CROATIA CONFIRMS RETURN REGULATIONS AND CALLS FOR MORE DEBATE

( Editorial: --> 4281 ) ZAGREB, April 2 (Hina) - The Croatian Government says for the time being it will stick by its document on the procedure for the return of Serb refugees, despite criticisms by representatives of international organisations. However, the Government is ready for a wide debate on the issue, Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic said on Thursday. When asked by a reporter to comment on the negative stand by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on "The Procedure for the Return of Persons Who Have Left Croatia", Radic said "the Government endorsed that document" and he did not have anything else to say on the issue. However, he added that the Government would suggest to the Parliament to debate the plight of Croat displaced people, as well as that of Croat refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) who are presently accommodated in Croatia. In the document released on Tuesday, the Government specified a legal procedure for individual return to Croatia of all refugees, including Serbs. On Wednesday OSCE mission to Croatia head Tim Guldimann said that in its contacts with the Government, the OSCE would insist that as a personal right return should not be conditioned on housing, the return of other refugees or on international aid. In its session on Thursday, chaired by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, the Council for Strategic Decisions suggested the issue of returns should be widely debated from the point of view of national and state interests and its humanitarian aspects. Radic pointed to the problem of Croat displaced people waiting to return to their homes, as well as to that of Croat refugees from Bosnia and the FRY presently accommodated in Serb homes in Croatia. According to the Minister, Croatia this year will focus on the return of 40,000 Croat displaced people to the Croatian Danube River region and on the return of Serbs who wish to return from this area to other parts of Croatia. "Anything more than that will depend on Croatia's potentials and assistance by the international community," Radic said. He added that next week Croatia would call on other countries to participate in the donors' conference and that it had already drafted projects worth 3 billion dollars. The projects will be offered to other countries as joint projects. A Croatian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Hina Croatia was engaged in a permanent dialogue with international organisations regarding the document on the return of refugees to Croatia. The document gives the Serbs wishing to return three months to apply for the permit. Thus the refugees would start returning in June, after the donors' conference. According to the document, by then the Government would come up with a final plan containing detailed mechanisms for return. The return procedure prescribes that in order to return, refugees must obtain a certificate by the Reconstruction and Development Ministry certifying that they can be accommodated and repossess and use their abandoned property. The document also says Croatia expects the international community's financial assistance for successful implementation of the return plan. It also prescribes that issues concerning return will be dealt with in separate agreements with the FRY and the Bosnian Serb entity. UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman in Zagreb, Andrej Mahecic, told Hina on Thursday that in its negotiations with the Government during the next few weeks, the UNHCR would insist that there should be no conditions for the return of Serbs. "The document should confirm the right of all citizens to return to their country and enjoy their property without any limitations," he said. The UNHCR also believes that the return procedure should be as simple as possible and free of bureaucratic obstacles. It says the document is not sufficient to design a legal framework for the return, unless conditions on the ground are not ready for it. (Hina) jn mr /mb 022200 MET apr 98