RUTHENIAN & UKRANIAN MINORITIES MARK THEIR ORGANISATION'S JUBILEE

( Editorial: --> 0831 ) ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - The Alliance of Ruthenians and Ukrainians in the Republic of Croatia will this weekend mark its 30th anniversary as well as the 25th anniversary of the organisation's central cultural event entitled "Peter's Bell '98". These celebrations will be held in Vukovar and Petrovci in eastern Croatia on September 19 and 20. During the festivities, which after seven years are once again being held in the Croatian Danube region, visitors will be able to see a series of cultural, entertainment and sporting events featuring the life of the Ruthenians and Ukrainians in Croatia. Events during the two-day manifestation in Petrovci include an open library and exhibition depicting an ethnographic collection of the two cultures. A festive meeting of the Alliance will be held as well as a mass in the Greek-Catholic church in Petrovci. Entertainment events will include performances by folkloric dance and music groups. Alliance president Irinej Mudri expressed his satisfaction that the manifestation was returning to the Danube region. Mudri told journalists at a press conference held on Wednesday that more than half of the total number of Ruthenians and Ukrainians in Croatia lived in the Danube region. The population census of 1991 notes that there was about 6,000 Ruthenians and Ukrainians registered in Croatia, of whom 3,500 lived in the Danube region. More than 8 per cent were either killed or went missing during the Homeland war. (Hina) sp jn /mbr 161841 MET sep 98