RETURN OF CROATS TO DANUBE REGION AND VUKOVAR NOT SUFFICIENT

( Editorial: --> 3361 ) VUKOVAR, May 12 (Hina)- So far 6,000 persons have returned to the Danube region in an organised manner, while another 2,000 returned spontaneously. Recently the number of returns has been steadily climbing, with 571 refugees returning to the area in the past eight days alone, head of the Vinkovci regional office for refugees and displaced persons Ante Drmic told the session of the Vukovar-Srijem County leadership. Yet, believes Drmic,the return could be even faster, if some DPs were ready to give up their DP status and move into their vacant and habitable flats and houses. The Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect, Rudolf Koening, is not happy with the pace of return to the Danube region, especially to Vukovar, which has so far seen the return of only 400 Croats. He called for monitoring of the number of Croat returns to the region and Serb emigrations from the region. According to the Serb Independent Democratic Party (SDSS), the Croatian Danube region is presently home to less than 50,000 Serbs, said Deputy Prefect of the Vukovar-Srijem County Mirko Jagetic. Jagetic asked for the transfer of the Serbs occupying houses of Croat DPs to housing that has been offered to the Agency for the Management of Certain Property, pending the resolution of their status. The reasons for the slow return of Croats to the Danube region and the return of Serbs from there are local economic difficulties and the high unemployment rate in that part of Croatia, Prefect Koenig said. In that regard, the meeting concluded that the Vukovar-Srijem County had one of the highest unemployment rates in the whole of Croatia. (hina) mr/mrb 121940 MET may 98