PRIME MINISTER CALLS ON YUGOSLAV SIDE TO PULL BACK ARMY

ZAGREB August 1 (Hina) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Thursday called on the Yugoslav side to pull back its army from the border to Croatia and to demilitarise the area. #L# The army on the border and the rattle of guns is not a solution for a country that wishes to cooperate and maintain good relations with its neighbours. The Yugoslav army can contribute by pulling back its troops from the border and demilitarising the area, Racan said at a government session, condemning a serious incident that occurred on Sunday on the Danube River. He called on Croatian citizens who live along the border to refrain from undertaking hasty acts that could be misused. The Yugoslav army assigned to guard the border on Sunday fired at civilians amongst whom were children. There were no casualties, fortunately. Racan noted that the Yugoslav side had still not offered Croatia an appropriate apology, and repeated that even more importantly than obtaining a verbal apology, similar incidents needed to be prevented from occurring. In order to prevent this, responsibility must be taken by those on whose side the incident took place, the premier stressed. He pointed out that endeavours to resolve the border issue were still continuing and that it would take some time to complete this task. In the meantime, it is important to try and contribute to resolving contentious issues in the name of cooperation and good neighbourly relations, he said. The Croatian side is undertaking diplomatic efforts to facilitate the people in the area in resolving their problems regardless of the contentious issues surrounding the border, Racan said, and expressed hope that the Croatian side would find collocutors in this task. (hina) sp lml