POLICE SUPPORT GROUP WITHDRAWAL MAY PROCEED AS PLANNED - ANNAN

( Editorial: --> 3010 ) NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Hina) - The United Nations Civil Police Support Group mandate in the Danube river region in eastern Croatia may end in mid-October, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in New York on Thursday in a report to the Security Council. Given the stability of the security situation, Annan said he was sure the Support Group could continue withdrawing its personnel and complete its operations on October 15, 1998, according to plan. The Secretary-General was also sure the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe would as of that date successfully take over duties in the region. Regulated by a Security Council resolution, the Support Group mandate in Croatia, with 136 civil police observers currently in the country, ends on October 15. The UN Secretary-General called on the Croatian government to take more resolute and more transparent measures towards ensuring the full return of refugees and displaced persons, and towards ensuring international assistance in reconstruction. The Croatian government has in the whole taken numerous steps towards complying with its commitments to the international community, Annan assessed. On the other hand, he added, the key issues in relation with the two- way refugee return remain unresolved, including some discriminatory regulations still in force and the incomplete enforcement of the Law Adjustment Act. The government's obligations towards the Joint Council of Municipalities remain unfulfilled, and the implementation of the national reconciliation programme has also been insufficiently urged, Annan said in his report. The lack of jobs and economic revival, as well as the lack of confidence into the future have also contributed to unfulfilled expectations in the return of refugees and displaced persons, Annan said. The UN Secretary-General believes the Croatian government should make its return plans transparent, non-discriminatory and comprehensive if it wants the international community to assist in the economic development of return areas. Croatian police performance in the region has reached a commendable improvement in the last three months, Annan assessed. Despite that, the UN points out to the existence of a gap between real security and the notion of security which causes Serbs to leave. Maintaining an ethnic balance among the police, including recruiting non-Croat officers, will in the future be the key element towards the preservation of prospects for multi-ethnicity in the region and for strengthening confidence in the police, said the report. This should become a Croatian government priority, the Secretary- General recommended. Annan assessed the government had not made any significant effort towards strengthening public confidence in the police. The disturbing increase in ethnically motivated incidents and the number of persons repeatedly causing them in the last three months emphasises the lack of effective government action towards discouraging such acts, Annan said. He again urged the Croatian government to take preventive actions in relation to such cases. Even further police and judiciary steps in response to cases of harassment and intimidation are not sufficient, Annan assessed in his report to the Security Council. (hina) ha 251122 MET sep 98