UNHCR CHIEF OF MISSION IN FOJNICA AND KISELJAK

Sarajevo, 26 April 2001 – UNHCR Chief of Mission, Mr Werner Blatter, accompanied by Commander of the German SFOR Contingent, Colonel Gareissen visited Kiseljak and Fojnica yesterday.

During the visit UNHCR and SFOR delegation met Mr Ivica Udovcic, Mayor of Kiseljak and Mr. Mustafa Memija, Mayor of Fojnica, as well as returnees to these municipalities.

"With our visit we wanted to draw the attention to these municipalities where large scale minority return have taken place and where more returns can be expected. Equally important is the very high implementation rate of the Property Laws. In Kiseljak, out of 1922 claims 1643 repossessions have taken place. In the case of Fojnica, 685 claims were submitted, while 547 repossessions took place to date. This represents a true achievement and both Municipalities must be thanked for their work and their respect for the rule of law", said Blatter and added: "The only, but real problem that return process in Fojnica and Kiseljak municipalities faced with is the luck of reconstruction assistance. Some 1000 additional housing units in these municipalities are urgently needed this year".

To date, 2,391 Croats have returned to Fojnica and 3,772 Bosniak to Kiseljak.