CROATIA STILL SEARCHING FOR 1,795 MISSING

ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The truth about the fate of 440 Croatian citizens, who had gone missing during the Homeland war, was revealed during 1998, which has reduced the number of missing people to 1,795, head of the Croatian Government's Commission for Missing and Imprisoned Persons, Ivan Grujic, said on Friday. Grujic said this following his meeting with Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa, Croatian Soldiers' Minister Juraj Njavro and representatives of an alliance gathering associations of families of missing and imprisoned Croatian soldiers. This year, the remains of 1,450 persons were exhumed from 39 mass graves, Grujic said adding that a series of talks had been held with the aim of discovering the truth about the fate of missing people. The Alliance's president Josip Jugec said the Alliance had informed Prime Minister Matesa about what had been done so far regarding the exhumation and identification of remains. The meeting also tackled the housing problems of Homeland war victims, especially those in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar. Jugec said that "nothing has been done with the problem of housing in Vukovar, and there have been few returns to Vukovar since conditions for return have not been created". The Alliance will on December 29 unveil a plaque in Ovcara, outside Vukovar, in memory of Homeland war victims, Jugec announced. (hina) rml