DATE=6/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-H-C-R / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263930
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations refugee agency, U-N-H-C-R,
says Russian authorities are pressuring Chechen
refugees in Ingushetia to return home, despite
continuing fighting and instability in the breakaway
republic. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.
TEXT: An estimated 170-thousand Chechen refugees
remain in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia. A
few of the refugees have gone back to Chechnya, but
the U-N refugee agency says most are afraid to return
because of continuing fighting.
U-N-H-C-R spokesman Ron Redmond says Russian
authorities are exerting what he calls indirect
pressure on the refugees in Ingushetia to go home.
For example, he says that earlier this month, Russian
authorities removed several hundred people from 10
railway cars at a makeshift camp in Ingushetia.
/// REDMOND ACT ONE ///
So, the occupants who stayed behind in
Ingushetia had to find alternative shelter. In
another development, the authorities on June
19th stopped food distribution or supplementary
food distribution to the displaced. They cited
financial constraints. And, there are also
reports of the displaced being pressured to
leave privately-owned abandoned buildings,
factories, and farms.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Redmond says these developments indicate a pattern
of pressure on the refugees to leave Ingushetia. He
says the U-N refugee agency has told Russian
authorities all efforts should be made to maintain
Ingushetia as a safe haven. He says it still is too
dangerous for the Chechens to return home.
/// REDMOND ACT TWO ///
While helping those who want to return, U-N-H-C-R and
its partner agencies are making plans for the coming
autumn and winter. This is because of the continuing
security problems in Chechnya and the widespread
devastation caused by the war. This makes a massive
return of the population unlikely before winter.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Redmond says the United Nations is looking for a
site on which to build a tent city in Ingushetia for
an estimated 12-thousand people. He says the Chechen
refugees might soon be forced to leave their makeshift
accommodations and will need some place to live.
He says the refugee agency also is looking at ways of
supporting local Ingush families who host the
Chechens. He says these families are in financial
difficulty and the agency is considering giving them
cash grants or paying their high utility bills.
(Signed)
NEB/LS/JWH/WTW
30-Jun-2000 08:55 AM EDT (30-Jun-2000 1255 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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