BILJE, July 9 (Hina) - Head of the Croatian government Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons, Lovre Pejkovic, handed returnees' cartons to the three-member Varga family from Kopacevo in Bilje on Wednesday, thus symbolically
marking the start of the return of displaced persons to the Croatian Danube river region.
BILJE, July 9 (Hina) - Head of the Croatian government Office for
Refugees and Displaced Persons, Lovre Pejkovic, handed returnees'
cartons to the three-member Varga family from Kopacevo in Bilje on
Wednesday, thus symbolically marking the start of the return of
displaced persons to the Croatian Danube river region. #L#
Zoltan Varga expressed satisfaction that he had returned to his
home in Kopacevo after being in exile for six years, and added that he
expected help from the Croatian government in the reconstruction of his
house.
After a meeting with the residents of Bilje, at which UNTAES
representatives were present, Pejkovic said that "over a thousand
persons have returned to the Danubian area unofficially, through
sponsored visits," while out of 55 families numbering 160 persons who
had received permits from the government Office, 68 persons had returned
permanently to the area.
Stressing that all technical preparations were being conducted to
accelerate the two-way return during the summer, Pejkovic added that
about 1,500 persons had registered for urgent return to Bilje.
Pejkovic called on the Serbs in the Danubian area to register at
branch offices of the Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons in order
to accelerate the two-way return, and stressed that their rights would
be equal as the rights of other returnees.
He recalled that out of the present 225 registered families
numbering 578 persons, 85 families numbering 194 persons wanted to
return to their homes.
Head of the Osijek Regional Office for Refugees and Displaced
Persons, Nada Arbanas, said that the return of 89 Serbs from Klisa to
their homes in other parts of Croatia would take part on Thursday under
the organisation of the UNHCR, UNTAES and the regional office.
Head of the refugee unit at the UNTAES civilian affairs department,
Joran Stigmer, said that the arrival of the first displaced persons to
the Bilje municipality proved that the process of the two-way return was
functioning and operational.
(hina) lm
091542 MET jul 97