TRANSITIONAL POLICE IN E.SLAVONIA TO BE RESTRUCTURED- UNTAES

VUKOVAR, June 23 (Hina) - The UNTAES public relations office, on Monday said that the deputy head of the transitional police (TPF) in the Croatian Danube area, Ivan Babic, would soon take over the duty of the head of those police forces from the current head, Petar Djukic. According to a statement which explains changes in the organisation of the transitional police, these police forces will consist of two parts - northern and southern and both will be led by commanders directly accountable to the head of the TPF. The head of the transitional police will inform, via the UNTAES police's head, the Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein who remains to be the highest authority for all the work of the transitional police, the statement read. The commander of the transitional police's northern part will be a Serb, whereas the head of the southern part will be a Croatian. Contracts on employment have been offered to all current TPF policemen who are Croatian citizens, and more than 750 contracts have been accepted. The corresponding representation of different ethnic groups among TPF members is guaranteed as well. In the end, the TPF will be integrated into the Croatian police system, maintaining its own ethnic composition. The UNTAES added that high skill of TPF members was also very important for completion of the mission of the UN Transitional Administration in the Croatian Danube area. The transitional police along with UNTAES would ensure conditions that all dislocated persons, regardless of their ethnic origins, could return to their homes with no big difficulty, the statement read at the end. (hina) jn mš 232103 MET jun 97