INT.REPS. UNHAPPY WITH SLOW IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPERTY LAWS IN MOSTAR

MOSTAR, May 17 (Hina) - International representatives in Mostar (southern Bosnia-Herzegovina) on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the slow enforcement of property laws. At a joint press conferences, representatives of international organisations called on local authorities to accelerate processes for meeting requests about the return of property to pre-war owners. A spokeswoman for the High Representative's branch office, Avis Benes, told reporters that the implementation of property laws in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton was very bad, accusing a Bosnian Croat political party - HDZ BiH - of such situation. She claimed that this party interfered in the work of municipal housing commissions. A spokesman for the OSCE's local office, Bernard Vrban said that cases when one family or individual were occupying two or a few flats in Mostar impeded refugee returns. Vrban cited the data that over 211,000 requests for the return of property throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina had been submitted to date, but only 22,000 cases (or approximately 11 percent) were settled when owners got back their houses or flats. He added that the situation in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton was even worse in this respect where only seven percent of 13,487 cases had been solved so far. The OSCE spokesman described the situation in western Mostar as discouraging where only one percent of pre-war owners managed to get their property back. UNHCR official Antonio Garcia Caranza voiced concern over the cases when temporary tenants damage flats or houses after they are ordered to leave them or move into their reconstructed houses. (hina) mm ms