BOSNIAN CROAT REFUGEES THREATEN HUNGER STRIKE UNLESS ALLOWED TO RE

RE $ TURN VIS, Sept 21 (Hina) - About a hundred Bosnian Croat refugees staying on the southern Croatian Adriatic island of Vis wrote Saturday to the newly-elected members of the Bosnian Presidency and international mediators, demanding they be enabled to return to their homes or otherwise they would begin a hunger strike. Their letter was prompted by last Saturday's elections when a dozen refugees travelled to Bosnia-Herzegovina to vote with the intention of staying in their pre-war homes. However, they all had to return to Vis because their homes had either been burnt down or occupied by Bosnian Moslems. Refugees claimed that no one, including the international police deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, had responded to threats from their former neighbours. Most of the Croat refugees on Vis are from Bugojno while a smaller group is from Banja Luka. However, refugees from Banja Luka are not thinking of returning at the moment because they were forced by Serb authorities to renounce their claim to of all of their property. (hina) vm (hina) vm 211421 MET sep 96