OSIJEK COUNTY TRUST RESTORATION COMMITTE DISCUSSES 2-WAY RETURN

( Editorial: --> 3241 ) OSIJEK, Feb 19 (Hina) - The Osijek-Baranja County committee for the restoration of trust Thursday held a meeting which discussed the resolving of important issues in the two-way return. Taking part in the debate were the chairwoman of the National Committee for the restoration of trust, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, her deputy Ivica Vrkic, and National Committee members Lovre Pejkovic and Mirko Tankosic. Osijek-Baranja County Prefect and chairwoman of the county committee for the restoration of trust Anica Horvat said that most houses to which Croatian displaced persons should return were either damaged or looted, and that in some houses lived Serbs who had moved to the county and decided to stay. A stronger return is soon expected to recently reintegrated areas, especially the region of Baranja, Horvat said. According to Skare-Ozbolt, to avoid incidents it is necessary to succeed in solving the issue of 2,500 displaced families who are currently occupying the houses of Croatian displaced persons. The Government has taken measures to solve these cases so that house-owners could be enabled to return, she added. Skare-Ozbolt called on the Osijek-Baranja County trust restoration committee to report any incident situations to the National Commitee, so that they might be dealt with in due time and in an organised way. According to Vrkic, it is necessary to maintain stability in eastern Croatia in order to be organised in removing the difficulties of all people, regardless of their nationality. The head of the Osijek regional office for displaced persons and refugees, Nada Arbanas, said that by Wednesday more than 3,000 people with returnee-status had registered. It is estimated there are 2,000 more currently in eastern Croatia, on the basis of a return plan certificate, to see the reconstruction of their houses. Arbanas said that her office staff had visited 1,013 families as part of the pre-registration of displaced persons. Of these, she said, 50 per cent were no longer living at the reported address, 26 per cent requested reconstruction and return to the place of residence, 18 per cent wanted to sell their property through the agency for facilitating real estate transactions, while six per cent wanted to stay in the Danube river region. Eastern Croatia municipal heads today pointed out to difficulties in the two-way return. They said that some displaced families occupied more than one house, and that some people living in houses not of their own had their own free and intact house in the place of residence. The head of the municipality of Draz, Vinko Guksic, complained about inappropriate behaviour of some Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors. The head of the Croatian Government's office for displaced persons and refugees, Lovre Pejkovic, said that a "harsh protest" would be forwarded to the OSCE via diplomatic route as the OSCE, he added, "arbitrarily interprets certain provisions of all agreements between the Croatian Government and the international community." Also mentioned was the case of a seven-member Serb family which should have moved out of a Croat-owned house in the municipality of Draz. After the intervention of an OSCE monitor who said they had the right to stay, two family members stayed, which made the house owner's return impossible. (hina) ha jn 192050 MET feb 98