TOMPOJEVCI MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP DISCUSSES INCIDENT IN BERAK

BERAK, Aug 20 (Hina) - The Tompojevci municipal leadership (eastern Slavonia) at Friday's session discussed an incident which took place in the town of Berak on August 9, when a citizen of Serb nationality was killed during a conflict with a Croat. We have confirmed that during "sanctioning of the incident" in Berak, everything possible was done and we call on the residents of Berak to tolerance among ethnic communities, Vukovar-Srijem County prefect Rudolf Koenig said after the session. Representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who were also present at the session, suggested the local self-government should do more to prevent such incidents, which we accepted, Koenig said. He added such and similar incidents were harmful not only for the local community, but also for the reputation of Croatia. Koenig said Serb representatives who are for some time now refusing to participate in the work of the municipal and county committees for the establishment of trust, were called on to join in the work of these bodies to assist in decreasing tension among the residents. Vukovar-Srijem County deputy prefect who is of Serb nationality, Mirko Jagetic, had suggested at the session that the disrupted inter-ethnic relations in Berak be solved by moving Serbs from this town to some other locations, which was assessed as unacceptable, because this was not in the interest of the republic of Croatia, nor is it in line with proclaimed state goals, Koenig said. "We should work on continuing to create an atmosphere of coexistence between Croats and Serbs in this area, and this is the only option we advocate," he stressed. (Hina) lml