ZAGREB, Aug 9 (Hina) - Head of the Croatian Government Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees, Damir Zoric, on Friday wrote to UNHCR head of mission, Pierre Jambor in response to statements by UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond made at a
press conference in Geneva on Tuesday and carried by foreign agencies and other media.
ZAGREB, Aug 9 (Hina) - Head of the Croatian Government Office for
Displaced Persons and Refugees, Damir Zoric, on Friday wrote to
UNHCR head of mission, Pierre Jambor in response to statements by
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond made at a press conference in Geneva on
Tuesday and carried by foreign agencies and other media. #L#
Addressing each of Redmond's statements in turn, the letter
quoted his words that a "lack of cooperation of the Croatian side
prevents the return (of refugees)."
"After the Flash operation in May 1995, the Office for
Displaced Persons and Refugees (ODPR) started an organised campaign
in cooperation with UNHCR to return refugees from western Slavonia
(former Sector West) to their homes," the letter said.
"While ODPR was resolving the paperwork - granting group
returns - UNHCR was responsible for physically bringing people back
to Croatia. Due to the reluctance of Serbian (FRY) and Bosnian Serb
authorities (as UNHCR asserted) to grant refugees exit from their
territories, UNHCR did not manage to bring a single person back to
Croatia," the letter said.
After the 'Storm' operation, ODPR proposed to UNHCR the
extension of the existing co-operation to people who had fled from
former sectors South and North, the letter said.
"UNHCR refused, with the explanation that the World
Organisation for refugees hand no technical means and no staff to
process such a high number of individual cases. Therefore, ODPR had
to overtake the whole procedure to its sole responsibility," the
letter said.
Redmond's assertion that "UNHCR has assisted in fewer than 100
returns of Croatian Serb refugees from FRY" was true, the letter
said, adding that even these few had been brought thanks to the
joint efforts of ODPR and the Croatian Office in Belgrade.
Another problem mentioned by Redmond was the "circulation of
secret lists of people wanted for investigation into allegations
that they were responsible for crimes against Croats when Serbs
held the Krajina," the letter quoted.
"There are no 'secret lists'. The list of 811 people under
investigation, and not covered by the Amnesty Law, was published on
June 28, 1996, in the Vecernji List daily. The list includes not
only Croatian Serbs, but also Croats and people whose domicile is
outside Croatia, such as former JNA officers who ordered the
destruction of Vukovar," the letter said.
"At any rate, everyone can simply take a look at the list in
Vecernji List to see if he is under investigation or not."
"Furthermore, whenever ODPR gets the information from the
Ministry of the Interior that one of our clients - potential
returnees - is wanted, ODPR insists that the refugee personally
sign a statement that he has been notified of that fact and that he
wants to return home of his own free will. Not until receiving the
original of that statement is ODPR issuing the letter of
recommendation to the border police (usually referred to as
"approval") to assist the person on his way back home," the lettr
said.
"UNHCR knows it well, as it has delivered at least one such
statement to ODPR."
The letter then reminded UNHCR that Croatia had, through ODPR,
looked after some 1,500,000 displaced persons and refugees from
1991 through 1996. Also, the Kupljensko camp was closed on August
1, and Croatia was still caring for Velika Kladusa refugees in the
Gasinci and Obonjan refugee centres, the letter said.
"The goal of the Office for displaced persons and refugees is
to return people to their homes, if feasible, rather than provide
everlasting shelter for them. We shall return all displaced persons
to their homes," the letter ssaid.
"ODPR is bringing and will bring EVERYBODY home, Serbs and
Croats alike. We have never made any difference between our clients
by any criteria, national, religious or any other. (...) ODPR has
issued 6,512 letters of recommendation to date," the letter said.
Responding to a statement by ICRC that about 3,500 Serb
remainees in the liberated areas "were considered extremely
vulnerable cases, since many of them were elderly and ill," Zoric
recalled that a few months ago, ODPR and UNHCR had agreed to
consider such cases as a priority.
"So far, UNHCR has submitted one such case to ODPR. The
second, but also only one, came by ICRC. For its part, ODPR started
identifying those people, to facilitate the return of their
families without waiting for the humanitarian agencies that only
write reports. Instead, we took action," the letter said.
Responding to Redmond's assertion that "Croatia says some
7,000-8,000 have gone back, but no one knows who they are and where
they are," Zoric said that "9,253 people have returned so far,
according to the latest data."
"Maybe it would be possible to get their names and
whereabouts. For instance, UNHCR could encourage them to report to
the World Organisation and get some financial assistance in return.
I am sure that each and every one of them would come to your
doorstep," the letter said.
"No matter how burdened by our role in organising the B-H
elections, ODPR will work and in due time deliver the list of all
persons who have returned so far. But the outcome of such distrust
will be an enormous waste of time and energy, which could and
should be used to help those who need our hand," the letter said.
The letter also referred to Redmond's statemend that UNHCR was
working "in FRY to care for 170,000 Krajina Serbs who feel
forgotten by the world, about 40% of whom live in collective
centres."
"According to the data published following a recent census of
refugees in FRY, only 5.2% of the refugees live in collective
centres. Where did UNHCR find 40%?" the letter said.
(hina) as
091554 MET aug 96