MEETING ON RECONSTRUCTION OF VUKOVAR'S HISTORICAL CENTRE HELD

VUKOVAR, Oct 4 (Hina) - A round table on the reconstruction of Vukovar's historical centre was held in the eastern Croatian town on Wednesday as part of a cultural forum of the Working Community of Danube River Basin Regions. Fifty million kuna was earmarked this year for the reconstruction of Vukovar, which is a considerable amount compared to other towns, said Miljenko Domijan, Croatia's chief conservator. However, a global solution was needed to make Vukovar a living town, he added. Although much is being reconstructed in Vukovar, the reconstruction of the town's historical centre is very complex due to property-rights relations, Domijan said. Zlatko Karac, a member of the Commission for the Reconstruction of Vukovar, said the town's reconstruction was too dispersed. Housing facilities and historical monuments are being reconstructed on 500 different locations, Karac said. He believes that it was wrong to approach the reconstruction of the town as a whole because its population has been halved and only about 20,000 people are expected to settle in the town in the next several decades. (hina) rml