OFFICE FOR REFUGEES ALLOWED 12,000 SERBS TO RETURN

YAGREB, 10 August (Hina) - So far 9,253 persons who fled from Croatia during the liberation of the occupied areas have returned, says the Croatian Government Office for Refugees and DPs. The office estimates that another two to three thousand persons, whose whereabouts is not known, returned under uncertain circumstances. Out of the 9,253 persons who returned legally, 5982 came with a permission of the Office, 694 with consent of Croatian diplomatic or consular offices and 1571 on the basis of some other document. According to the Office for Refugees and DPs, in the future priority will be given to to persons who want to be reunitied with their elderly relatives in Croatia. Since May 1994 Croatian authorities have registered 34,000 apllications for repatriation. Out of those, 18,000 have been submitted by organizations such as the Serbian Helsinki Watch, the Serb Democratic Forum and the Serb People' Party. Most of those applications refer to the return of property, or condition repatriation by political concessions, such as demise of the Croatian government, withdrawal of the Croatian army or reintegration of the liberated areas into the so called Krajina. The Government office refuses to consider applications submitted by political organizations and has decided to process only the 16,000 reunion applications that have been submitted personally by the applicants' relatives. as (Hina) 101723 MET aug 96