Military

DATE=11/29/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=RUSSIA/CHECHNYA / DISPLACED PERSONS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-296955

BYLINE=GORDON MARTIN

DATELINE=GENEVA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Thousand of refugees from the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya are living in tent camps in neighboring Ingushetia. There is now mounting international concern that Moscow is trying to force them out. Gordon Martin reports from Geneva.

TEXT: The United Nations says Russian authorities have announced plans to shut down the Aki Yurt camp, which houses 15-hundred Chechens, on Sunday, as part of a pressure campaign on displaced Chechens in Ingushetia.

In Geneva, the situation is being watched with growing concern by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, U-N-H-C-R.

A spokesman for the agency, Ron Redmond, described the pressure the displaced Chechens feel.

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In the camps themselves, a number of factors are contributing to an overall atmosphere of fear, tension and insecurity. These include repeated official statements that the camps are to close imminently; active campaigns by migration authorities, supported by the Chechnya administration and religious leaders promoting return to Chechnya; the increased military presence near the camps; and the harsh winter weather in the area. For those displaced people in Aki Yurt who do not want to return to Chechnya, we're concerned that there is no immediately available and viable alternative accommodation in Ingushetia.

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U-N officials are skeptical about assurances from Russian authorities that any return to Chechnya will be voluntary, as Mr. Redmond explained.

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We've repeatedly underlined that, regarding return to Chechnya, assistance should follow the people, and not the other way around. We're again raising these concerns, and reiterating our desire to work with the authorities to resolve these issues and to meet the humanitarian needs of the displaced. While some people have returned voluntarily, others continue to express fears about returning to Chechnya because of the still unstable security situation there.

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Mr. Redmond said that, since Chechen rebels took hostages at a Moscow theater a few weeks ago, there has been what he termed "a change in climate."

Of the 110-thousand displaced Chechens living in Ingushetia, about 20-thousand are housed in tent camps. (Signed)

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