SERB REPRESENTATIVES MEET IN VUKOVAR

( Editorial: --> 8614 ) VUKOVAR, 31 Jan (Hina) - The Joint Council of (Serb majority) Municipalities (ZVO), Serb National Council (SNV) and Serb Democratic Independent Party (SDSS) held a meeting in Vukovar on Saturday. The meeting focused on the situation in the Croatian Danube River region. Speaking about the security situation in the region, Assistant Interior Minister Dragan Djukic said that 800 police officers of Serb nationality had remained in the police force in the region after 15 January. That was in line with what had been agreed before, he added. However, it was worrying that they did not have the necessary qualifications and were only waiting for minimum conditions to be met, so that they could go into retirement. There had been cases of planting of explosive devices at monuments and houses, which caused anxiety among Serb citizens, he said. According to Djukic, 18 incidents had occurred in the region between 15 and 30 January, which in his opinion, was the result of visits of the increasing number of displaced people, who were visiting their homes. In January police reported 126 incidents involving displaced people and tenants currently occupying their homes. Today's meeting also tackled the Government regulation on the renting of apartments in the Danubian region owned by the Republic of Croatia. According to Svetislav Ladjarevic, president of the ZVO Urban Development Committee, the regulation was discriminatory towards Serbs. SDSS President and MP Vojislav Stanimirovic said Serbs in Croatia would be satisfied only with a single law on apartment renting, which would refer to the whole of Croatia. It was demanded that an urgent procedure for adopting a new law on displaced people and refugees be started. Participants in the meeting also warned about the unacceptable status of Serb refugees and returnees. Milenko Vucetic, assistant to the head of the government Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees, said Serb refugees were returning to completely destroyed houses and had neither returnee nor refugee status which would be satisfactory. Vucetic also demanded the exhumation of mass graves in which Serbs had been buried. Conclusions, adopted at today's meeting, will be sent to Parliament and the Government. One of the conclusions is the one on the deteriorating security situation in the region after the withdrawal of UNTAES. The situation in education was considered just as bad. It was agreed that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would be asked to speed up the solution of the issue of dual citizenship and demobilisation. The meeting was also attended by the Yugoslav Ambassador to Zagreb, Veljko Knezevic and SNV President and MP Milorad Pupovac. (hina) rm 312137 MET jan 98