ZAGREB, March 10 (Hina) - With slightly more intensive efforts, the security situation in the Croatian Danube River region could be not only more stable and calmer, but it could be really good, a spokesman for the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) Missions to Croatia, said in Zagreb on Wednesday. Last week's results show that the security situation in the Danube region, if slight additional efforts are invested, could be not only stable and calm - which are our usual terms - but good, spokesman Mark Thompson said. Thompson based his assessment on two facts from the first week of March. Compared to the last week of February, the first week in March saw a considerable decrease in ethnically-motivated incidents - from 25 to 11. No explosives or other weapons were used in those incidents either. During the first week of March, l
ZAGREB, March 10 (Hina) - With slightly more intensive efforts, the
security situation in the Croatian Danube River region could be not
only more stable and calmer, but it could be really good, a
spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR)
Missions to Croatia, said in Zagreb on Wednesday.
Last week's results show that the security situation in the Danube
region, if slight additional efforts are invested, could be not
only stable and calm - which are our usual terms - but good,
spokesman Mark Thompson said.
Thompson based his assessment on two facts from the first week of
March. Compared to the last week of February, the first week in
March saw a considerable decrease in ethnically-motivated
incidents - from 25 to 11. No explosives or other weapons were used
in those incidents either.
During the first week of March, local police searched 15 houses and
made 18 arrests connected with illegal possession of weapons and
explosive, mainly in Beli Manastir and Borovo Naselje. The Mission
estimates that all actions have been carried out in a very
professional manner and with a high level of cooperation from local
police and OSCE Mission", the spokesman said.
Thompson reminded that both the OSCE Mission and international
representatives had already warned the Croatian Government about
its obligation to publicly announce the reconstruction programme.
Given the lack of a public information campaign, the final deadline
for submitting applications for reconstruction, which expires on
March 14, is unjust, he estimated.
International representatives in Croatia have suggested to the
Government that the final deadline for the submission of
applications should be three months after the beginning of a public
campaign informing the citizens about the reconstruction, Thompson
said.
At the end of the conference, Thompson told reporters today's
conference had been his last one in his capacity as OSCE spokesman.
He added that he would return from Zagreb to Great Britain at the end
of this month. Thompson's successor Peter Palmer, who attended the
news conference, comes to his new post from an office at the
International Crisis Group (ICG) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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