NORWEGIAN DELEGATION SPEAKS ABOUT SERBS WHO SEEK ASYLUM

( Editorial: --> 9592 ) ZAGREB, Mar 14 (Hina) - The situation in Croatia and the whole region and the high number of Croatian Serbs seeking asylum in Norway were the chief reasons for the arrival of a delegation of the Norwegian parliament and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, head of the delegation Erik Solheim told reporters in Zagreb Saturday. At the moment 1,300 Croatian Serbs are seeking asylum in Norway, Solheim said. If their requests are denied they will be returned to Croatia, since they are Croatian citizens and cannot be returned anywhere else, he told reporters. In that case, Solheim added, an agreement on ensuring their future in Croatia will have to be reached between the Croatian and Norwegian governments. Norwegian parliamentarian Are Naess said that to his knowledge all requests for asylum to date had been denied. He reiterated that Croatian Serbs would not be granted asylum for economic reasons and that Norway would not introduce visas for Croatian citizens. Another member of the visiting Norwegian delegation, Grethe Fossum, refuted reports which appeared in some Croatian media and stated that refugees were being transferred to the far north of Norway. Fossum stressed that Norway was taking good care of all refugees and had no special policy regarding Serbs who might seek asylum. Speaking about the five-day stay in Croatia, the head of the Norwegian delegation said the Serb community's current position in Croatia was not satisfactory. The Serb community has problems obtaining Croatian documents, the right to vote, and feels frustrated and insecure, Solheim said, adding however that progress has been made as regarded security. The two-way return is a very difficult and complicated process but some things, such as the housing issue and the inability of refugees and the displaced to enter their houses, are simply unacceptable, he stressed. It may seem that the international community asks a lot of Croatia, Solheim said, but added the international community believed it had the right to ask a lot since Croatia wants to access Euro-Atlantic integrations. The Norwegian delegation stressed that Norway was providing a large financial assistance to Croatia and other countries on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The return process, they said, must begin in Croatia as problems are minor than in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) ha jn 141509 MET mar 98