2 TRANSITIONAL MUNICIPALITIES DON'T WANT TO REINTEGRATE INTO TOWNS

( Editorial: --> 8634 ) ZAGREB, April 22 (Hina) - Two municipalities in the Croatian Danube River region which in April 1997 were granted the status of transitional municipalities do not want to be reintegrated into two towns they belong to. The municipalities in question are Tenja, a suburb of Osijek and Mirkovci, a suburb of Vinkovci. In 1991 Osijek and Vinkovci defended themselves from the JNA, but their suburbs Tenja and Mirkovci were occupied and remained under occupation for the next six years. Later they came under UN administration. Prior to the local elections in the Danube River region in 1997, the then UN Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Jacques Klein, organised Tenja and Mirkovci as transitional municipalities for a period of one year. Now that the deadline has passed for them to organise themselves administratively as parts of municipalities they belong to, the local authorities in Tenja and Mirkovci want a permanent municipal status. Authorities of Osijek and Vinkovci, however, do not see this as a good solution. The leadership of these municipalities announced a referendum which would decide if Tenja and Mirkovci are to become separate municipalities. Legal solutions forbid referendum but allow citizens to sign a petition or to be asked for their opinion in a poll. Osijek Mayor Zlatko Kramaric and Vinkovci Deputy Mayor Tomislav Culjak told Hina they do not contest the citizens' right to expression, nor the wish of Tenja and Mirkovci to become separate municipalities. However, they believe that their separation would lead to isolation and slow down their economic development. As an example Culjak said that Vinkovci would soon start using a World Bank loan for the construction of communal infrastructure in the town. If it chooses to become a separate municipality, Mirkovci would not be able to use the loan, said Culjak. Mirkovci municipal head Mile Madjar believes, however, that opposed to merely "economic" reasons, which Kramaric and Culjak name, there are "psychological, economic and political" reasons why Mirkovci wants to become an independent municipality. The two municipalities will try to secure their continued existence as municipalities through a legal procedure. The leaderships of the two municipalities announced the signing of petitions so that citizens, majority of whom were (before the war) and are Serbs, could support their wishes. Displaced Croats are gradually returning to Tenja and Mirkovci. Asked to comment on the problem of Tenja and Mirkovci, OSCE spokesman in Zagreb Mark Thompson gave a short statement saying the case showed absolute importance of establishing trust and security in the Croatian Danube River region. If this is achieved successfully, people will be much less divided by administrative problems, he added. (hina) jn rm/mrb 221706 MET apr 98