TEXT OF CROATIAN GOVERNMENT'S LETTER TO SECURITY COUNCIL

ZAGREB, June 13 (Hina) - On behalf of the Croatian government, Foreign Minister Mate Granic forwarded a letter to the UN Security Council on Friday, explaining Croatia's views on the UNTAES mandate. Croatian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ivan Simonovic, delivered it to the Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, the president of the Security Council. A report on implementation of the programme for peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube area was enclosed with the letter. The following is the full text of the letter: In light of the forthcoming deliberations by the Security Council of the United Nations on the Secretary-General's report on the situation in the Croatian Danube area and the future engagement and the presence of the United Nations therein, I have the honour to express herewith the views of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube area has reached the stage that is final and irrevocable. Its positive effects will be far-reaching for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia, but equally for the overall peace process and stability in the wider region. Its results, which several months ago seemed uncertain, have now confirmed that the political option to attain by peaceful means the reintegration of the last remaining part of Croatian territory not yet under its full control, has been fully justified, and as such it has proven to be of historic importance. In this, the co-operation of the international community and the performance of UNTAES, notwithstanding occasional obstacles, have been critical to the success of this UN mission. We commend its Transitional Administrator, Ambassador Jacques Paul Klein, his numerous collaborators - both the courageous military and the dedicated civilian staff. The success of this mission, in fulfilment of the mandate the Security Council has entrusted them with, will also serve broader United Nations objectives and interests. The military component of UNTAES, headed by Belgian generals Josef Schoups and Willy Hanset, also deserves the highest praise and special recognition. The main task of the military component, mandated in paragraph 10.a of resolution 1037 (1996), was to demilitarise the region. As a prerequisite for all other endeavours, this task was successfully completed on 19 June 1996. The civilian component of UNTAES, which is mandated by paragraph 11 of resolution 1037 (1996), has completed most of its task in a timely manner and with high efficiency - aided when required, by the relevant Croatian authorities. Allow me, therefore, Excellency, to reiterate only the most important contributions which the Croatian Government has made so far to these achievements. The Letter of Intent (S/1997/27), which was critical in the process, created the necessary conditions for the successful holding of elections. Its conduct has been assessed as fair and democratic by international observers, including the Security Council. Its results have proven positive for the political process in the region. The establishment and constitution of the elected local authorities was completed on schedule. The Croatian President and the Government had also proceeded to appoint Serb representatives to the House of Counties of the Parliament, and five Assistant-Ministers in the important Government Ministries, respectively. Equally, progress was achieved in the field of the reintegration of legal system and commerce: the public enterprises are reintegrating their affiliates in the region and employing hundreds of local staff; since 1 June Croatian legislation is being applied throughout the entire region. The education system is also being integrated, with subjects of special for the Serbian community. The Croatian currency has also been fully introduced in the payment system and commerce. The citizenship documents have been issued to over 140,000 persons. The number of granted documents is far above all expectations, and in the view of the Government, this number should be primary measure of success of the UNTAES mandate and the best reflection of the intentions of the Croatian Government in respect of its citizens among whom are those who have taken up arms against Croatia. Transitional Police Force (TPF) is fully operational in the region; Croatia has offered full employment to 827 policemen of the TPF. The national composition of the police has also been fully agreed upon. As further gesture to the persons who took up arms against Croatia or became affiliated with them, the President of Croatia has on numerous occasions made public overtures of forgiveness and reconciliation. All these are major steps and occasionally beyond the commitments the Government made in the Basic Agreement, which have brought about significant changes in the region and prospects for the future. At the same time, the plight of nearly 96,000 non-Serb displaced persons and refugees after six years of hardship, 2,300 missing persons, exhumation of mass graves, and major reconstruction effort in the entire area, have also been the responsibility of the Croatian Government, while of somewhat lesser interest of the international community. Consistent with the Agreement on the Procedures for Return, signed by Croatia, UNTAES and UNHCR, the foundations for the return of refugees and displaced persons from and into the Danube area and other parts of Croatia has been established. The return process will include all those who have so far registered their intent, and should be organised in conditions of security and respect for the established procedure, in order to avoid regrettable incidents of the past. In regard to the returns so far, one should not overlook the fact that Croatia is the only State or party in the region that has recorded a positive net flow of persons who took up arms against it, into the territory it controls. In view of the obvious success of UNTAES so far, and the completion of major segments of its mandate, the Government believes that the follow-on United Nations mission in the region should be restructured by taking into account these new realities. The military component of UNTAES should commence the progressive process of disengagement as of 16 July 1997, to be completed within a reasonably short period of time. The civilian component of the Mission should gradually diminish its executive powers and transfer them to the elected authorities. It requires substantial restructuring, with the principal tasks that should focus on confidence-building and economic assistance. The Transitional Administrator has on numerous occasions emphasised the importance of this as a key to the success of the Mission. The future civilian component may also provide support and assistance to the new local bodies; monitor and assist in the return of the displaced persons; and, monitor the state of human rights in the region. The follow-on mission shall also look to facilitate the phasing-in of the OSCE monitoring mission in Croatia. The latter should be expanded and strengthened as soon as practicable, in order to completely take over the role of monitoring in the region on 15 January 1988, when the United Nations mandate in the region ends. The negotiations with OSCE in this regard are continuing, and my Government expect them to conclude successfully by the end of June 1997. My Government has on its session of 12 June 1997 decided that the mandate of UNTAES in its present form needs to be concluded on 15 July 1997. Croatia is agreeable to future limited and restructured presence of United Nations in the Croatian Danube region, as stipulated by the Basic Agreement, and resolutions 1037 (1996) and 1079 (1996). The mandate of the follow-on mission has to complete the transfer of the executive authority from the Transitional Administration to the legally elected authorities immediately after 15 July. The Government attaches greatest importance to timely, full and unhindered functioning of the elected local authorities in the region. The completion of the reintegration process can be best achieved by respecting the democratic will of the people in the region and showing confidence in the decisions of their elected bodies. Reiterating our confidence and positive assessment of the results of the reintegration process, which is of vital Croatian national and wider international interest, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, I wish to express our expectation that these views would be fully respected in the forthcoming discussions in the Security Council. (hina) jn ha mš 131926 MET jun 97