SERB MUNICIPAL ORGANISATION ASKS GOVT TO REGULATE ITS LEGAL STATUS

( Editorial: --> 3743 ) VUKOVAR, June 25 (Hina) - Joint Council of Municipalities (ZVO) president Milos Vojnovic has repeated calls for the Croatian Government to set down its legal position which would regulate its financing. The Council gathers representatives of municipalities with a Serb majority in two of Croatia's eastern counties. In a letter to Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa, Vojnovic proposes the Government pass a regulation on the ZVO's status, the government's financial obligations and special measures which would aid the Council's work. The letter outlines the view that the regulation should be passed within the next two weeks, and that it should acknowledge "the sui generis (unique) nature of the ZVO as an institution which developed from international agreements as an important component in the process of reintegrating the Danube River region". The ZVO is prepared to reduce the number of its employees from the current 37 to 20 and "reformulate its work programme", it was said among other things in Vojnovic's letter sent to the Croatian Prime Minister on Wednesday. (Hina) mbr jn 260020 MET jun 98