CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES OSCE MISSION CHIEF

( Editorial: --> 4543 ) ZAGREB, June 29 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa on Monday received the chief of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Croatia, Tim Guldimann. The talks focused on the implementation of the refugee return programme, electoral law and the media, and their role in the elections. We also tackled the law adjustment act, the Joint Council of (Serb- majority) Municipalities and other issues, but the general subject of the talks was cooperation between the Croatian government and OSCE which hopes it would be able to do its job better without meddling in Croatian interior politics, Guldimann told reporters after the talks. The talks did not focus on the upcoming donors' conference for the reconstruction of Croatia, but this issue, according to Guldimann, should surface during the expedited implementation of the return programme. The OSCE expects the general atmosphere to improve subsequently, and they would support the conference idea. As far as the media is concerned, the OSCE stance is based on recommendations by the Council of Europe group of experts, Guldimann said. He informed Matesa that the OSCE would revise the law on media which the Croatian Parliament would discuss in September. He also suggested that an objective analysis about the political work of the television should be drafted as a basis for a more elaborate discussion about how much the ruling party influenced the creation of political information in electronic media. Asked whether the OSCE would also refuse to recognise election results if the election law was not amended, Guldimann said that was not the way he would phrase the problem. The fact is that the Croatian government is obliged to implement the OSCE's and Council of Europe's recommendations and much before the elections. It is the stance of the OSCE that a discussion should be initiated and appropriate steps taken soon, Guldimann said. (hina) lml as 292105 MET jun 98