ALBRIGHT MEETS REPS OF CRO CENTRE FOR DETAINED & MISSING PERSONS

( Editorial: --> 6890 ) ZAGREB, Aug 30 (Hina) - US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright began her one-day visit to Croatia by meeting in Zagreb on Sunday representatives of Apel, a Croatian centre for the protection of human rights of detained and missing Croatian citizens. They sought US assistance in shedding light on the fates of detained and missing Croatian citizens and in the reconstruction of their demolished homes. The centre's representatives submitted data on 1,860 missing Croatian citizens whose fate remains unclear. They requested the US to exert pressure on Yugoslavia and its President Slobodan Milosevic to provide information about these people they are in possession of, Apel manager Zdenka Farkas told reporters. Apel's representatives also presented the US State Secretary with the "white brick of peace and return", thus symbolically showing they expected concrete US assistance in the reconstruction of their war-ravaged homes, said Farkas. Albright later met with the Archbishop of Zagreb Josip Bozanic. She is then to meet Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, and will then be received by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Albright's visit to Croatia will end with talks with Croatian opposition party leaders and representatives of independent Croatian media. The talks are expected to focus on the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement, the return of refugees, Croatian-American bilateral relations and the strengthening of democratic processes in Croatia. (hina) ha 301029 MET aug 98