RETURN OF BOSNIAN REFUGEES FROM GERMANY HAS TO BE ACCELERATED - SPRANGER

SPRANGER ( Editorial: --> 0126 ) SARAJEVO, April 28 (Hina) - The Bonn government will continue its efforts in returning Bosnian refugees to their country and in speeding up the process of their return, Germany's Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Carl-Dieter Spranger told reporters in Sarajevo on Tuesday. Refugees have to return and Germany wants their speedy return, Spranger said at the end of his two-day visit to Bosnia- Herzegovina. There is a large number of refugees who without a real need remained in Germany after the end of the war, he said. Since 1991 Germany has set aside about DM17 billion for the care for about 350,000 Bosnian refugees, Spranger said adding that additional DM540 million in various forms of aid should be added to this amount. Germany is participating with 9.5 percent of the overall international help for the reconstruction of Bosnia, he said. One should not wait for ideal conditions for return, because that is not possible. Refugees should follow the example of some of the 120,000 refugees who have already returned to parts of Bosnia where they did not live before the war, Spranger said. Both Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman have to meet international requirements concerning the return of refugees because they are pledged to it by the Dayton agreement. If they fail to cooperate, Germany should take all necessary measures at its disposal, Spranger said. Spranger also met the highest officials of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Croat-Muslim Federation and visited Tuzla in northern Bosnia. (hina) rm/mrb , . 281530 MET apr 98