CROATIA SENDS LETTER OF INTENT ABOUT REINTEGRATION TO SECURITY COU

COU $ NCIL ZAGREB, Jan 13 (Hina) - Croatia sent a letter of intent to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, in which it formulated the final version of its initiative for an end of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area. A Croatian vice premier, Ivica Kostovic announced it in Zagreb after the talks between the Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and the UN Transitional Administrator of the Croatian Danubian area, General Jacques Klein. "We are very, very pleased with the document," Gen. Klein told reporters. The letter of intent by the Croatian Government will be forwarded to the UN Security Council and the Contact Group member- countries. On Monday afternoon, Gen. Klein notified Contact Group member- countries' ambassadors in Zagreb, EU and OSCE officials, of Croatia's offer. "I think people will be very pleased by, and I think it basically gives us much more than we had imagined" he said commenting on possible reactions he expected from Serbs in the Danubian area to show. He added they would be surprised and pleased by what they would see. Klein said he thought that it was more than forthcoming "by international standards." Commenting on the final version of the Croatian Government's initiative, forwarded to the international community and Serbs in the Danubian area, he said "it is one of the best packages I have seen." According to Croatian official sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the letter suffered some changes in comparison to the former version which contained the Croatian initiative for completion of the peaceful reintegration. Most important changes refer to that Serbs have been offered the right to be exempt from serving in the Croatian army during first two years, as this issue will be frozen in that period, and that the Serb ethnic community in Croatia has been offered two seats in the Croatian Parliament House of Counties. Kostovic said all what was in the letter was "covered by Croatian Constitution and laws" and could be offered to Serbs in the Croatian Danubian area with "the goal to step up the peaceful reintegration process, hold elections, as they have been announced, and end successfully this part of the UNTAES mandate by July 15." According to estimates by Croatian authorities, there are currently about 60,000 residents in the Croatian Danubian area, mostly Serbs. Of them, some 20,000 are Serbs who have come from other parts of Croatia. Klein said this Croatian initiative should aid markedly the progress of holding the elections on March 16, moving the process of peaceful reintegration and ending the UNTAES mandate by early summer 1997. (hina) mš 132220 MET jan 97