KLEIN HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT SITUATION IN DANUBIAN AREA

VUKOVAR, March 20 (Hina) - Transitional Administrator for the Croatian Danubian area General Jacques Klein on Thursday held a press conference at the UNTAES base in Vukovar. He informed reporters about his visit to Geneva, Thursday's talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the present situation in the Danubian area. Klein announced to visit President Tudjman accompanied by UN High Commissioner for refugees, Sadako Ogata, on Friday. Klein said that he had visited Belgrade on Thursday together with the local Serb leadership, and held talks with Milosevic. He said he could stress with pleasure that all Serb representatives from the Croatian Danubian area had been issued Croatian documents. He said that Milosevic had called on the local Serbs to cooperate with the UN Transitional Administration in the Croatian Danubian area (UNTAES). Klein said he had held talks with the patriarch and high officials of the Serb Orthodox Church about the Church. Priesthood had to play a great role in the process of peaceful reintegration, was the message spread to all, Klein said. Klein informed reporters that he had held talks in Geneva with UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, about the issue of displaced persons, stressing that this was the year of the beginning of return. The aim was to have all people return to their homes, Klein said, stressing that cooperation from both sides was necessary in order to make this possible. Speaking about the mandate of the UNTAES military component, Klein said that soldiers would begin to retreat in July and the withdrawal would last until October. The demilitarization phase had been completed, reintegration and the supervision of the realisation of human rights followed, which, Klein stressed, would be UNTAES's most important task. Klein explained that after the elections in the Danube river region, the UN Secretary-General would consider a mandate which would concentrate on human rights until January 1998. Klein expressed satisfaction about the present situation in the Croatian Danubian area. He said that local political parties had been registered and that they had entered a coalition with other parties in Croatia. He called on the residents of the Danubian area to vote because this was the only way to decide about their fate and chose their two deputy county prefects and five persons at high posts in ministries in Zagreb. Klein added that it was clear that Stanimirovic had been elected to politically represent the interests of people in the UNTAES-administered area. Klein said about four to five thousand people had left the area. He stressed that Zagreb and Belgrade were solving the issue of dual citizenship, describing it as important for the stability of the area. Speaking about the published list of war crimes suspects, Klein said that the list was final, adding that noone would be arrested without court proceedings, as long as he was there. He especially stressed that he had sent the list to the local justice secretary, Vojin Susa, and had directed him to inform every person on the list about their rights. He added that Susa could look over all files in Zagreb. (hina) lm jn 202035 MET mar 97