OSCE Mission to Croatia concerned about attack on house of Serb returnee

ZAGREB, 20 May 2004 - The OSCE Mission to Croatia expressed concern on Thursday at reports of an arson attack against the house of an elderly Serb returnee in a village near Okucani, in Croatia's Western Slavonia region.

The 81-year old man had just returned to his house after living in exile in Serbia for 13 years. He told the press after the attack that he had decided to leave his house again and return to Serbia.

"Such criminal acts must not be tolerated and we expect the authorities to take decisive action against such incidents," said Alessandro Fracassetti, Spokesperson of the OSCE Mission to Croatia.

He added that similar attacks on Serb returnees and their properties had taken place in other areas over the last few months but in general these were isolated incidents.

"On the whole, the security situation is satisfactory and the Government has done a lot to improve the climate regarding return," he added.

Last week, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader accompanied OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, on a visit to Croatian Serb returnee houses in the Zadar hinterland in an effort to promote refugee return and reconciliation between communities.