CRO AMBASSADOR SENDS BELGRADE PROTEST OVER DANUBE ARRESTS

( Editorial: --> 4826 ) BELGRADE, May 18 (Hina) - Croatian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Zvonimir Markovic on Monday submitted a protest note to the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry over an incident last week in which Croatian citizens and the country's state borders were violated. The note says members of the Yugoslav Army (VJ) on May 10 arrested four Croatian citizens from Sarengrad and another two from Ilok who had arrived on the Sarengradska Ada island by boat. VJ soldiers and rangers from the Karadjordjevo military facility transported the arrested Croatian citizens across the Danube River to Yugoslav territory and took them to army barracks in Backa Palanka. "The Sarengradska Ada river island is recorded as registered land in the Vukovar municipality, and forms an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Croatia," the protest note said. "Since the island is separated from the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by a small backwater channel, the Croatian citizens did not cross the state borders of the Republic of Croatia, and VJ members in their action violated the state borders of the Republic of Croatia." The note calls for an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the incident and actions towards Croatian citizens and for a report to be given to the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade. (Hina) mb /lm 182025 MET may 98