EXHUMATION AT VUKOVAR'S NEW CEMETERY COMMENCES

( Editorial: --> 8479 ) ZAGREB, April 21 (Hina) - The exhumation of bodies buried at Vukovar's New Cemetery (also known as Dubrava Cemetery) will start next week, Deputy Prime minister Ivica Kostovic said on Tuesday. From April 28 Exhumations will be carried out at 937 graves at the New Cemetery and at some other locations, including the Sloga soccer stadium, which are known to contain bodies of people killed during the Serb aggression. The identification of bodies will commence on April 29. Identified bodies will be buried as of May 2. Out of 937 graves at the New Cemetery, 404 belong to people that have been identified and whose next of kin have been tracked down. The authorities also know the identity of another 262 bodies, but have not been able to locate their relatives. The Government has appealed through the media to people who suspect that their relatives might have been interred at the cemetery to inquire at the operational headquarters which will be located at the Vukovar cemetery. The identity of another 271 people who had been murdered and then buried at the Vukovar cemetery still needs to be done, a task that will take most time and efforts by forensic experts, Kostovic stressed. All the necessary funds, logistics and expertise for exhumation and identification have been pooled and identification should be completed by summer this year, Kostovic said. The operations will be the largest so far in the former Yugoslavia, which is a clear indication that the Vukovar area suffered more casualties that any other region of the former Yugoslavia. Deputy PM Kostovic also announced that a location for a dignified burial of the victims had been chosen and that it would be built into a memorial centre. Forensic experts and families of the victims will receive support from medical teams that exhumed the Ovcara grave, while the Health Ministry will provide psychological counselling and social assistance. Vukovar hospital general manager Vesna Bosanac will ensure the hospital's support. (Hina) mr /mb 211957 MET apr 98