CROATIA AND UNTAES AGREE SECOND STAGE OF RETURN TO DANUBE REGION

REGION $ VUKOVAR, Aug 14 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian government, the UN Transitional Administration in the Danube river region (UNTAES) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agreed in Vukovar on Thursday on the second stage of the implementation of a plan for the accelerated return of displaced Croats and Serbs to their homes. As part of the plan, houses will be registered and the war damage will be assessed in 25 villages in Osijek County and in 18 villages in Vukovar county by September 15. Twenty-four villages had been registered in the first stage of the plan and the government officials handed over the documentation to UNTAES today. The director of the Centre for the Reconstruction and Development of the Danube Region, Ivan Krstanovic, who represented the Croatian government, told reporters after the closed-door meeting that reconstruction was already under way in the villages of Bilje, Marinci, Sarengrad, Baranjsko Petrovo Selo, Novi Bezdan, Aljmas and Torjanci, and that the Government Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons issued certificates authorising return to the rebuilt houses. Reconstruction and return to the remaining 17 villages registered in the first stage will begin soon, he added. At the same time, persons from elsewhere in Croatia who have settled in the region are being registered and their requests were being considered. If a person wishes to sell his house, his request is processed by the Agency for Real Estate Transactions. If he wishes to return to his pre-war home, the county authorities assess the condition of his house within a period of 30 days and if the house is suitable for living, he can return, and if it is not, then the authorities decide on its reconstruction or provide temporary accommodation. Krstanovic said that it was agreed that temporary accommodation should be ensured in the former place of residence. The following villages in Osijek County will be included in the second stage of the plan: Kozarac, Mitrovac, Darda, Batina, Draz, Dubosevica, Gajic, Podolje, Topolje, Laslovo, Jasenovac, Kamenac, Karanac, Knezevi Vinogradi, Kotlina, Mirkovac, Suza, Zmajevac, Sarvas, Tenja, Luc, Petlovac, Sirine, Branjina and Popovac. The villages in Vukovar County that will be registered as part of the second stage are: Ilok, Djeletovci, Novi Jankovci, Slakovci, Stari Jankovci, Berak, Boksic, Cakovci, Grabovo, Miklusevci, Tompojevci, Antin, Korodj, Tordinci, Ilaca, Tovarnik, Celije and Sotin. The third stage will include registration of all villages in the Croatian Danube region. (hina) vm 141904 MET aug 97