BOSNIAN SERB AUTHORITIES PREVENTING RETURN OF REFUGEES - UNHCR

SARAJEVO, Sept 11 (Hina) - The UN High Commission for Refugees said in Sarajevo on Wednesday that its mission in Serb-held Bosnia- Herzegovina was completely uncertain because local Serb authorities, including senior officials, were continually blocking the return of refugees. Should the refugees be prevented from returning even after the elections, we would have to assess whether we would stay in the Serb entity, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told a news conference in Sarajevo. Our job is to return the refugees and displaced people to their homes, which obviously isn't possible there, he adde. UNHCR special envoy Soren-Jessen Petersen was in Banja Luka on Monday to discuss the matter with Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic, Janowski said. Plavsic said that the return of refugees "is practically impossible because there is no room for them." She added that provisions of the Dayton peace agreement envisaging the free return of refugees were a "pure theory." According to Janowski, Plavsic said that there were no prospects for refugees returning to their homes in the Serb entity in the near future. (hina) vm jn 111814 MET sep 96