SADAKO OGATA VISITS OSIJEK AND VUKOVAR

( Editorial: --> 5580 ) OSIJEK/VUKOVAR, April 8 (Hina) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, on Wednesday held talks with the head of Osijek's regional office for refugees and displaced persons, Nada Arbanas, after which she met the head of the UN civilian police support group, Souren Seraydarin, OSCE and UNHCR representatives and representatives of the Serb national minority. The talks in Osijek focused on the situation in the Croatian Danube River region, how many people were yet to return to the area and the difficulties in the return of displaced Croats and Serbs. The situation in the Danubian area was also compared to the situation of return of refugees to Knin, Donji Srb, Korenica and other places liberated through the Croatian military operations "Flash" and "Storm", head of the Croatian government Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons, Lovre Pejkovic, said. After holding talks with Ogata in Vukovar, president of the Joint Council of (Serb) Municipalities, Milos Vojnovic, said that Serb representatives had said the inequality in the approach of the Croatian authority towards Serbs and Croats was still noticeable. They had expressed dissatisfaction about the process of return of Serb refugees, which was too slow and should be expedited, Vojnovic said. "We pointed out to the UN High Commissioner a number of regulations which maintain the discriminatory situation in the conduct of the Croatian state towards Serbs," Vojnovic said. He added that the "actions undertaken by the Croatian side to abolish certain laws are not that significant, because the legal consequences caused by the laws are not being abolished". Ogata left Vukovar for FR Yugoslavia. (hina) lm mm 081832 MET apr 98