UNHCR DEMANDS GUARANTEES FOR SECURITY OF CROATS IN BUGOJNO

SARAJEVO, Sept 18 (Hina) - The attack on the house of Croat Stjepan Vukadin in Bugojno, central Bosnia, on the eve of the Bosnian elections, 14 September, seriously questioned the pilot-programme for the return of refugees to four municipalities in the Bosnian Federation, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Evidence showed that the perpetrators were not only intent on causing physical damage, but that it was a miracle that there were no casualties in the explosion, Janowski said. "We have forwarded a special letter to Bugojno head Dzevad Mlaco and warned him that he was personally responsible for the safety, not only of the Vukadin family, but of all other Croats in that municipality", Janowski said, describing Mlaco, in relation to the return of refugees, as one of the most cooperative local officials in the Federation. Before the incident, 98 Croat families had returned to Bugojno, but tension in the town increased considerably ever since. According to UNHCR, 202 Bosniak families had returned to the nearby Jajce, controlled by the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), by Tuesday, thus completing the plan for the return to that town. The project was a bit slower in HVO-controlled Stolac, 20 kilometres south of Mostar, but Bosniaks there were allowed to repair their homes. The atmosphere was better than before, Janowski said, because Bosniaks had full freedom of movement, even though none of them had finally settled in the town. The project for the return of several Croat families to Bosniak-controlled Travnik in central Bosnia had been completed a lot earlier. (hina) ha mm 181359 MET sep 96