GROUP OF CROATIAN SERBS RETURNS TO CROATIA

VINKOVCI, June 27 (Hina) - A group of 42 Croatian citizens of Serb nationality late Monday evening entered Croatia from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over the Bajakovo border crossing, in line with the Government return programme according to which Croatian Serbs should return to their pre-war homes. According to head of the regional office for displaced persons and refugees from the eastern Croatian town of Vinkovci Ante Drmic, the majority of Serbs who returned to Croatia last night will go to the central Croatian region of Lika and Dalmatia. A part of them entered Croatia with the help of lists of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a part of them entered Croatia with travelled papers issued in the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade and a part of them had Croatian passports. According to data of data of the Vinkovci regional office for refugees, 2,675 citizens of Serb nationality returned to Croatia in 1998 and 1999 over the Bajakovo border crossing. In the firs six months of 2000, 701 Serbs returned to Croatia during 27 organised returns. Drmic told Hina the real number of Serb returnees who entered Croatia over the Bajakovo border crossing was much bigger because those with travel papers or a passport were not obliged to return in groups, but they could have done it individually. (hina) it mm