IZETBEGOVIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR RETURN OF REFUGEES TO SARAJEVO

( Editorial: --> 9095 ) SARAJEVO, 3 Feb (Hina) - The return of at least 20,000 non-Bosniak (Muslim) refugees to Sarajevo must be secured this year or the international community will be forced to withhold help intended for the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina, High Representative for implementation of the Dayton agreement, Carlos Westendorp, said Tuesday. Westendorp spoke at the opening of a conference on the return of refugees to Sarajevo, which is being held in the Bosnian capital today. The meeting gathered more than 150 participants, representatives of the international community and Bosnia's authorities. The High Representative stressed the need for changing the existing laws on property and tenancy rights. He called for the immediate and consistent implementation of the amnesty law, demanding that refugees be guaranteed that they will not have to serve in the army for at least five years. Conditions have to be created for returnee children to enjoy full equality in Sarajevo schools, Westendorp said. Sarajevo has to be an example of restoration of a multiethnic society, the High Representative added. Robert Gelbard, special US envoy for the implementation of the Dayton agreement, was even more specific. He said that authorities in Sarajevo and the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina had two weeks to change the existing laws on property. A failure to respect this deadline could lead to the instant stoppage of US aid for the reconstruction of the Sarajevo Canton, Gelbard added. Sarajevo must become a symbol of reconciliation and peace, he said. The proposal for changing the current property and housing relations laws as a precondition for a speedier return of refugees was also supported by European Commission representative Herman De Lange, the head of the UN Mission in Bosnia, Elizabeth Rehn, Britain's state secretary for international development, Clare Short, and the head of the US Agency for International Development, Brian Atwood. Bosnian Presidency chairman Alija Izetbegovic said that he personally and the Bosniak side supported the initiative on declaring Sarajevo an open city, but he dismissed criticism saying the multi-ethnic structure of Sarajevo had been dramatically changed. According to Izetbegovic, there are 308,000 Muslims and 45,600 Croats, Serbs and members of other nationalities living in Sarajevo. At least one-third of canton and city administration employees are non-Bosniaks, he said. The Bosniak leader presented five conditions for a speedier return of refugees to Sarajevo. No one currently living in other people's apartments should be evicted; all those who want to return will not be able to rent or sell their apartments for at least five years; a law on return should be adopted for the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina; Sarajevo as the capital should become the real seat of all joint institutions of authority; and two-way return must be secured. "Banja Luka must follow the example of Sarajevo immediately," Izetbegovic demanded, adding that otherwise he would not accept any of the conclusions of the Sarajevo conference. Bosnian Presidency Croat member Kresimir Zubak warned however that the setting of new conditions was a new attempt to prevent the return of refugees. Zubak demanded the rescinding of illegal decisions on taking away tenancy rights from persons who left Sarajevo during the war as well as the unobstructed use of one's own property for all people. He proposed that the proclamation of a district in the area of Sarajevo be reconsidered. This, Zubak claims, will secure equality for all Sarajevo residents. Federation Vice-President Vladimir Soljic, a Croat, warned about the domination of Bosniaks in all areas of life in the Bosnian capital. At least 5,000 people in Sarajevo use more than two apartments, while pre-war residents are being prevented from returning, Soljic said. Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik, who is visiting Sarajevo for the first time since his appointment, supported the consistent implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. The Republika Srpska government is fully ready to act according to the Dayton agreement, Dodik said, adding his entity also needed considerable financial help from the international community. (hina) mm rm 031534 MET feb 98