CROATIA, BOSNIA, TURKEY DISCUSS REPATRIATION OF MOSLEM REFUGEES

ZAGREB, May 23 (Hina) - Ambassadors of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey met in Zagreb on Thursday to discuss the progress of repatriation of Moslem refugees from Croatia to northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Ambassadors' Council of the goodwill mission "Return" expressed thanks to the joint police force of the three countries deployed in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina to create safety and other conditions for the return of Moslem refugees from the Kuplensko camp, about 70 km south of Zagreb, which was soon to be closed. The Council also thanked all those who had been involved in efforts to provide aid to the refugees and ensure their return home, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The foreign ministers of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey will meet in Ankara on May 27 to consider a proposal by the Cooperation Council of the three countries to extend the mandate of the joint police force until elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The makeshift Kuplensko camp was set up by Moslem refugees last summer after the defeat of breakaway Moslem forces in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to official estimates, about 20,000 sought refuge in Croatia. The Bosnian government has called on them to return, which the refugees rejected fearing reprisals from the Bosnian army. The foreign ministers of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey set up the "Return" mission in October 1995 to resolve the refugee crisis. As part of this campaign, the three countries deployed the joint police force in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina late last year. After about 16,000 refugees had returned to Velika Kladusa and Cazin in the last six months, the Cooperation Council recommended at its session on 11 May 1996 that the Kuplensko refugee camp be shut down. There are still about 4,000 refugees at the camp, of whom 1,200 have decided to return to Velika Kladusa and Cazin. The rest will be temporarily accommodated in refugee camps elsewhere in Croatia from where about 700 will leave for third countries. (hina) vm jn 231648 MET may 96