19,600 CROATS EXPELLED FROM TRAVNIK, CENTRAL BOSNIA

NOVA BILA, March 11 (Hina) - A drafted pilot-programme for the return of refugees to their homes in Bosnia, raised hopes of expelled Croats from Travnik, central Bosnia, that they could soon come back to their hometown. The pilot-programme reads that in the beginning Croats should return to the Puticevo village in the Travnik municipality, and Moslems-Bosniacs to the Duge village in the Prozor municipality. But, Moslem officials in the joint commission's executive board had postponed the signing of the programme, and ,thus, its implementation, Travnik aldermen in exile in Nova Bila said today. Before the Serbian aggression on Bosnia, Travnik was the third biggest municipality with the number of Croat citizens following Sarajevo and Banja Luka. More than 26,000 Croats lived in the central Bosnian municipality at the time. Some 19,600 Croats had been expelled from Travnik after the outbreak of war, and 15,300 of them fled the area during the conflict between the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Bosnian Army in 1993. At the same time 223 Moslems left the area. The Croat refugees from Travnik have found shelter in Herzeg- Bosnia, Croatia or in western European countries, America and Australia. According to polls, most of the expelled Croats would like to return to Travnik, said the municipality's aldermen. (hina) mms 111709 MET mar 95