Puhovski told Hina that HRW "is basically right", but noted three things regarding the report.
The first refers to problems with employment, which Puhovski says are not encountered only by Serb returnees, but by all people living in areas previously directly affected by war, regardless of their ethnic background.
Puhovski agrees with HRW's statement that pressure on the Serb minority has increased this year, but adds that in relation to 2005, this year has proven to be much better with regard to the readiness of the police, public and politicians to respond to ethnically motivated incidents.
Improving the climate for return requires changing the public perception of Serbs, because the Croatian Serb minority is still being accused of things that the Serb majority in Serbia is responsible for, Puhovski said.
He went on to say that in the last two years the interest in return among Croatian Serbs had decreased, which he said was due to the atmosphere in which they were being led to believe that return made no sense.
Serb minority leader Milorad Pupovac said that problems faced by Serb returnees and noted by HRW had been known to the Croatian public for a long time, but were not being dealt with because certain circles were downplaying them and obstructing efforts to solve them.
The Croatian public understands that respect for the rights of refugees and returnees is one of the conditions for Croatia's admission to the EU and understands HRW's request to the EU to include in its negotiations with Croatia conditions regarding progress in the security of Serb returnees, the settlement of their housing problems, and employment, Pupovac said.
Pupovac believes that what gives weight to the report is the fact that after a number of years HRW is rather direct and obviously wants to help Croatia take the problems of Serb returnees more seriously.