NORWEGIAN DELEGATION VISITS VUKOVAR

( Editorial: --> 9188 ) VUKOVAR, Mar 12 (Hina) - A delegation of Norwegian parliamentarians and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Thursday visited the Danube region of eastern Croatia to get acquainted with the political situation in the area and the local Serbs' departure for other countries, especially Norway. According to unofficial data, more than 1,000 Serbs left eastern Croatia for Norway to date. After visiting the Vukovar district of Borovo Naselje, the delegation held talks with top officials of the Serb Democratic Independent Party (SDSS) and the Joint Council of (Serb majority) Municipalities (ZVO). Representatives of the SDSS and the ZVO put forward a long list of remarks the Serb community in Vukovar has regarding the Croatian Government, Norwegian Helsinki Committee secretary-general Bjorn Engesland said. The Serbs are dissatisfied with the judiciary, pointed out problems surrounding flats and individual instances of alleged intimidation and harassment of the Serb population. In talks with the Norwegian delegation, representatives of Vukovar-Srijem County and the town of Vukovar refuted the Serbs' allegations, assessing them as generalised. "I think that the fear and distrust of Danubian region Serbs have been exaggerated and intentional", said Vukovar Mayor Vladimir Stengl. He believed the Serbs were leaving eastern Croatia mainly out of economic reasons. The number of employed people in Vukovar today is too small, Stengl said, pointing out this was the reason why young people were leaving. This is also the reason why many Croatian displaced persons have still not made up their mind to return to Vukovar, the mayor said. The resolution of current issues calls for international assistance, especially to revive economy, Stengl said. The Norwegian parliamentarians pointed out that all Serbs who had come to Norway for economic and not political reasons would have to leave the country. (hina) ha mm 122037 MET mar 98