SKARE-OZBOLT: THERE ARE NO MAJOR POLITICAL PROBLEMS IN DANUBE REGION

REGION ( Editorial: --> 1900 ) VUKOVAR, June 17 (Hina) - There are no major problems in the Croatian Danube River region, the President of the National Trust Establishment Committee, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, said after Wednesday's session of the Committee in Vukovar. "There are objective problems concerning reconstruction and creation of conditions for a speedy return but they are of local and technical nature," she said. Today's session focused on the security situation in the region in light of the announced intensified return of displaced people to the region following the completion of this school year and the departure of Serbs from the region. Skare-Ozbolt estimated that the end of the school year would not be of major influence on the return of displaced people. A mass return can only be expected once the economy has been revived and normal living conditions in the town have been created, she said. The security situation in the region is stable and the UN Secretary General has confirmed in his report that the number of Serbs leaving the region is decreasing, Skare-Ozbolt said. Assistant Interior Minister Josko Moric confirmed that the security situation was favourable and that the incident which happened two nights ago on the Croatian-Yugoslav border, in which two Croatian police officers were killed, would not affect the safety of citizens in the region. Moric added that 211 incidents had been reported in the region in the last six months. The Committee's vice president Ivica Vrkic said that there were less than 1,000 Serb families living in Croat houses in the region currently. These families should return to other parts of Croatia or be taken care of by buying their property, Vrkic said. Several months ago, there were 2,000 such families in the region, he said. Vrkic, who is head of the state Agency for Real Estate Transactions, said that the Agency had bought 1,736 houses and flats, of which 1,262 were livable and 464 destroyed. Of those 1,262 houses and flats, 120 have been given for temporary use to people who are in danger of coming into conflict with the owners of houses they have moved into, Vrkic said. This measure is aimed at increasing the political stability in the region, Vrkic said adding that US $30 million had been set aside from the state budget for the purchase of real estate. This has helped solve the problems of about 12,000 people, Vrkic said. Accommodation of people who moved into other people's houses causes considerable problems, because those people refuse to move out although they have been offered several good solutions, Skare- Ozbolt said. "The legal state will be determined in removing those obstacles. The right to private property is one of the basic rights in every state. Such irresponsible individuals and families will have to answer for their decisions," she added. (hina) jn rml 171736 MET jun 98