ARTICLE 11 COMMISSION ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER VISITING DANUBE REGION

( Editorial: --> 5408 ) ZAGREB, May 20 (Hina) - The Article 11 Commission took positive note of Croatian government's action concerning refugee return procedures, the fulfilment of its commitments for multiethnic representation in all levels of government, and the completion of the process of reregistration of displaced persons. The security situation has also been assessed as stable. In a statement issued Wednesday after visiting the Danube river region of eastern Croatia, the Commission expressed its condolences to those who lost loved ones during the war in the area. Despite the aforementioned positive assessments, members of the Commission also expressed concern over several issues noticed during today's visit. "Departures continue from the region of displaced persons and long- term residents", the Commission said in the statement. Little has been done to resolve the situations of about 2,500 families of refugee families who wish to return voluntarily to other parts of Croatia, despite the government's commitments. "The lack of effective, comprehensive, non-discriminatory and expeditious procedures for all persons to reclaim or receive just compensation for their property" continues to obstruct the return procedure, the statement said. The Commission also noted the non-functioning of the Vukovar City Council which, the statement said, was the fault of both (Croat and Serb) sides. This issue should be resolved immediately. The Commission also pointed out that only a small number of people received reconstruction assistance. A special cause for concern is the implementation of the amnesty law and reports that local courts are pursuing prosecutions of acts subject to the amnesty law under different grounds. The Commission called on the Croatian government to "publicly affirm its commitment that there will be no new war crimes prosecutions without the concurrence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia with the exception of the 25 known cases." The Article 11 Commission made the same demand of Croatia following its previous visit to the Danube river region on February 16. "The ICTY has no control over Croatian courts and not one government representative could either 'officially' or 'unofficially' promise such supervision", then current Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic told Hina after that visit. "There is not one legal standard envisaging the ICTY concurring with the holding of court proceedings in Croatia", Separovic had said. The Article 11 Commission concluded its statement by saying that the Serbian community could also do more to further overall reconciliation and be more active in working with Croatian officials to resolve matters of mutual interest. (hina) ha 202048 MET may 98