INT. RED CROSS URGED TO RELEASE ALL DATA ON MISSING PERSONS

ZAGREB, Aug 14 (Hina) - The Centre for the Protection of Human Rights of Detained and Missing Croatian Citizens and their Families, Apel, has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to publish the names of all persons that ICRC representatives visited in the period 1991-6 in various detention centres in the former Yugoslavia, with a list of those that they have no knowledge of having been exchanged. #L# On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of a large exchange of war prisoners that was supervised by the ICRC, Apel reminds that 1,348 persons are still considered missing. ICRC documents show that the ICRC visited and registered 44,370 prisoners in the period between 1991-6, Apel claims. It is also evident that during those six years exchanges of 21,430 prisoners were conducted under ICRC supervision, while 22,940 were visited and registered as well as exchanged, but without ICRC supervision. Apel claims that ICRC has the prisoners' names, dates of visits, and the place of detention, as well as the commandant responsible for each of the detention centres. Disclosure of the data could open the possibility to solving the fate of many people because it is known that many prisoners were killed, Apel said. The organisation asked that this data be given to all interested sides. Apel asked that in keeping with the Geneva Convention, ICRC remind Yugoslavia of its obligation to hand over the remains of all Croatian soldiers and civilians, with accompanying documentation, who were buried in and around Serb prison camps, such as Sremska Mitrovica and Novi Sad. Apel notes that all those killed could be identified through finger prints, seeing that Belgrade has a data base of all citizens from the former Yugoslavia until 1991. (hina) sp ha