by Branko GORGEVSKI
Refugees, ethnic Macedonians, from this village, who are currently staying in the refugee centers in Kumanovo say that they "cannot return until the Army returns to the village".
"What is happening right now is simply a second wave of ethnic cleansing. They have been telling us that we can return, but now some 'unidentified' persons are setting our houses on fire. That's the same trick as with the 'disbanding' of UCK [National Liberation Army] and appearance of UKSh [Albanian National Army], which is 'out of control'. The goal of all this is to make sure that all ethnic Macedonians leave the village by the spring," refugees from this village claim.
Local ethnic Albanians claim that they are prepared to put the war behind, but they cannot guarantee for the young generation, which apparently "cannot forget what some ethnic Macedonians" did to them.
"I know who shot at and robbed our houses. Even some ethnic Macedonians from the village did that. Just take a look. See how many houses have been destroyed? That cannot be forgotten. We cannot live together anymore," says one ethnic Albanian, whose house was seriously damaged in the fighting.
Other ethnic Albanians claim that common life is still possible.
"We used to live in the village together and knew each other very well. No one should fear for his own security and no one bans Macedonians from returning to the village. We are guarding their houses," says one ethnic Albanian postman, whose family has lived in Opae for generations.
The government's crisis council stated that in Opae there are still no conditions for the return of the refugees. For that to happen, the climate has to be prepared with the implementation of the plan. Yesterday refugees had a meeting with the mayor of Lipkovo in Kumanovo city hall, where the mayor promised to make efforts to establish inter-ethnic tolerance and increase security.
Political parties characterize the blockade of the return of refugees as a mode of obstruction of the peace process.
The road to Opae is now open for normal traffic, and most of ethnic Albanian residents have returned to the village. They are fixing up their houses. However, ethnic Macedonians only visit during the day to check on their houses. They leave the village before nightfall, fearful of spending the night there.
"We have nowhere to stay. You've seen the inside of our homes. Everything has been destroyed. There is no place to sit down, let alone conditions to return and live in our houses. Everything we fix up during the day is again destroyed overnight," claim residents of Opae.
They are convinced that only Macedonian security forces can guarantee their security in these ethnically mixed villages, where they are a minority.
"Our state must guarantee our security. We will again be safe only when our police returns everywhere in the Lipkovo region. This way, we cannot return," they say.
Local ethnic Albanians deny that they deliberately set on fire nine houses belonging to ethnic Macedonians, or that they demolished houses. They show several houses belonging to ethnic Macedonians or Serbs that haven't been damaged and are still locked up, the way they were left behind by their owners.
"If someone wanted, they could set them on fire any night. But, we don't want to allow that. Next to my household, there are two houses belonging to Golubovic brothers and those haven't been damaged. The only things missing are those the Golubovics took with themselves," says one ethnic Albanian.
Another elderly ethnic Albanian believes that ethnic Macedonians are responsible for all the destruction.
"You did this. Perhaps exactly you shot at the village during the war," he addressed us.
The mixed police force patrolled the village yesterday attempting to establish contact with the villagers. However, local ethnic Macedonians are convinced that the [ethnically] mixed police forces cannot protect them.
"The fires started when the Army pulled back. I do not know who set my house on fire, but it burned to the ground a few days ago. Who can we blame? Where can we return to, now?" says one refugee.
However, the government's crisis council has different information about the destruction of the houses in Opae.
"According to the information at our disposal, the damage inflicted on houses owned by ethnic Macedonians occurred during the conflict. Since the police forces were sent to the village, together with OSCE observers, we haven't received reports of further attacks on property," Eleonora Karanfilovska from the crisis council stated.
She asserted that the residents of Opae have been informed that in the village there are still no conditions for the return of the refugees because the authorities haven't confirmed that there are no mines in the village.
Spokesperson of the VMRO-DPMNE Vladimir Gorcev stated that refugees must return before the start of the winter.
"Ethnic cleansing planned and implemented by Albanian terrorists must be defeated by the return of the refugees. However, we can expect further provocations in the field by the "new" UKSh, with the same goal. The authorities must forcefully block such attempts," he said.
Zahir Bekteshi, spokesperson of the PDP, believes that all problems with refugees should be resolved through consistent implementation of plans.
"Our patience is at an end. We have been quiet so far, but our nerves are wearing thin," refugees from Opae say.
by Emil ZAFIROVSKI
"Everything started unexpectedly. Fighting, shootouts, detonations. We were not fully aware of what was going on. Some of us stayed at home. Many left to Skopje and other cities. They abducted our loved ones. They took them away, like cattle. We've heard that some of them were brutally tortured. Our pain cannot be described. To lose a brother, husband, or a son, is the worst that can happen to anyone. If there is such a thing as hell, we are in it," say the families of abducted ethnic Macedonians.
Brothers Bosko (42) and Slavko (59) Dimitrievski from the village of Beloviste, Vratnica municipality, were abducted on August 31, 2001. Slavko was seriously ill, mentally unstable and had serious problems. He had to get new medications every month, their relatives say.
"They lived on their own. Once a month, Bosko took Slavko to get the necessary medications. Bosko had a good friend, an ethnic Albanian from Neraste. Once the fighting started, the ethnic Albanian helped them to move safely on the road to Tetovo. There was no trouble. Until fateful August 31. It was Friday, the last time Bosko took his brother to see a doctor. Unfortunately, his ethnic Albanian friend could not join them that day. They left on their own. They were supposed to catch a public bus. Unfortunately, that day buses stopped running on the road between Jazince and Tetovo. We've found out that they took a taxi, with an ethnic Albanian taxi driver. Men in black uniforms stopped the taxi in front of the village of Dzepiste. They took Bosko and Slavko away, and beat up the taxi driver. That's what people say. We've heard that the taxi driver reported the incident to the Red Cross. He got beaten up only because he drove ethnic Macedonians. Soon we heard rumors that they were being held in one of the houses in Brezno and that they were to be released in a day or two. It's been almost 80 days and we've had no news from them," say the relatives of the Dimitrievski brothers.
They say that the younger brother, Bosko, is a US citizen. He returned to his birthplace a few years ago.
"Bosko left America because of Slavko's bad health. He had been there for more than 15 years. He returned to take care of his brother. He left another two brothers on the other side of the ocean. They were honorable and peaceful men. They had a flock of sheep, which was a source of their income. We've heard rumors that a certain ethnic Albanian from the village of Dzepiste owed $10,000 to Bosko. Who knows, but that's not important now. What's important is that they are alive and healthy and that they will be released soon. God willing," their relatives say.
They say that they've been visiting the police, International Red Cross, OSCE, and the government's crisis council daily. Besides perfunctory empty promises, the relatives haven't received any news about the Dimitrievski brothers.
On June 23, 2001, 62-years-old Dmitar Dimovski from Tetovo was kidnapped. He left the city and was going towards Dzepiste to inspect his land.
"Half way towards Dzepiste he encountered a fierce firefight. He could not continue along the road Tetovo-Jazince. He went back and switched to the local road, which passes through the villages of Zilce and Ratae and ends on the main highway to Skopje. The ethnic Albanian village of Trebos is also nearby. According to some ethnic Albanian acquaintances, my father was abducted about 400 meters from Trebos. I waited with my mother for 5 hours for him on the same road. He failed to show up well past the nightfall," his son is disconsolate.
This family from Tetovo has also daily been visiting the Police, OSCE, the International Red Cross, the Coordination Crisis Council, for days and months.
"We beg, cry, wait and hope. That is our destiny. We cannot escape our skin. May God save others from this hell. I swear, this is unbearable," says the son of Dimitar Dimovski from Tetovo.