OSCE: THERE ARE INDICATIONS OF INCREASED DEPARTURES OF SERBS FROM DANUBE REGION

DANUBE REGION ( Editorial: --> 2979 ) ZAGREB, Feb 18 (Hina) - The Mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Croatia said in this week's report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna that "there are indications of increased departures from the Danube Region". The reason for this is that "hundreds of Croatian Serbs are seeking asylum in Western European countries". In a statement issued in Zagreb on Wednesday, the OSCE Mission described the trend to be "counterproductive for Croatia's progress in European integration, as the country is perceived to be a refugee-producing country." The Mission "welcomes the decision by the Croatian Government on 12 February to annul the Decree on the lease of apartments in the Danube Region," but it also warns that "the controversy over the Decree has damaged the confidence-building process and added to tension in the area." "The OSCE Mission has to date received over 200 complaints from persons living in the Danube Region who have received demands from the Slavonska Banka for immediate repayment of their loans and the interest on loans from the period prior to the war of 1991," the statement said. "As all the complaints so far have come from ethnic Serbs, the Mission is concerned that this may be a case of discrimination against the Serb population in the region," the statement added. The OSCE Mission also expressed concern over two cases of "intimidation against the Serb population", which occurred in the Knin area on 10 and 12 February. "The incidents are likely to be aimed at discouraging the return of Serbs to the area," the Mission said. It also added that a local mayor in the area of Daruvar, western Slavonia, was refusing to take action that might lead to the eviction of Croats now occupying Serb houses. (hina) jn rm 182216 MET feb 98