PEJKOVIC: RETURN TO DANUBE REGION GAINING MOMENTUM

( Editorial: --> 1181 ) ZAGREB, Sept 17 (Hina) - The return of displaced people to the Croatian Danubian region has been gaining momentum during the past several months, Croatian Assistant Reconstruction and Development Minister Lovre Pejkovic said in Zagreb on Thursday. Pejkovic held a joint press conference with representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). A total of 21,349 people have returned to the Danube region, Pejkovic said. "By September 15, 22,863 people left the region for other parts of Croatia", he added. Today's press conference was also attended by Assistant Reconstruction and Development Minister Stjepan Sterc, UNHCR Mission head Robert Robinson and OSCE Mission head Tim Guldimann. Speaking about return applications, Pejkovic said that 10,326 such applications have been received from Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Serb entity to date. Of that number, 4,044 requests have been processed. So far, 1,694 people have returned to Croatia, of whom 717 independently and 977 in organised convoys, Pejkovic concluded. (hina) rml 171853 MET sep 98