U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CROATIA REFUTES 'GLOBUS' WEEKLY

ZAGREB, Sept 23 (Hina) - The headline attached to an interview published in Croatia's weekly "Globus" inaccurately presented the stance of the United States government about the reintegration of the Croatian Danube river region into Croatia's legal system, US Ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, said in a letter to the weekly, which was also forwarded to Hina on Tuesday. #L# Galbraith expressed his concern over the distortion of his comments in the interview published by the weekly. By publishing the misleading headline "Croatia Must Adopt a Law That Will Render Documents of the Former Serbian Krajina Valid", the weekly twisted the meaning of the comments, and inaccurately characterised the views of the American government, Galbraith said. "The inaccurate headline not only skews my actual comments, but incorrectly characterises my government's views on the reintegration of the Croatian justice system in the region currently under UNTAES authority. As is evident from the interview text, I specified that Croatian legislation should recognise and validate a range of non- political documentation issued during the period of 'RSK' rule, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, and inheritance documents. Your headline, however, leaves the impression that I advocated the global recognition of any and all 'RSK'-issued documents". "It is crucial to emphasise that the US government, which never recognised the so-called 'RSK' as a legal state, does not advocate the validation of any documents or transactions concluded under duress. This is a fundamental principle of the Dayton and Erdut agreements. For instance, any transaction involving individuals expelled from Eastern Slavonia during the period of 'RKS' rule would be presumed to have been concluded under coercion or duress - and therefore legally invalid," Galbraith said in the letter. (hina) lm mm 231837 MET sep 97