RETURN OF SERB REFUGEES MUST BE COMPLETED NEXT YEAR - MARENDIC

BELGRADE, Dec 11 (Hina) - The Joint Croatian-Yugoslav Commission held a meeting in Belgrade on Thursday. The Commission is in charge of the implementation of Article 7 of the Agreement on the Normalisation of Relations between Croatia and FR Yugoslavia. The focus of the meeting were reports on the return of refugees and their rights. property issues of legal persons and the agreement on the compensation of war damage. Croatian delegation head Bozidar Marendic told Croatian reporters that 53,000 Serb refugee had returned to Croatia and the process of the return of the remainder should be completed by next year. "It is in our interest that those who wish to do so, return as soon as possible," Marendic said, recalling that Croatian President Tudjman's desire was that the refugee issue be removed from the agenda next year. Head of the Croatian Government Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons Lovre Pejkovic said that people who have obtained Croatian documents must exercise their rights as citizens of Croatia, and not be evidenced as people of unresolved status. He added that Yugoslav authorities should deal with the integration of those who had decided to remain in FR Yugoslavia. So far, 75,000 refugees have sought Yugoslav citizenship. Croatian Deputy Justice Minister Snjezana Bagic pointed out problems caused by the one-way return of refugees. Croatian authorities are overwhelmed with applications for return, which cannot be resolved in a short period of time, she said. Director of the Croatian Certain Real-Estate Agency Davor Rajcic aid that DM80 million had been set aside from the state budget for the purchase of 2,700 housing facilities this year. There is a stale mate in negotiations on the compensation of war damage, Croatian representative Vladimir Djuro Degan said. The signing of an agreement on the compensation remains the most difficult part of the job of the joint Croatian-Yugoslav Commission. (hina) lml mm