UNHCR & OSCE: CROATIA TREATS SERB RETURNS UNEQUALLY

( Editorial: --> 6556 ) ZAGREB, Oct 7 (Hina) - The Croatian Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees is successfully implementing the return of Serb refugees to Croatia, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Andrej Mahecic in Zagreb on Wednesday. Between June 26 and October 4, the Office approved the return of 4,257 persons of whom 1,936 have already returned. However, there were very few cases of property being returned to Serb nationals, said Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) spokesman Mark Thompson. As an example, he noted a recent incident in Daruvar (western Slavonia). On September 24, the family of a Serb refugee were prevented from returning to their own house by some twenty Croat displaced persons. Even though the local police arrived at the scene, they failed to take any action. The UNHCR considers that housing commissions do not have a complete approach in the field to some issues, particularly with regard to the return of property and alternative shelter. The UN Liaison Office's spokeswoman Kirsten Haupt reported that the number of incidents tied to property issues in the Croatian Danube region had decreased somewhat in the past week - there were nine in all. Nevertheless, the number of ethnic incidents had increased, said Haupt. These had climbed to 22 incidents. Amongst these incidents was the one which occurred in the Vukovar primary school where Serb students intimidated Croat students. This incident, which was well-covered in the media, was not isolated, said Haupt. There were also cases where Croat children intimidated Serb children, she said. We do not want young people to be educated in an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance, and in such cases all elements of the national programme of reconciliation regarding education should be implemented, said Haupt. (hina) sp jn/rml 071736 MET oct 98