Josipović: The Law on House Reconstruction is Outdated

The law that required that in houses reconstructed by the state, one must live for ten years before being allowed to sell has become outdated, and it is time for it to be changed, assessed Croatian President Ivo Josipović on Thursday after a meeting with Damir Ljubić, the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister Ljubić is in Zagreb on the occasion of the public call for Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees in Croatia to apply for return through the regional housing program. This program aims to resolve the refugee issue in the region by providing permanent and sustainable housing solutions for about 74,000 individuals or 27,000 households in four countries of the region, and the special value of the program is that it offers displaced and uprooted persons the option to choose between reintegration or return.

In Croatia, there is a law in force that stipulates that in a reconstructed house, financed by the state, one must live for ten years before it can be sold, and Josipović believes it is time for this provision to be changed. “At that time, it made sense because the intention was to motivate the people being helped at that moment to actually stay in Croatia. We are entering a second phase of development when we need to think about changing the legal framework,” said Josipović.

According to him, it would be best if all refugees returned to where they were expelled from. “I would personally like, and I believe I share the desire of the majority of our citizens, for everyone to come back to their home and reintegrate into the community they left.”

Josipović stated that the Sarajevo donor conference, which raised 300 million euros, is “an important event that has created financial preconditions for return. Minister Ljubić will also discuss with (the Deputy Prime Minister of the Croatian government and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Branko) Grčić the implementation of a model that will guarantee everyone the freedom to decide whether to return or stay in the places where they found themselves during the war. It is important that they must get their property back and that this property must be restored, and it is up to them as owners to do what they want afterwards,” he said.

In April 2012, a donor conference was held in Sarajevo, and more than 260 million euros in donations were registered for the implementation of this program, while the relevant institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a public call to refugees for return to Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 7.

By 1991, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically in the area of the present-day Republic of Srpska, about 200,000 Croats lived, almost all of whom fled, and only five percent of the population, or just over ten thousand, returned. In addition to the Regional Program, Croatia is also trying to encourage the return of displaced Croats to Bosnia and Herzegovina through the Croatian government program, in which more than 250 million kuna has been invested so far.

“We hope that Croatia will continue to provide all necessary assistance as it has so far, and that in the next three or four years we will slowly bring this issue to a close, thus ensuring a permanent solution for the displaced and refugees,” said Ljubić.