Germany to repatriate thousands of Kosovo refugees (Roundup)

Oct 14, 2009, 16:44 GMT

   Berlin - Several thousand Kosovan refugees living in Germany are expected to be returned to the region, ten years after the end of the Kosovo War, the German Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

In a response to a parliamentary question raised by the Left Party, the ministry said a deal was due to be signed in coming weeks between Berlin and Pristina stipulating the return of refugees.

More than 14,000 Kosovan refugees are in Germany, of whom 10,000 are of Roma ethnicity.

Once signed, the agreement would rule that Kosovo in principle accepts all people holding identity documents for the former Yugoslav province or demonstrably lived in the region, a ministry spokesman said, confirming a report by the Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

   The interior ministry reportedly pledged to apply for a maximum of 2,500 repatriations annually, and to ensure these were ethnically balanced.

   'Not all 14,000 (will be returned) in one go, but in a moderate fashion as agreed with Kosovo,' the spokesman said.

   Last year, 900 Kosovans reportedly returned to the region.

Ulla Jelpke, the Left Party spokeswoman who made the initial parliamentary inquiry, said the decision would predominantly affect Roma refugees.

Jelpke maintained that refugees were still being persecuted in Kosovo, and said joblessness was close to 100 per cent amongst the Roma ethnic group.

Returning people to Kosovo would be in breach of the human right to dignity, Jelpke concluded.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said Kosovo was still susceptible to ethnic tension and that living conditions were poor, after visiting the region earlier this year. The agency recommended that refugees should be allowed to return on a voluntary basis only.

   However, the German government said ethnically-motivated violence had declined significantly, and that the planned repatriation was in line with international standards. '

Germany has been encouraging people to return to Kosovo by paying them 750 euros (1,100 dollars) plus the cost of travel, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.