Yes, this is exactly the problem - the *.orig.tar.gz should be unpacked,
but apparently it is not. When I have in my makefile:
.....
install:
cp -a usr $(DESTDIR)/usr
.....
it fails with the error message:
--------------
# Add here commands to install the package into debian/ucjf-security.
/usr/bin/make install
DESTDIR=/home/davidek/debian/ucjf-security-1.0.2/debian/ucjf-security
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/davidek/debian/ucjf-security-1.0.2'
cp -a usr /home/davidek/debian/ucjf-security-1.0.2/debian/ucjf-security/usr
cp: cannot stat `usr': No such file or directory
make[1]: *** [install] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/davidek/debian/ucjf-security-1.0.2'
make: *** [install] Error 2
---------