BOSNIAN CROATS SETTLED IN SUNJA WANT TO STAY IN CROATIA

SUNJA, March 24 (Hina) - "We are not opposing the return of 16,000 Serb refugees from Republika Srpska to Croatia but we demand from the Croatian state and the international community that the return of Bosnian Croats settled in Croatia be voluntary and not forcible," the head of an association of Bosnian Croats settled in Sunja, 70 km south-east of Zagreb, Franjo Juric, told reporters in Sunja on Friday. "If we are forced to return to Republika Srpska against our will, we will use all legal means against such forcible returns. We are ready to take to the streets en masse and block them and if necessary - and I hope it won't be necessary - we will emigrate to overseas countries in large numbers and in an organised manner," Juric said. The association of Sunja settlers gathers 2,480 Croat refugees from Banja Luka, Prijedor and Sanski Most, as well as some 200 Croats from other Bosnian regions. Juric said the association condemned "the policy which is speaking on our behalf, without our consent." He added that in their latest poll, 98 percent of Croat settlers in Sunja said they wanted to stay in Croatia for good, whereas only a small number, mostly elderly people, said they wanted to return to Republika Srpska. "We request that the Croatian state provide permanent accommodation and all rights other Croatian citizens are entitled to for those who want to stay in Croatia," he concluded. (hina) mm rml