RETURNEES DISSATISFIED WITH ANNOUNCED PACE OF RECONSTRUCTION

OSIJEK, June 7 (Hina) - Returnee associations from two eastern Croatian counties on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the announced pace of reconstruction of family houses in 1999, and the announced reduction of reconstruction funds due to the state budget revision. Speaking at a joint session held in Osijek today, returnees said they believed the announced reconstruction of 800 houses in Vukovar-Srijem County and another 500 in Osijek-Baranja County in 1999 would not create conditions for a complete return even in ten years. The associations believe the announced budgetary cuts for reconstruction, worth US$55.5 million, of which US$38 million had been intended for the repair of family houses, were unjustified. They demanded from parliamentary representatives representing the two counties to submit amendments to the budgetary revision in the parliamentary discussion. The returnees said construction works on some apartments had been completed but keys to those apartments were still not being given to their owners, while some citizens of Serb nationality, who had sold their houses through the Agency for Real Estate Transactions, were moving into state-owned flats. The return process was also being hampered by a lack of jobs and infrastructure, they added. (hina) jn rml