UNHCR CALLS ON BOSNIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES

SARAJEVO, 29 Aug (Hina) - The President and Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kresimir Zubak and Ejup Ganic, and a special representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Soren Jessen-Petersen, on Thursday called on all cantonal and municipal bodies of authority in the Croat-Muslim Federation to fully observe provisions of the 7th annex of the Dayton peace agreement on the return of all refugees and displaced persons to their pre-war places of residence. #L# The latter, publicized on Thursday by UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski, said that all officials in the federal bodies of authority had been ordered to take urgent measures with the aim of securing a safe and dignified return of refugees. The return of refugees should start in cooperation with the federal Ministry for Refugees and UNHCR. 'We wanted to stimulate the return of refugees, but this is only a sheet of paper and we will start to believe in it after its implementation starts', Janowski said, adding that the situation on the territory of the Croat-Muslim Federation was not encouraging when respect for the basic human rights is concerned. Janowski particularly condemned the behaviour of the authorities in western Mostar, where, he said, 49 Bosniac-Muslim and Serb families had been evicted from their homes since the beginning of this year. Three families had been evicted since the election of the new Mostar mayor, Janowski said, adding that some people had changed their names only to avoid further maltreatment. The UNHCR spokesman claims that the local police were doing nothing to prevent the expulsion of non-Croats and that its members as well as members of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) were sometimes participating in the evictions. (hina) rm 291551 MET aug 96