The Croatian Embassy in Belgrade issued a statement saying that the OSCE Mission in Croatia and competent government bodies had postponed the presentation of the campaign because they had waited for the Commissariat for Refugees to positively respond to their invitation and join the campaign.
The presentation, however, was cancelled because the Commissariat for Refugees last week issued a statement saying that it was no time for such activities and that it did not believe that they would encourage the process of return. The Commissariat also said that reactions among refugees and refugee associations in Serbia to the matter were rather negative.
The decision to cancel the presentation has proven justified and logical considering that it is opposed by the competent state body and those to whom the campaign refers, and in spite of the fact that Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic positively assessed the campaign during a visit to Zagreb last week, the Commissariat said in a statement.
The Belgrade-based NGO called the Association of Serbs from Croatia, which receives the most extensive media coverage, said a few days ago that it was hypocritical and disgraceful to publicly advertise and call for the return of Serb refugees, while at the same time the incumbent Croatian authorities were doing everything to prevent it.
"With a 4.5 percent share of Serbs in its population, Croatia is ethnically the cleanest country in Europe. Instead of creating normal conditions for the return of several hundred thousand citizens, providing for their security, returning confiscated private property, and tenancy and other rights, it hypocritically uses advertisements to paint a false picture," the association said in a statement.
According to the association's data, 58,000, mostly elderly, Serbs have returned to Croatia since 1995. Some other Serb organisations have data on 70,000 returnees, while Croatian authorities speak about 119,000 returnees.
Despite the fact that its presentation was cancelled, the campaign in Serbia is well under way. Radio stations in Belgrade and Vojvodina are broadcasting messages "Croatia is the home of all of its citizens", with billboards having been set up throughout the capital Belgrade with messages calling on Serb refugees to return to Croatia.