CROATIAN DELEGATION TO ATTEND WASHINGTON HOLOCAUST CONFERENCE

ZAGREB, Nov 27 (Hina) - A Croatian delegation is to participate at a conference in Washington next week concerned with the return of property confiscated during the Holocaust. The conference will be attended by some forty countries and numerous non-government organisations. The Croatian delegation will consist of representatives of the Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Culture ministries, and the Croatian State Archives. It will be headed by Assistant Justice Minister Snjezana Bagic. The main themes of the conference will be: restitution or insurance payments of life insurance for holocaust victims to their descendants, confiscated artefacts, return of property to religious communities. Asked about the status of restitution for Jewish property in Croatia, a member of the Croatian delegation said that "compensation for Jews is being dealt with in context with compensation for all those whose property was confiscated and will not be treated separately". "There is a difference though between private and legal bodies", the source said, explaining that the situation was not the same for individuals and religious communities. Individual requests will be dealt with in keeping with the laws on denationalisation while the Jewish Municipality will be resolved seperately and it appears soon and positively. An additional problem is that Croatian denationalisation laws apply to Croat citizens and, unless people have citizenship, they cannot claim restitution of property. This is not specific to Croatia alone, the delegation member said. (hina) sp/ha