CROATIAN AMBASSADOR AT U.N. COMMENTS ON ANNAN'S REPORT

NEW YORK, April 13 (Hina) - The report of the U.N. Secretary General on Prevlaka, compiled in the shadow of NATO operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, does not bring anything essentially new. It primarily expresses concern over the possible deterioration of the security situation, Croatia's Permanent Ambassador at the United Nations in New York, Ivan Simonovic, said on Tuesday. Prevlaka is Croatia's southern-most peninsula, whose demilitarisation has been observed by a U.N. mission since the withdrawal of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). In a statement issued regarding Annan's report, Ambassador Simonovic welcomed the reduction of U.N. observers on Prevlaka and the willingness to continue with it, describing it as a "symbolic but a welcome gesture". "Croatia has achieved important progress in resolving (the issue of) Prevlaka and the normalisation o relations in the region by opening the border crossings Konfin and Debeli Brijeg, in line with its agreement with Montenegro, and with the support of key factors of the international policy", Simonovic said. The U.N. Secretary General realises the importance of opening border crossings and has explicitly welcomed the opening of Debeli Brijeg. He draws a distinction between Debeli Brijeg, which according to the U.N. Secretariat is in the "yellow", demilitarised zone, and Konfin, which is in the "blue" zone - which is a prohibited zone for all except for the U.N, Simonovic said. "The Secretary General is not valuing enough the fact that both border crossings were opened, an act which confirmed the border between Croatia and Montenegro, on the location where it has always been", the Ambassador said. The opening of the two border crossings offers "the perspective of full normalisation of relations between Croatia and Montenegro" and creates opportunities for the strengthening of trust between the populations on both sides of the state border. In that context, an anti-aircraft cannon on Debeli Brijeg, which the Secretary-General's report mentions, is not especially worrying, since according to our reports it is not directed against Croatia, nor NATO, but it protects the joint border crossing from attempts to forcibly close it. "Croatia will respond to the Secretary General's call and in its talks with the Yugoslav authorities it will persist in its attempts to reach a diplomatic solution, which will meet security requirements and respect fully the territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia and its international borders", Simonovic said. Instead of closing Konfin until the formal confirmation of the Croatian-Montenegrin agreement by the Yugoslav federal authorities, which is cautiously suggested by the Secretary- General, Simonovic proposed that "the U.N. give up the 'blue' zone, that is, its regime in the 'blue' zone as it understands it currently". This would be far better for stability in the region, Simonovic believes. "The tragic developments in our immediate neighbourhood - the ethnic cleansing of Albanians from Kosovo and NATO's strikes on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - have already caused huge damage to Croatia's tourism", Simonovic said. "The free movement of civilian population on the whole area of Prevlaka and its normal economic use are important for the strengthening of local trust, normalisation of relations in the region and, let us hope soon, for the development of tourism on both sides of the state border. This represents at the same time the gradual return of Prevlaka under full control of Croatian authorities, taking into consideration, through demilitarisation, the security concerns of the FRY", he said. Should the situation develop in such a way, UNMOP would not be an opponent, but a protector of Croatian interests and an international witness to the demilitarisation which Croatia has been supporting since the beginning, Simonovic said adding that there is enough time and space for diplomatic actions by July 15, the date of the expiry of the UNMOP mandate. (hina) jn rml