Several hundred Kosovan refugees are to protest in Dublin today over what they say are continuing human rights abuses against Kosovars by the Serbian authorities.
The demonstration is being held as the Department of Foreign Affairs completes arrangements to repatriate Kosovars who were given sanctuary in Ireland during last year's war.
The Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, received a letter yesterday from the Kosovan community expressing concern that some refugees could be sent back to "a situation of extreme poverty and dependency". A spokesman for the Minister said she was considering the letter's contents.
Today's protest, at the office of the UNHCR on Fitzwilliam Street at midday, concerns actions by the Serbian regime and is not a response to the Government's decision to send Kosovars home from next month, say the organisers.
Its timing, however, is likely to increase awareness of the Kosovars' concerns and put further pressure on the Government to adopt a compassionate stance towards those who wish to remain when their one-year visas expire next month.
Ms O'Donnell's spokesman said the Government would shortly decide on the repatriation arrangements for those who would be returning to Kosovo and "the application procedure for those who wish to apply to remain in Ireland". There are 850 Kosovan refugees in Ireland.
The letter to the Minister, signed by members of the Kosovan community, says the vast majority of Kosovars resident in Ireland wish to return home. "But this must be undertaken at a time which is not seriously destructive of the security and well-being that they have enjoyed in Ireland."
"In the case of Kosovan refugees who might not fall within the stringent UNHCR criteria for individual assessment, we ask the Irish Government to acknowledge that their return to Kosovo in a situation of extreme poverty and dependency could well reawaken the terrible trauma to which they have so recently been subjected," the letter adds.
The letter also raises concerns about the financial support that would be available for those who choose to return to Kosovo, and says most of those allowed to remain wished to continue living in reception centres. This would maximise their earning potential and facilitate a return to Kosovo at the earliest possible date.
About 50 Kosovars are expected to travel from Waterford for today's protest, which will highlight the case of 143 Albanians from near Pristina who have received sentences in Serbia totalling 1,630 years for alleged crimes during last year's war.
The protesters will ask that a number of bodies, including the UNHCR, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Amnesty International, exert pressure on Serbia to free Kosovan prisoners and to solve all cases of missing persons.
