SERBS RESUME RETURN TO CROATIA AFTER A TWO WEEK PAUSE

( Editorial: --> 9620 ) VINKOVCI, Oct 19 (Hina) - Serbs from FR Yugoslavia will again start returning to Croatia Monday night after a two week pause in the implementation of the programme of the return of Serbs from FR Yugoslavia to Croatia, which was caused by the deterioration of the security situation in Yugoslavia. A group of 44 Serb returnees are expected to enter Croatia via the Bajakovo crossing (eastern Croatia) on Monday night, head of the Vinkovci-based Regional Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons, Ante Drmic, told Hina. Since the start of the implementation of the Croatian government programme of return, 2,106 Serbs have returned to Croatia. They are mostly elderly people with relatives in Croatia, and in fact this could be called family reunion, Drmic said. Most Serbs have returned to the Sisak, Petrinja, Karlovac and Knin areas, he added. The government Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons has received 10,401 Serb applications from the UNHCR for their return from Yugoslavia to Croatia. Out of that total, 2,106 Serbs have already returned to their homes in Croatia, and of those waiting to return, 4,801 fulfil the qualifications, Drmic said. (hina) lml 191616 MET oct 98