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Bosnians Call on Germany to Provide Aid For Repatriation


By Rolland Eggleston



Munich, June 14 (RFE/RL) -- A leading German newspaper says that Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic has suggested that Germany should pay up to 13,000 dollars a head for returning Bosnian refugees to provide housing or apartments.

The comment is contained in a report published in the German political weekly Die Zeit. The writer, Nikolaus Piper, does not quote Muartovic directly and does not indicate where he is supposed to have made the remark.

Spokesmen for the governing CSU political party in Bavaria called the alleged comment scandalous.

Piper wrote in Die Zeit that, in the article's words: "Muratovic has made the following offer to the Germans: he guarantees the return of 100,000 refugees if the federal republic will pay between 10,000 - 20,000 German marks per head. The money would be used to make houses and apartments habitable again."

According to the writer, Muratovich wants to settle most of the refugees in the Bosnian Krajina -- in towns such as Sanski Most, Petrovac and Klijuc.

About 320,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia live in Germany. According to the article, Germany spends the equivalent of 2,300 million U.S. dollars a year to sustain them. Repatriation of the refugees is expected to begin this year but so far two German provinces have delayed implementing forced repatriation until October. Others are expected to follow.
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