SLOVENIA
Their four children:
Ali Berisha, his wife Mahi and their four children, members of the Romani/Ashkali/Egyptiani
(RAE) minority community, are at imminent risk of being forcibly removed from
Slovenia to Germany, and from there to Kosovo, where they would be at risk of
ethnically-motivated attack. Ali Berisha was born in the former Yugoslavia,
in what is
now Kosovo in Serbia and Montenegro. He was registered as a permanent resident
in the city of Maribor, in what is now Slovenia, between 1987 and 1992. In 1992,
he was one of some 18,305 people who were "erased" (unlawfully removed
from the Slovenian registry of permanent residents) and was thus deprived of
his rights as a permanent resident, including his rights to healthcare and employment.
Following the "erasure", in 1993 he was deported from Slovenia to
Albania, for no apparent reason. The Albanian authorities returned him to Slovenia.
Ali Berisha subsequently moved to Germany, and applied for asylum there. In
Germany he met his wife Mahi Berisha (who was also born in today's Kosovo) and
had four children, who were born in Germany after 1997 His asylum application
was rejected by the German authorities and in 2005 the German authorities informed
Ali Berisha that he would be forcibly removed to Kosovo, where he was born.
After his asylum application was rejected, Ali Berisha and his family returned
voluntarily to Slovenia in September 2005, in order to escape deportation to
Kosovo. The Slovenian authorities are now planning to forcibly return
them to Germany in the next few days. From Germany, they are expected to be
forcibly removed to Kosovo.
Inter-ethnic tension has been high and discrimination against members of RAE
communities has been widespread in Kosovo. In this respect the situation has
significantly worsened in March 2004, when over 4,000 members of minority communities,
including RAE communities, were forcibly displaced and 19 people died during
three days of
ethnically-motivated rioting. Even now there remain concerns for the safety
of all members of minority communities in Kosovo. Following the start of talks
on 7 November between the international community and authorities in Serbia
and Montenegro and Kosovo, to resolve the final political status of Kosovo,
inter-ethnic tension is expected to rise further.
The forcible transfer of any person, directly or indirectly, to a country where
they are at risk of serious human rights violations is a violation of international
human rights standards, including the European Convention on Human Rights and
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In 1992 some 18,305 individuals were unlawfully removed from the Slovenian registry
of permanent residents. They were mainly people from other former Yugoslav republics,
who had been living in Slovenia and had not acquired Slovenian citizenship,
after Slovenia became independent. The Slovenian authorities have failed to
resolve the status of the so-called "erased" and to ensure that they
have full access to economic and social rights, including their right to employment,
pension, and health care. Of those affected by the "erasure", approximately
6,000 remain without Slovenian citizenship or a permanent residence permit.
Many of them live "illegally" as foreigners or stateless persons in
Slovenia; others were forced to leave the country as a result of the "erasure".
The remaining 12,000, who after their removal from the registry of permanent
residents managed to obtain Slovenian citizenship or permanent residency (in
many cases after years of bureaucratic and legal struggle), are often still
suffering from the ongoing consequences of their past unregulated status and
have had no access to full reparation, including compensation, from the Slovenian
authorities.
In 1999 and again in April 2003 the Slovenian Constitutional Court recognized
the unlawfulness of the removal from the registry of permanent residents of
the individuals concerned and ordered the Slovenian authorities to retroactively
restore their permanent resident status. Following the 2003 Constitutional Court
decision, the Slovenian Ministry of Interior issued approximately 4,100 decrees
retroactively restoring the status of permanent residents of the individuals
concerned. However, the Slovenian authorities stopped issuing such decrees in
July 2004 and no new steps have been taken to implement the Constitutional Court
decision and to restore the rights of the "erased".
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- urging the Slovenian authorities to ensure that Ali Berisha, his wife Mahi
Berisha and their four young children are not forcibly transferred to Germany
and, indirectly, to Kosovo, where they would be at grave risk of serious human
rights abuses;
- reminding the Slovenian authorities that international law prohibits the forcible
transfer of any person, directly or indirectly, to a country where they are
at risk of serious
human rights abuses, and that such removal would be in breach of Slovenia's
international obligations, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights
and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
- urging the Slovenian authorities to grant Ali Berisha permanent residence
in Slovenia and to retroactively restore his status of permanent resident, as
well as that of all
individuals "erased" in 1992, in accordance with the decisions of
the Slovenian Constitutional Court.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister:
Janez Jansa
Office of the Prime Minister
Gregorciceva 20, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fax: 011 386 1 478 1721
Email: gp.kpv@gov.si
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Minister of the Interior:
Dragutin Mate
Ministry of the Interior
Stefanova 2, 1501 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fax: 011 386 1 230 23 08
Email: dragutin.mate@gov.si
Salutation: Dear Minister
President of the Republic of Slovenia:
Janez Drnovsek
Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia
Erjavceva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fax: 011 386 1 478 13 57
Email: gp.uprs@up-rs.si
Salutation: Dear President
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Samuel Zbogar
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia
1525 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 667 4563
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays
only, if sending appeals after 23 December 2005.
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Email: uan@aiusa.org
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