CROATIA READY TO ACCEPT CROAT REFUGEES IN GERMANY: PAVLETIC

( Editorial: --> 4764 ) ZAGREB, May 18 (Hina) - Croatia supports the return of Serb refugees and it is also prepared to accept 80,000 displaced Croats, mainly from Bosnia-Herzegovina who are currently accommodated in Germany, Croatian National Parliament Speaker Vlatko Pavletic said on Monday. Pavletic held talks about the return of refugees, especially Serbs, with a German Parliament delegation which is visiting Croatia, headed by Commissioner for Croatia Hartmut Koschik. During the talks Pavletic suggested a new idea, saying Croatia was ready to accept 80,000 Bosnian Croats who had fled to Germany. Germany is taking care of 240,000 Bosnian refugees, about 80,000 of whom are Croats. Pavletic said this idea was still unofficial, but Germany would be informed about it. "The idea exists and I think a lot of time would not be necessary for it (to be implemented) in the area envisaged if we received sufficient resources from Germany and the donors' conference," he said. "This can be realised very quickly, during this year ... but only if material conditions exist." Pavletic stressed that Croatia needed financial help for the reception of Serb refugees as well. Koschik hailed the efforts of the Croatian National Parliament to implement the Dayton Agreement, the building of the Bosnian Federation and the Programme for the Return of Refugees and Displaced Persons, including Serbs, which should be forwarded to the Parliament before the summer. After the adoption of the Programme for the Return of Refugees and Displaced Persons, Croatia has the right to request financial assistance from the international community for its implementation, Koschik said. Pavletic told Koschik that Croatia was interested in a Bosnia- Herzegovina based on Dayton, but only such a Bosnia in which all three peoples are constitutive. He added that the way some representatives of the international community spoke about Bosnian Croats as a minority was unacceptable. The German Parliament delegation also held talks with the Croatian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee. Representatives of Croatian political parties endorsed the right of Croatian Serbs to return to Croatia, but also criticised the international community for exerting unbalanced pressure on Croatia to take back Serbs, while on the other hand exiled Croats were not returning to Bosnia-Herzegovina or FR Yugoslavia at all. They also warned about the immoderate requests by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which wants to intervene in Croatian school education programmes and reinterpret history. Koschik said Croatia must decide on its priorities: its access into Europe or historically burdened discussions about borders and nations. He warned that responsible politicians ought not always give way to the will of the people in order for more important goals of the nation and people in the long-term to be achieved. (hina) lm /mb 181825 MET may 98