TUZLA, May 6 (Hina) - U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, on Monday visited Tuzla, as part of her tour of the former Yugoslavia, to gain insight into the conditions of life and problems of displaced persons who are
temporarily situated in northeastern Bosnia.
TUZLA, May 6 (Hina) - U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako
Ogata, on Monday visited Tuzla, as part of her tour of the former
Yugoslavia, to gain insight into the conditions of life and
problems of displaced persons who are temporarily situated in
northeastern Bosnia. #L#
Ogata met with municipal and county authorities and said that
"U.N.'s Office for Refugees is very worried because the right of
displaced persons to visit and return to their homes is not being
respected".
"The reports I received say that out of 27 announced visits of
displaced persons to their homes in the Serb entity, only 12 have
been achieved so far, and incidents occurred during five of them.
The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serb entity on Friday
signed a Document on the Principles of Freedom of Movement, which
includes 10 items. This document, signed with the mediation of my
Office, will soon be delivered to municipalities all over Bosnia-
Herzegovina", Ogata said.
The Tuzla County Prefect, Izet Hadzic, said that he knew of a
group in the Serb entity whose task was to prevent persons from the
Bosnian Federation from crossing into the Serb entity. "This group
includes people from all over the Serb entity who are very quick in
getting to arranged crossing points", Hadzic stressed.
"Far too many people were forced out of their homes", Ogata
told the county authorities, adding that civil authorities should
organize visits of smaller groups in order to avoid any incidents.
(hina) ha mm
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