SEMINAR ON NATIONAL MINORITIES IN EASTERN SLAVONIA STARTS

VUKOVAR, May 11 (Hina) - A two-day seminar on national minorities in eastern Slavonia started in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar on Friday. The event was organised by the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO) and the Council of Europe. Participating in the meeting are representatives of national minorities from eastern Slavonia, Croatian government, and numerous non-government organisations. "Problems of national minorities in Croatia are particularly present in the post-war and transitional period when social and monoethnic problems become a source of conflicts. It is therefore important to organise such seminars in towns like Vukovar and Knin," HHO president Zarko Puhovski said. The purpose of the seminar is to acquaint national minorities with conventions and political and social policies in developed European countries. Council of Europe representatives, including an expert on the protection of minority rights, Steven Wheatley, addressed the seminar today. The head of the Government Office for National Minorities, Mila Simic, spoke about the programme of the Croatian government, the development of minority institutions and models of their financing. The seminar closes tomorrow with the adoption of closing regulations. (hina) rml