-Caveat Lector- Returning Albanians Home Ruled Out By GEORGE GEDDA .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top United Nations official on Monday ruled out the possibility that all uprooted Kosovo Albanians could be returned to their homes before the cold-weather season because of the numbers of refugees involved and the massive destruction in the province. ``Time is short,'' said Sergio Vieira De Mello, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs. He noted that the number of Kosovo Albanians who are either refugees outside the province or internally displaced could be as high as 1.5 million, and that only about three months remain before wintry weather arrives in the Balkans. In many cases, the Kosovo Albanians will be returning to ``four empty walls,'' Vieira de Mello told a news conference. ``There is nothing left. There is no roof. All their property has been looted, stolen. That is all they will find when they go back home for the majority of them. ``We will, therefore, have a daunting task in terms of rehabilitating shelter, schools, other basic services, in particular health, but also to revive economic activity as well as to promote the recovery of agricultural production.'' He described as ``impossible'' the job of carrying out these tasks for all of the displaced before the September cold weather season arrives. He said the United Nations is preparing contingency plans for a ``worst case scenario'' -- that up to 1 million Kosovo Albanians would have to remain outside the province beyond the warm weather months. A majority have been given refuge in Albania. About 6,000 have been flown to the United States, and U.S. officials expect them to return to the province once conditions permit. Despite the peace agreement announced last Thursday, U.S.-bound refugee flights are continuing; one such flight arrived on Monday Vieira De Mello said that as the Kosovo Albanians return, there is a likelihood that the Serb minority in the province will flee and resettle in the predominantly Serb region of the republic. ``The danger of revenge also creates the likelihood, I'm afraid, of further displacement,'' he said. He said the United Nations will have to play a role in furthering a culture of tolerance and mutual respect in order to foster the goal of peaceful coexistence in the province. Vieira De Mello also expressed concern about refugees elsewhere in the Balkans who are not receiving the same attention as the Kosovo Albanians. ``Please do not forget the more than half a million Serb refugees that have been living in Serbia since they left Bosnia and Croatia. Nobody talks about them,'' he said. ``They are living in squalid conditions, subhuman. ... These are human beings that deserve the same attention, the same compassion, and who enjoy the same rights as the Kosovo Albanians we have been focusing upon in recent weeks. They also need to return home.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
