OSCE: SERBS CONTINUE TO LEAVE CRO DANUBE REGION

( Editorial: --> 3992 ) ZAGREB, April 1 (Hina) - Serbs are continuing to leave the Croatian Danube River Region, motivated by the feeling of insecurity and a lack of economic prospects, said representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations in Zagreb on Tuesday. The spokespersons for the OSCE mission in Croatia Mark Thompson, and the UN Civil Police in the Croatian Danube River Region Kirsten Haupt, told a press conference that the security situation in Croatian Danube River Region was generally stable, but a sense of insecurity among Serbs was common, which was the reason for their departure. The Serbs are continuing to leave the region, often under direct pressure from the Croatian refugees who are returning spontaneously ... and are convinced that the Government does not want them to stay, Thompson said. Kirsten Haupt said there was an increasing number of disputes between returnee Croats and Serb refugees, mainly over the houses, because the Serbs had moved into Croatian houses, hence the returnees could not move in. In the last seven days 49 such incidents had been reported to the police, and 32 a week prior. Haupt said that the feeling of insecurity was also due to the lack of progress in solving the problems of Serbs returning to their homes in other regions of Croatia, as well as the difficult economic situation in the area. If these problems are not solved, the Croatian Danube River Region could stop being a multi-ethnic area, Haupt said. As an example of pressure, Thompson cited the incident of March 25, when a group of Croatian returnees came to the village of Tompojevci and demanded that the Serbs living in their houses leave immediately. The direct consequence of this, said Thompson, was that the number of Serbs in that village decreased from 40 to 15. The OSCE and UN consider that the situation improved after the assistant to the Croatian Interior Minister Josko Moric gave stricter orders to the local police station commanders to react to such threats. The UNHCR spokesperson Andrey Mahecic said that the Serbs were continuing to leave the Croatian Danube River Region for Norway, where they were seeking asylum. By the end of March there have been 1,784 Croatian Serb arrivals in Norway, 25 of which arrived in the last two days. The Norwegian government has processed 46 requests for asylum so far and refused 45. Only a woman with two children has been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. (hina) jn jfk/mrb 011934 MET apr 98