Mr. Prochazka's family was forced to flee Croatia for Prague.

Several hundred thousand Serbs have fled Croatia and Bosnia as a result of the wars in the two countries.

"I am not a clever man," said Mr. Grtic, a farmer before he fled Croatia and a gravedigger before he fled Kosovo.

Its author, Vladimir Jokanovic, is a 26-year-old medical student who fled Croatia during the war and now lives in this northern Serbian city.

Hundreds of Serb civilians were killed and tens of thousands fled Croatia during and after the operation.

A similar diversion occurred when more than 250,000 Serbs fled Croatia in 1995.

The German surrender obstructed the progress of the columns fleeing Croatia northwards.

But Croatia's local housing authorities ignore requests from Serbs who fled Croatia after Mr. Tudjman's army swept away the Serbian statelet here in the summer of 1995.

The party is led by Vojislav Stanimirović and aims to facilitate the return of Serb refugees who in 1995, in the face of Operation Storm, fled Croatia.

Former prime minister Ivo Sanander has fled Croatia ahead of the release of cables accusing him of involvement in several corruption cases.