BELGRADE HOSTS ROUND-TABLE DEBATE ON REFUGEE RETURN TO CROATIA

BELGRADE, May 7 (Hina) - The slow settlement of refugee problems and the restitution of tenancy rights were the key topics of a round- table debate on the state and prospects of sustainable returns to Croatia, which was held on Wednesday at the Belgrade office of the Serbian Democratic Forum. #L# Participants said the refugee problem was being resolved too slowly and pointed to problems with the return of tenancy rights. Lovro Pejkovic, an assistant minister at the Croatian Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction in charge of displaced persons, returnees and refugees, noted the official stance for the moment was that there was no general restitution of tenancy rights. He explained that only refugees who return to Croatia could count on some form of pecuniary compensation. Croatia's Deputy Ambassador to Belgrade Zorica Matkovic stressed co-operation between the Croatian Consulate in Belgrade and numerous non-government organisations in Serbia was good. She pointed out the Consulate had forwarded authorities in Belgrade eight diplomatic notes requesting the return of registers of births, deaths and marriages that were confiscated from Croatia in 1995. She said this was one of the largest problems that still existed and that last year the Consulate had over 1,000 applications to determine Croatian citizenship. This year, 201 such applications have already been received. The round-table debate was attended by numerous representatives from the government and non-government organisations from Croatia and Serbia, as well as from the European Commission, the UNHCR, the Danish Committee, the Norwegian Council for Refugees, and the World Bank. (hina) sp/ha sb