RETURN PLAN TO BE ADOPTED VERY SOON - FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIAL

( Editorial: --> 1871 ) ZAGREB, June 17 (Hina) - A comprehensive programme of return of displaced people and refugees, which the Croatian Government and the UN High Commission for Refugees have been working on, is expected to be adopted and presented to the public soon. "The return plan is currently undergoing expert assessment and its adoption and presentation is expected soon," an official with the Croatian Foreign Ministry said. The same source estimates that the implementation of the Government's Binding Instruction, facilitating the acquisition of documents necessary for return by people who left Croatia, is proceeding very well. Between May 18 and June 12, 326 return requests have been received in Belgrade. Eighty per cent of those requests concern people over the age of 50 who want to return to various parts of Croatia, the source said. The Foreign Ministry official did not want to comment on the reaction of the Commission Article 11 on the draft plan. The US Embassy in Zagreb has confirmed that Article 11 held a meeting on Wednesday. Article 11 is following the implementation of the Agreement on Peaceful Reintegration. It was said that a statement would not be issued on today's meeting. Croatia has informed the UN Secretariat about its diplomatic initiative concerning the solution of the security question on the Prevlaka peninsula, on the Croatian-Yugoslav border, the same source said adding Croatia is expecting Belgrade's reaction to its initiative. The official reiterated that Croatia had started the initiative because the expected meeting between the Croatian and Yugoslav foreign ministers, Mate Granic and Zivadin Jovanovic in Zagreb, did not take place. Foreign Minister Mate Granic presented the draft agreement between Croatia and Yugoslavia on a permanent solution to the issue of Prevlaka to the Yugoslav Ambassador Veljko Knezevic on June 15. Asked about the possible introduction of visas for Croatian citizens travelling to EU countries (following recent decisions by Denmark and Norway to introduce visa requirements), the Foreign Ministry official said Zagreb did not expect events to develop in such a direction. "There are no signs that some other EU countries could take the same course," the official said. (hina) jn rml/bag 171623 MET jun 98