ROVINJ REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON MISSING PERSONS ENDS

ROVINJ, Oct 20 (Hina) - A regional conference on missing persons ended in the northern Adriatic resort of Rovinj on Sunday. #L# The three-day conference gathered government representatives and members of commissions for missing persons from Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Argentina, the Philippines, as well as war veterans associations from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Yugoslavia, and international humanitarian organisations. The participants called on the governments on the territory of former Yugoslavia to exchange information on imprisoned and missing persons and possible burial sites. Representatives of the Yugoslav government commission for missing persons did not attend the meeting although they had been invited. The head of the Alliance of Associations of Missing and Imprisoned Croatian Soldiers' Families, Josip Jugec, told reporters the conference condemned the relocation of mass graves and demanded harsh sanctions for such activities. The conference also called for the prosecution of war criminals and better promotion by state institutions of issues concerning missing and imprisoned persons, as well as the provision of charitable institutions with objective data. Representatives from Bosnia-Herzegovina requested the establishment of a joint data base on missing and imprisoned persons for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The meeting stressed the need to report all missing and imprisoned persons to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conference, held under the auspices of Parliament President Zlatko Tomcic, was organised by the Alliance of Associations of Missing and Imprisoned Croatian Soldiers' Families. (hina) rml