The protests were blamed on 'extreme nationalist forces' and schools were closed for a few days as a result. The other basic problem throughout Bosnia is how to house the returnees. Aida's family own a large apartment near the city centre. I asked if we could at least take the china horse away with us - but they just refused. Legislation is in place, and UN and EU sponsored legal aid is on offer, to encourage owners to reclaim their occupied houses, but the process is slow.
Some exiles question whether it's even worthwhile.
There are instances of evicted occupants looting and trashing the house before they leave, even removing the doors and bathroom fittings. In any case, occupying families may also be victims of war. All over Bosnia, dwellings are burnt out, uninhabitable, or simply not there any more. Squatters may have no homes to return to themselves, and the current rebuilding programmes are essential. Many of the squatters in Banja Luka are Krajina Serbs, forced to flee in August 1995, after the self-styled Krajina Serb Republic in southern Croatia fell to Croat armed forces.