CRO GOVERNMENT AND OSCE OFFICIALS DISCUSS RETURN IN SISAK AREA

( Editorial: --> 4131 ) SISAK, Sept 29 (Hina) - The Croatian Government's Office for Cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday afternoon organised a workshop in the Hunting Lodge in the Sisak suburb of Brezovica. Attending the workshop were representatives of the diplomatic corps, international missions and bodies in Croatia, the Government and its bodies, and the local municipal and county authorities. Today's meeting is a new form of cooperation between the Croatian Government and the international community, Office head Tomislav Vidosevic said at the workshop's opening. Vidosevic also expressed hope that in the future similar meetings and talks would lead to better and more efficient cooperation, bilateral understanding and consistent implementation of the Government's international commitments. Sisak-Moslavina County Deputy Prefect Zeljko Nenadic informed the international community about the implementation of the return programme in the Sisak region, which had seen the return of 7,400 Serbs. These people had departed to the Croatian Danube River region, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Serb entity after Croatia's military operation "Storm" in the summer of 1995. Return is proceeding smoothly and with no incidents, Nenadic added. The European Commission's special envoy to Croatia, Per Vinther, stressed that the international community was happy with the Government's measures in implementing the return programme. The building of confidence and re-establishment of coexistence will take time. That process cannot be associated solely with the Croatian Government, as it is a regional process that will take the efforts of Europe as a whole, Vinther added. Speaking about the talks between the Government and the international community on the donors conference, he claimed that what mattered was not the date when it would take place but its effects on reconstruction of the war-affected areas. The Government cannot be expected to generate large sums of money. Rather than that, it will coordinate reconstruction efforts and international financial aid will be pouring in during the future stages of the reconstruction process, he said. According to Vinther, during the past 36 months the EU had invested large sums into the reconstruction of war-affected regions of Croatia. For next year our reconstruction plan will be the same as the one for this year, and possibly even more ambitious, Vinther said, adding that next year the EU would stimulate the development of small and medium sized businesses. (Hina) mro /mbr 292118 MET sep 98