ZUKIC: REFUGEE RETURN IN BOSNIA IS NOT SUCCESSFUL

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 21,2008) - The process of refugee return is not successful in Bosnia, regardless the fact that it has positive sides. No one controlled money that was invested for solving the issues of refugees and displaced persons but that money was spent without partially and in an unknown way; it was pointed out by the President of the Bosnian union of associations of refugees, displaced persons and returnees (SIRL) Mirhunisa Zukic.

She, at the press-conference in the northern Bosnian city of Banja Luka, pointed out that that responsibility for the fact that refugee return was still not finished and that the problems of refugees and displaced persons are not solved is on the countries that signed the Dayton Peace Agreement and that were responsible for implementing that document and they did not do it.

She reminded that the rights of refugees, displaced persons and returnees were enabled and protected with the Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement but the commission and the means fund that would guarantee compensation and return.

"International organizations directed us in other direction and therefore we got a complete non-coordination between domestic and international organizations”, Zukic pointed out. She also pointed out that therefore we have today completely exclusive ethnic areas in Bosnia and that there is almost no return in urban areas.


Zukic also talked about what SIRL did so far, pointing out that it was lobbied out for 307 000 houses to be reconstructed from the funds of domestic institutions and international organizations which makes 68 per cent of the total devastated housing fund in our country.

There are still 145.000 houses in Bosnia that were not reconstructed but only 43.000 housing units are recorded in the data base.
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