MOST DISPLACED PEOPLE RETURN TO VILLAGES IN 'SIRMIUM'S TRIANGLE'

NIJEMCI, Jan 6 (Hina) - The reconstruction of five villages in the so-called "Sirmium's triangle" in eastern Croatia began in August 1996 when the Croatian Danube region had not yet been returned to Croatian rule. At the beginning of 1999 the reconstruction in the villages - Nijemci, Lipovac, Apsevci, Donje Novo Selo and Podgradje - was almost completed. Out of 1,700 houses and flats, 1,500 have been renovated up to now. The municipal mayor of the area, Ivica Klem, is more than satisfied with the achieved results. Not only houses but also public facilities and the infrastructure have been repaired. Such progress in the reconstruction has motivated displaced people to return to their home villages. According to figures of the Vinkovci-based local office for refugees and the displaced, about 3,000 people have come back to the "Sirmium's triangle", but municipal authorities say that about 4,500 villagers have returned so far. The difference in the figures is probably caused by the fact that some of those who returned have not yet applied for the status of returnees. According to the mayor Klem, around 1,000 villagers will return this year, and, thus, no resident of the municipality will be in exile. However, the biggest problem the returnees are faced with is the reconstruction of the economy. Most of the villagers were farmers before the war. Unfortunately, about 60 percent of the arable land in the municipality is unapproachable due to planted mines, whereas the rest of 40 per cent has been cultivated by villagers at their own risk. There have been several cases of pressure-activated mine explosions. One person died in the mine blast while five were seriously injured in such accidents. (hina) ms