CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES ELISABETH REHN

ZAGREB, June 6 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic on Friday received UN Special Rapporteur for human rights Elisabeth Rehn, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Granic acquainted his guest with the measures and activities the Croatian Government was taking in view of a successful completion of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region. He mentioned the successfully held elections, the establishment of local bodies of authority within 30 days and in line with election results, and the appointment of local Serbs to high offices in bodies of national authority, by which the Croatian Government continued to consistently meet its commitments from the Croatian Government's Letter of Intent on the Peaceful Reintegration of the Croatian Danube Region, forwarded to the UN Security Council. Croatia's Foreign Minister also spoke about the Programme on the Return of Displaced Persons and Refugees which the Croatian Government signed with UNTAES and UNHCR. The return must be two-way and properly organized first of all, Granic stressed, since it was a legal, humanitarian, security and economic issue. To date, some 5,000 persons from the Croatian Danube region requested to return, some 25,000 made an official request at the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade, while an additional ten to 15 thousand were expected from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Granic said. Speaking about the recent incident in Hrvatska Kostajnica, Granic said that the Croatian Government had pressed charges against ten persons. The Croatian Foreign Minister reiterated that Croatia would continue full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal, in line with the Constitutional Law on Cooperation, and in spite of certain well known complaints on the tribunal's work. Croatia continued to offer full support to a consistent application of the Washington and Dayton accords in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Granic concluded. UN's Special Rapporteur Rehn expressed satisfaction with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's recent speech in Beli Manastir, eastern Croatia. She was also satisfied with her talks with representatives of Serb refugees and displaced Croats in Bilje yesterday. Rehn pointed out that her mandate covered the issue of missing persons as well, and requested the help of the Croatian Government in this regard. She stressed the interest to investigate all mass graves from the time of the aggression on Croatia, the statement by the Croatian Foreign Ministry concluded. (hina) ha jn 061323 MET jun 97