U.S. DIPLOMAT SAYS CROATIA PREVENTING RETURN OF SERB REFUGEES

GENEVA, Dec 16 (Hina) - The US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, John Kornblum, said in Geneva on Monday that Croatia was preventing the return of Serb refugees and warned that the international community would hold the Croatian government responsible for failure of their return to Croatia. Croatia's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Darko Bekic, said that the return process was not delayed by political obstacles, stressing that a lack of financial resources for the reconstruction and economic development was the main reason for the slow return of all refugees. Speaking at a UN-sponsored conference on the return of refugees to the area of former Yugoslavia, Kornblum described the situation in Croatia as difficult. "The Croatian government has allowed few Serb displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes and has been slow in issuing documentation to those who have applied," Kornblum said. He added that Croats had assaulted and threatened a small number of those who remained in Croatia. "Croatian authorities have failed to protect the victims and have often perpetrated the crimes," he said. Kornblum said that "these heinous acts send a chilling message to those who remain in Eastern Slavonia and to those who might return to other parts of Croatia." He warned Zagreb that it "must end this intimidation." Bekic rejected allegations that the slow return of Serb refugees to the liberated areas of Croatia was caused by political and administrative obstacles or mass-scale intimidation and maltreatment. Noting that it was one of the economically most backward areas of the country, Bekic said that the main reason for the slow return was "a lack of financial resources for reconstruction and economic development." He added that this was also the reason why 120,000 Croats had still not returned to the areas. Bekic said that 13,000 Serb refugees had returned to Croatia and that "the Croatian government is willing to cooperate in the realization of the right of all persons who have fled the country to return." UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said that improving relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia must lead to a substantial increase in the number of returnees next year. Next year the biggest challenge facing the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) and the UNHCR will be to bring about the return of Croats to Eastern Slavonia and of Serbs who wish to return to their homes elsewhere in Croatia, Ogata said. (hina) vm mm 162005 MET dec 96