Zagreb, February 28, 2000 (IKA) — Bishop Franjo Komarica of the Banja Luka Diocese [presently within the Republika Srpska of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina] was received on February 25, by the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Zlatko Tomčić. During this meeting, questions were discussed concerning the return of displaced and refugee Croats originally from the territory of the Banja Luka Diocese to their homes. In a statement following the meeting, Bishop Komarica said that he was gratified to be addressing this question again, pointing out that four years following the Dayton Agreement, of the 70,000 Croats who had been expelled from the territory of the Banja Luka Diocese, only 500 have returned. He reiterated the conclusions from a meeting with the high representative of the international community for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petrisch, who had assured him that this year the bulk of the problem of returnees would be resolved in cooperation with the international community. Speaking about the return of Croats as well as other expelled persons, Bishop Komarica said that not only material renewal is needed but renewal of the infrastructure and economic structure. The bishop of Banja Luka also thanked the speaker of the Parliament for the interest he has already expressed in the fate of the Croats expelled from their homes, particularly from Bosanska Posavina [the Bosnian Sava River Valley] and northwest Bosnia. Speaker Zlatko Tomčić supports the return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes, stressing that this is a fundamental right of each individual. He also pointed out that stabilization in this part of Europe is also greatly dependent on the process of this return. Tomčić mentioned that owing in great measure to Bishop Komarica, significantly greater understanding by the international community is sensed regarding the return of refugees, particularly to the territory of the Republika Srpska.