RETURN OF MUSLIM REFUGEES TO STOLAC POSTPONED

STOLAC, 5 Feb (Hina) - A new attempt by nine Muslim refugee families to return to Stolac (southern Bosnia and Herzegovina), scheduled for 7 February, was postponed until 12 February. Representatives of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bosnia, local and Federation authorities and Stabilization Force (SFOR) members met in Stolac on Wednesday and agreed to postpone the return until 12 February. A group of Muslim refugees tried to return to Stolac last week, but were prevented by Croat refugees from central Bosnia, who asked that all refugees be allowed to return to their homes. The head of the Stolac municipality, Pero Raguz, said after today's meeting that the pilot-project on the return of Muslim families would be discussed at the end of this week at the latest, at a session of the Neretva Canton government. Raguz supported the pilot-program on the return of Muslim refugees, but added that he could not accept responsibility for or guarantee safety to returnees. Before the meeting, the head of the UNHCR regional office, Neill Wreight, representatives of international organizations and Neretva Canton Prefect Fatima Leho, met with representatives of Croat refugees from central Bosnia, currently living in the Stolac area. During a three-hour discussion, Wreight called for tolerance and restoration of trust between Croats and Muslims. He described as negative demonstrations by Croat refugees, who prevented the return of nine Muslim families to Stolac last Friday. Representatives of Croat refugees said they did not oppose the return of Muslims to Stolac, but insisted that they, too, be allowed to return to central Bosnia. All refugees in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be allowed to return to their homes, they said, adding that 20,000 Croats had been expelled from Sarajevo, 20,000 from Travnik, 19,000 from Zenica, 14,000 from Kakanj and 11,000 from Vares. They also expressed their resentment against the fact that political leaders and international community were not implementing agreements they had signed. No one cared about 4,500 Croat refugees in the Stolac area, they said. The mortality rate among Croat refugees in Stolac had increased by 20% to 30%, said Ilija Tadic, representative of Croat refugees from Stolac. Another representative of Croat refugees, Sonja Marcic, said that 200,000 Muslims from eastern Bosnia had settled in Sarajevo. Those Muslims, she said, were accommodated in 32,000 flats and houses the owners of which were Sarajevo Croats and in 33,000 Serb flats and houses, which the Bosnian Presidency had declared abandoned. (hina) rm jn 051800 MET feb 97