VUKOVAR CITY DAY CELEBRATED

( Editorial: --> 1179 ) VUKOVAR, May 3 (Hina) - Vukovar Mayor Vladimir Stengl, president of the municipal committee of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Petar Mlinaric and president of the Vukovar branch of the Croatian Homeland War Invalids Association, Josip Blazevic, on Sunday laid wreaths at the Vukovar New Cemetery on the occasion of the Vukovar City Day, May 3. A mass was held in the damaged parish church of Saints Philip and Jacob for the first time after seven years. The mass, conducted by Friar Lucije Jagec, was also attended by the president of the National Trust Establishment Committee, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, and her deputy Ivica Vrkic as well as by Vukovar County Prefect Rudolf Koenig. After the mass, the book "Vukovar Memories" by the late nun Mirangela Zigric was presented. Mayor Stengl said that a special session of the Municipal Council should have taken place today. However, councillors from the Serb Democratic Independent Party (SDSS) announced that they would not attend the session, so the session was cancelled. Serb representatives also refused to participate in the wreath- laying ceremony at the New Cemetery. Asked by Hina whether this kind of behaviour would reflect on the work of the National Trust Establishment Committee, Skare-Ozbolt said that "Serb citizens should show deep respect for the victims who fell for Vukovar, as well as for all those who suffered in the past seven years. That respect has not been shown. "This is a sign that relations in Vukovar are still burdened with the past. We will try and normalise the life here as soon as possible but we will also demand that all those responsible for the suffering in Vukovar be punished. Only truth and justice can be the foundations of the normalisation of life and relations this state and this town strive to achieve," she said. (hina) rm 031617 MET may 98