BOSNIAN CROAT REFUGEES WON'T BE LEFT HOMELESS - CACIC

SISAK, Oct 11 (Hina) - Bosnian Croat refugees settled in Croatia have the right to alternative accommodation if the houses they are currently occupying are returned to their actual owners and their being left homeless is out of question, Reconstruction Minister Radimir Cacic told reporters in Sisak. The minister and Sisak County officials and representatives of the county association of returnees and settlers discussed the reconstruction of houses and infrastructure, return and the status of Bosnian Croats. He said his ministry would introduce a new possibility of accommodation for Bosnian Croat refugees by allocating state-owned land for the construction of new houses. "The Ministry will in the shortest possible period, in the next 15 days, solve about 600 reconstruction and assistance requests which were submitted in July last year," Cacic announced. So far, 15,392 reconstruction and assistance requests have been implemented in Sisak County. Another 13,000 requests have been submitted and 7,000 have already been processed, he said. The ministry will propose that more funds be set aside from the state budget and that foreign donations be directed into the reconstruction of infrastructure and economy, new jobs, and the employment of returnees and settlers, Cacic said. Also discussed at today's talks was mine removal, which is an obstacle to the return and normalisation of life in Croatia's war- stricken areas. (hina) jn rml