RRTF: Report July 1997
Annex 8
The Doboj hub cluster area developments
July 1997
Doboj town (RS)
Doboj (RS) municipality does not welcome minority return. The small amount of housing reconstruction being proposed by the UNHCR/Scottish European Aid (SEA) shelter project (ten houses) is targeted at internally displaced Serbs. There are vacant apartments and free housing space in Doboj. There is no evidence yet of significant movement into Doboj from Eastern Slavonia or other areas of the Republika Srpska.
Derventa (RS)
Derventa municipality does not welcome minority return. A large amount of reconstruction is, however, projected during 1997 for Serb houses damaged during the presence of Croatian forces in the municipality during 1992, with internally displaced persons as the beneficiaries. Some 20 houses will be reconstructed under the UNHCR/ SEA project and 150 by the Norwegian Refugee Council. There is no evidence of movement into Derventa from the above-mentioned areas.
Maglaj (Fed)
Maglaj municipality officially welcomes minority return, but in practice there is yet little movement of Croat or Serb minorities into areas under Bosniak control. In case of the successful conclusion of ongoing negotiations between Maglaj authorities and HDZ officials in adjacent Zepce, some 1,500 Bosniaks and 750 Croats will return to their respective villages in the Southern part of Maglaj municipality. Whereas only 47 repatriates from European Union Member States have registered upon return, many more spontaneous returnees have avoided registration lest war-tax contributions be demanded from them. Furthermore, there is no other incentive to register, as long as they do not require humanitarian aid. UNHCR entertains a housing project with UMCOR as implementing partner. The housing situation in Maglaj remains very difficult.
Tesanj (Fed)
Tesanj officially welcomes minority return, but in practice there is little inward movement from Serbs to the municipality. In the (Croat controlled, but not officially recognised) “Usora” community, a conflict over available housing prevails between Croats and Bosniaks. The housing situation in Tesanj is extremely difficult and exacerbated by a significant amount of returnees from Germany, including a number of persons originating from adjacent Teslic (RS). Due to lack of registration, the municipality has so far failed to produce statistics.
- These municipalities are Lukavac, Tuzla, Brcko, Srebrenik, Gradacac, the Zone of Separation parts of Kalesija/Gracanica/ Zvornik, Maglaj, Zepce, Teslic, Mostar, Gorazde, Bosanski Petrovac, Kljuc, Sanski Most, Velika Kladusa, Buzz and all nine municipalities in Sarajevo Canton.
- In addition to those covered in the report, UNHCR and PRM/CRS are beginning evaluations of Kakanj, Vares and Travnik.
- Vogosca is one of the Sarajevo suburbs from which the then predominantly Bosnian Serb population left during the Transition Period following the Peace Agreement in February 1996. The current population is predominantly Bosniak who also formed the pre-war majority (50%).