Saturday, December 04, 2010

Serbia: Issue of refugees, exiles, IDPs requires lasting solution

Source: Government of Serbia - Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic stated that the issue of missing persons, regardless of their nationality, is additionally hampering the already oppressing refugee problem.

At a meeting with Secretary General European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) Bjarte Vandvik, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council Andreas Kamm and Executive Director of Group 484 Vladimir Petronijevic, Krkobabic voiced his gratitude to these organisations for their assistance, support and understanding.

He acquainted representatives from these organisations with the still unresolved issue of refugees, exiles and IDPs, highlighting the efforts Serbia is undertaking to integrate refugees and ensure conditions for their normal life.

He stressed that Serbia expects others in its surroundings to do the same – to restore individual and property rights to everyone.

Krkobabic also underlined that the 2010 budget intended for refugees remained the same as in 2009, noting that unlike in other sectors, there were no restrictions in this remit.

The participants in the meeting concluded that this delicate issue must be permanently resolved.

ECRE is a respectable European organisation concerned with the issues of refugees and asylum seekers, which gathers 70 similar organisations from almost all EU countries.

Just as the Danish Refugee Council, it has operated in Serbia since the conflict among the former Yugoslav countries first broke out.