ZAGREB, Dec 17 (Hina) - A total of 53,144 returnees, of whom 28,281 are of Serb nationality who returned from Yugoslavia, Bosnia and the Croatian Danube River region, have returned to their homes in Croatia over the past two years.
According to data of the office for displaced persons, returnees and refugees at the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction, the return of displaced persons and refugees is somewhat lesser that in previous years. Another 20,660 persons still hold the displaced person status. A total of 20,273 persons from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia have the refugee status, of whom 19,000 are from Bosnia. So far, requests for the return have been submitted by 13,003 Croatian citizens of Serb nationality who are residing in Yugoslavia and Bosnia. They have not as yet returned to Croatia even though their returns have been approved for some time, the ministry said, and added this was not a defin
ZAGREB, Dec 17 (Hina) - A total of 53,144 returnees, of whom 28,281
are of Serb nationality who returned from Yugoslavia, Bosnia and
the Croatian Danube River region, have returned to their homes in
Croatia over the past two years.
According to data of the office for displaced persons, returnees
and refugees at the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and
Construction, the return of displaced persons and refugees is
somewhat lesser that in previous years.
Another 20,660 persons still hold the displaced person status.
A total of 20,273 persons from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia
have the refugee status, of whom 19,000 are from Bosnia.
So far, requests for the return have been submitted by 13,003
Croatian citizens of Serb nationality who are residing in
Yugoslavia and Bosnia. They have not as yet returned to Croatia even
though their returns have been approved for some time, the ministry
said, and added this was not a definite number of potential
returnees as the requests for cross-border return were still being
collected in Yugoslavia and Bosnia.
Between the end of the Homeland War and December 1, 2001, a total of
288,090 persons have returned to their homes. Of this number
200,072 are former displaced persons, mostly Croats who resided in
other areas of Croatia which were not war affected.
Croatian returnees of Serb nationality numbered 88,018, of whom
60,644 were from Yugoslavia, 4,702 from Bosnia, and 22,672 from the
Croatian Danube River region.
A great number of refugees who lost their refugee status due to
receiving Croatian citizenship still reside in Croatia - 120,000
from Bosnia and around 30,000 from Yugoslavia (of whom only a small
number had the displaced person status). A significant number of
these refugees are occupying private property in Croatia which they
have to leave as the property has to be returned to the owners. That
is why they need either an alternative accommodation in Croatia or
they want to return to Bosnia where their property is demolished or
occupied, the ministry said in the report.
A total of 50,038 persons in Croatia have the status of displaced
person, returnee or refugee.
(hina) np sb