SARAJEVO, May 9 (Hina) - The U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Lawrence Rossin, has said that it is necessary to intensify efforts aimed at a speedier return of Croat refugees to their homes in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
SARAJEVO, May 9 (Hina) - The U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Lawrence
Rossin, has said that it is necessary to intensify efforts aimed at
a speedier return of Croat refugees to their homes in Bosnia-
Herzegovina. #L#
Rossin, together with the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro,
William Montgomery, visited Sarajevo on Friday where their host was
the U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, Clifford Bond.
In the Bosnian capital, the three American diplomats also held
talks with the country's three-man Presidency on refugee returns,
the prevention of organised crime and the apprehension of war
crimes suspects.
After those talks, Ambassador Rossin told reporters that he was
particularly encouraged with a statement given by the Croat member
of the Bosnian collective Presidency, Dragan Covic, who asserted
that Bosnian authorities were willing to support the return of
Croat refugees, who had found shelter in Croatia, to their homeland
Bosnia.
Rossin said Covic told them that the security situation in Bosnia
had considerably been improved and that there were conditions for
the return of displaced Croats.
Commenting on regional cooperation in the struggle against
organised crime, Ambassador Rossin commended the incumbent
authorities in Croatia for their activities in that field.
According to him, the situation in that segment has significantly
changed for the better since the 2000 election, and the U.S.
Administration, he said, appreciates the measures taken by the
Ivica Racan Cabinet.
Rossin added that Croatian Premier Ivica Racan's attendance at the
funeral of his assassinated Serbian counterpart Zoran Djindjic was
an important political message.
The U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade, William Montgomery, told
reporters that the authorities of Serbia-Montenegro had made
spectacular results in the clamp-down on organised crime in past
weeks. The American diplomat, however, warned that that state union
was still facing threats posed by white-collar crime and chains of
smugglers, for instance those from the tobacco mafia.
(hina) ms