping tea from an old yoghurt pot, he continues: "In the eyes of my people, I am a traitor and a lot would never forgive me." To avoid reprisal against his family, he asked to be identified only as an alias: "Goran". "If I go home, I'll go to jail. But it seems that everybody expects us to be sent back, and doesn't care." His only hope now is to emigrate to the US, where an uncle in Texas is willing to sponsor him, but so far the US embassy hasn't been very helpful. According to the Yugoslav Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Goran has good reason to fear Milosevic's wrath at home. With his proclamation of a "state of war" on March 25 came some special provisions regarding draft evaders. These include a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for not responding to a recruitment call-up, and of up to 20 years for leaving the country or remaining abroad to avoid call-up. Even though the "state of war" was officially lifted in June, at the end of the conflict, draft evaders and deserters continue to be arrested and imprisoned in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. While the Dayton agreement signed after the war in Bosnia included an amnesty for draft evaders, there is no such provision this time, because there isn't a real peace agreement, says Ferenc Koszeg, president of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. An investigation by Amnesty International revealed that at least several hundred young men have already been imprisoned in Yugoslavia - most of them with five-year sentences - and the number of cases currently before military courts may be 23,000 or more. For draft resisters who actively opposed Milosevic's regime, however, an amnesty might not be enough. "My grandfather told me, 'If you go back, I'll kill you, and if I don't, someone else will,'" says Sinisa Prole. The ponytailed 26-year-old is one of nine friends from Lazarevac - a small mining town 40 miles north of Belgrade. They made their way to Hungary via various routes in order to avoid military service, and now live together squeezed in a two-room flat on a busy boulevard in Budapest. The friends, who used to meet at a cafe they nicknamed the "Bastion of Freedom" to plan anti-Milosevic demonstrations and write opposition pamphlets, were already outcasts in their conservative town. But after Nato dropped its bombs - hitting an electrical power plant where many townspeople worked - they became objects of hate. Yet, despite clear danger at home and the fact that the UNHCR and the Council of Europe consider that "refusal to take part in a war condemned by the international community because of serious violations of international humanitarian law should be considered grounds for granting asylum", neither Hungary nor any other European country has been willing to grant draft dodgers refugee status. After pressure from the UNHCR, the Hungarian government has granted a one-year renewable temporary permit, on humanitarian grounds, to some 1,200 draft evaders and other asylum seekers from Yugoslavia, and the UNHCR is now lobbying for them to receive rights to employment and education. The other draft dodgers are still on tourist visas, are awaiting decision on their status or are illegals; so far Hungary hasn't deported anyone, and is not likely to do so "at this stage", Pasquali says. On a temporary permit or awaiting a decision on their application, the nine friends (including a couple and their seven-year-old son) live on borrowed time. They are frantically contacting embassies, human rights organisations and other agencies, trying to build a future for themselves. "We're not asking for special favours. We have skills, we'll work," says Snezana Bozickovic, 30, who fled with her husband and son. They are prepared to go to any western country where they can speak English, she says. Not all draft evaders, however, want a new life abroad. Sveta Matic, 26, a leader of the student opposition in Belgrade who was arrested many times, dreams only of going back home. "I want to go back to Serbia. I don't care if we don't have electricity, if I have to wait until I am 40, if I am a simple worker. I want to be part of building a new democratic Serbia." So far, the agencies' responses have been disappointing. Says Bozickovic: "We've been knocking at doors everywhere for five months now, and they all say, 'Sorry, it's not my job, I cannot help you. You should go to this organisation'" Caught up in a Kafkaesque waiting game, the household survives on money earned cleaning houses and cash sent by their already hard-pressed families. And they feel ashamed. "We are like parasites, living on our parents' hard-earned money," says Vladimir Pavlovic, 23, who was a sociology student. While Goran at the refugee camp wanted to stay anonymous to protect his family, these friends have decided to go public, despite the obvious risks, because they feel they have no other options. They believe they can survive only a few more months under these conditions and want the world to know about them. "We have fought for human rights and democracy for the past 10 years," Pavlovic says. "We understand the world's anger at Milosevic's war crimes but we opposed his regime all our lives. I feel so bad that all the people who condemned the war have closed their doors on us - because we are Serbs."
TIME EUROPE APRIL 24, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 16
Serbs who deserted the war in Kosovo are finding no welcome in the West
By ANDREW PURVIS Debrecen
Last spring, as NATO planes were raining down bombs on Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia, the alliance was also dropping tons of propaganda leaflets urging members of the Yugoslav armed forces to desert. "Stay in Kosovo and meet certain death," read one, "or abandon your units and your military equipment and run away as fast as you can." Thousands did run away, including men like "Aleksa," 32, who one night in April a year ago laid down his side arm in northern Serbia, exchanged his uniform for a jogging suit and disappeared into the woods on the Bulgarian border. "I knew I could be killed by soldiers on either side," he recalls, "but I didn't want to fight in another senseless war started by Milosevic." Aleksa and others figured that by allying themselves with the West against Belgrade, they would be welcomed on the other side. That was wishful thinking. Thousands of Serbian deserters and draft evaders from the Kosovo war are being rejected as refugees by the U.S., Canada and Australia as well as most of the countries in Western Europe that participated in the war. In Hungary, a new NATO member where perhaps the greatest number of Serb deserters have gathered, thousands of Yugoslavs applied for asylum last year; only 37 succeeded, none because he was a resister. The rejections have left these men and their families in an administrative limbo: they can't go home, can't become legal residents of their desired countries of immigration, can't work because of language and legal barriers, and in some cases can't even obtain a passport. "They are forgotten people," says Brian Phillips, a researcher for Amnesty International. Istvan Dobo, Hungary's top bureaucrat for refugee affairs, says he doesn't believe Serb resisters have any special rights to asylum. "No one promised them a residence permit," he says. "We hope that they go home as soon as possible." He called the deserters' future more a moral than a legal question, adding that "It's not my job to moralize. My responsibility is to apply the provisions of our country's law." Hungary is not alone in this approach. A U.S. judge in the state of Illinois last month rejected three asylum applications from Serb resisters because they failed to prove that it was Yugoslav government policy to commit human rights abuses in Kosovo. Amnesty International and other human rights groups reject such hairsplitting. They say NATO governments in particular have an obligation to grant asylum to the people whom they urged to flee. With the possibility of new trouble brewing in the Republic of Montenegro, they add, encouraging resisters from the Yugoslav army could pay off in the future. No one knows exactly how many resisters left Serbia during the Kosovo war, though analysts say about 23,000 would face prosecution in Serbia if apprehended. In neighboring Hungary, officials say 10,000 to 15,000 passed through the country last year. Almost all attempted to reach Western Europe, Australia or North America in search of relatives. As a group Serb resisters have attracted little sympathy, perhaps in part because they include in their ranks at least some war criminals. A senior official with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, Erika Feller, said three self-proclaimed resisters she interviewed in Macedonia last year admitted to taking part in gang rapes in Kosovo. "They said it was like having breakfast," Keller recalls. "Well, there is a limit to obeying orders." Evidence of complicity in such crimes would automatically disqualify a candidate for asylum. More typical, however, are the impoverished resisters who washed up in places like Debrecen in eastern Hungary, where a fetid network of former Soviet military barracks houses refugees from around the world who have failed to get papers for the West. "Conditions are horrible," says "Dragan," 30, an optician from Belgrade who fled the draft via Sarajevo and Switzerland and ended up in Debrecen, sleeping six to a room and eating beans out of a can. Rejected for asylum, he plans to hit the road again this summer and go underground. Vladimir Pavlovic, 23, a resister who dodged the draft for five years pleading psychological disability, fled to Bosnia and then Budapest last May. Unable to get papers to join his uncle in Chicago, Pavlovic is now organizing a resisters' support group to try to obtain help from nongovernmental aid agencies. "We were naive about the West," he says from the smoke-filled two-room apartment he now shares with eight other resisters. "We thought that they would want to help us for refusing to take part in the genocide. We were wrong." Bad as life is, none is contemplating going home. Under Serbian law, wartime deserters face up to 20 years in prison; draft evaders up to 10. Hundreds are already in jail. The independence-minded Montenegrin republic recently granted an amnesty to draft dodgers, but it was annulled by a Serbian judge as unconstitutional. Paul Miller, an Amnesty investigator in the region, says families of deserters live in fear for their sons and daughters. "Border guards are on the lookout," he says. "The risk of arrest is high." Lately, resisters have seen a few glimmers of hope. Two municipalities in Germany accepted a handful of Serb resisters earlier this year, and Denmark recently approved 15 for refugee status. After an appeal by unhcr, Hungary agreed this month to review the rejection of one applicant. In Serbia, conscription is underway again in the south and southwest. There are also reports of localized resistance. By refusing to grant asylum to draft dodgers already out of the country, Western governments may actually be discouraging such resistance. Leave, they seem to be saying, but then you are on your own.
With reporting by Dejan Anastasijevic/Belgrade
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Motion for a Resolution on the situtation of deserters from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Submitted by Mr Lippelt and others
The Assembly recalls its Resolution 1042 (1994) on deserters and draft resisters from the republics of the former Yugoslavia in which it invited, in particular, the member states : - to examine all applications for asylum submitted by deserters and draft resisters from the former Yugoslavia with reference to the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the recommendations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as set out in the Handbook on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status ; - to refrain from deporting, or even from threatening to deport, deserters and draft resisters from the former Yugoslavia until such time as an amnesty has been declared and they can return home in complete safety - to consider each case involving the return of deserters and draft resisters in the light of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The attention of the Assembly is now called upon the situation of deserters from Yugoslavia who left their country when the NATO campaign in Kosovo started in March 1999. Most of those deserters have resisted against the regime of Mr Milosevic for years before that and left Serbia in order to avoid being incorporated in the Serbian army. In addition it should be noted that the NATO encouraged soldiers in the Serbian army to desert by throwing tracts from planes. The Assembly considers that the member countries of NATO should now help those who deserted by providing them with a legal status. In so doing they are coherent with their previous incitation to desertion and they enable those deserters to live where they are as long as the situation is not safe for them to return. In addition, as was mentioned in its Resolution 1042 (1994), it is aware that deserters and draft resisters will play an important role in re-establishing democracy once the regime in the Federal Republic of Serbia has changed. Accordingly, the Assembly : i. instructs its Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to make a report on the situation of deserters in the member states of the Council of Europe ; ii. asks the member states to grant to deserters from the Federal of Yugoslavia the status of refugee ; iii. to refrain from deporting, or to threaten to deport deserters from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ; iv. to consider each case involving the return of deserters in the light of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that " no one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ".
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