SARENGRAD, July 28 (Hina) - Yugoslav police on Sunday apprehended the prefect of eastern Croatia's Vukovar-Srijem County, taking him into custody in Backa Palanka after intercepting a boat transporting a local Croatian delegation
which was to meet representatives of Backa Palanka at a nearby river islet on the Danube.
SARENGRAD, July 28 (Hina) - Yugoslav police on Sunday apprehended
the prefect of eastern Croatia's Vukovar-Srijem County, taking him
into custody in Backa Palanka after intercepting a boat
transporting a local Croatian delegation which was to meet
representatives of Backa Palanka at a nearby river islet on the
Danube. #L#
While intercepting the Croatian boat, which was transporting
members of the delegation's families as well, the Yugoslav border
police fired shots towards the boat which at the time was between
Sarengrad and the islet.
The delegation was taken into custody in Backa Palanka, Vukovar-
Srijem County police chief Marijan Tomurad told Hina.
He said that Croatian border police, upon hearing the shots,
arrived aboard a patrol boat but withdrew after the Yugoslav police
shot towards them as well.
Yugoslav police released four adults and four children from the
Croatian delegation around 3 pm, said Tomurad.
Prefect Safer confirmed to Hina on his cell-phone from the Backa
Palanka police station that the incident had indeed occurred. He
added that he could not talk at the moment.
According to Tomurad, a joint delegation of Vukovar-Srijem County
and the town of Ilok was to discuss border cooperation with a Backa
Palanka delegation on the river islet, known as Sarengradska Ada,
which was part of Croatian territory until 1991.
The Yugoslav army occupied the islet after occupying eastern
Croatia's entire Srijem region and part of Slavonija during the
Serbian aggression against Croatia in 1991. For years the residents
of Sarengrad have been demanding that the Yugoslav army withdraw
from the islet and that it be returned to Croatia.
(hina) ha