HIGHLIGHTS OF GOVERNMENT REPORT ON REINTEGRATION PROCESS

ZAGREB, Sept 24 (Hina) - A report on the peaceful reintegration of the UN-administered Danube river region into Croatia, which was adopted by the Croatian government on Monday, includes data from relevant ministries, institutions and public companies on results that have so far been achieved in the reintegration process. The 40-page report presents data on the establishment of local administration and self-government, payment operations, the reintegration of police forces, the judiciary, the education system, the health care system, pension schemes, public companies, former socially-owned companies, employment of people who worked in regional government services, reconstruction, and the return of displaced persons. The report was issued under the title: A report on the implementation of the Letter of Intent of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region of 13 January 1997 and the establishment of the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Croatia in the areas of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem Counties currently under UN transitional administration. It is said in the conclusion that data on the activities of the government, public companies and other institutions in the Croatian Danube region unequivocally confirm that a lot of effort has been made in the last few months and that great progress has been made in the reintegration of the region into Croatia's legal and economic system. The Croatian government has achieved good results in the return of Serbs from the Danube area to other parts of Croatia as 50% of Serbs who submitted requests to return have done so without any serious incident, whereas considerably fewer Croats, Hungarians and others - only two per cent - have returned to the Danube area. Almost 10 billion kuna provided from the state budget and public companies has been invested in the programmes of reconstruction and revitalisation of war-ravaged areas, while international aid for that purpose accounted for less than two per cent of the amount. The government will continue with measures aimed at stimulating economic development in the war-ravaged areas of the Danube region, so they could reach the level of development of other parts of the country as soon as possible. Everything that has been done so far in the reintegration of the Danube region is a good prerequisite for the start of a mass return of Croats, Hungarians and other displaced persons to their homes. In order to accomplish that, the government and UNTAES will step up efforts so the expected returns could materialise in the coming months. The government believes that the transfer of all executive authority from the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) to Croatia should be accelerated so the UNTAES mandate could end by 15 January 1998 at the latest. The government emphasises that under no circumstances and for no reason will it accept extension of the mandate and that it will continue to make maximum efforts in cooperation with the international community in the reconstruction, establishment of trust and full reintegration of the war-ravaged areas of Croatia. The part of the report focusing on the reintegration of the legal and economic system amply describes the establishment of state administration and local government and self-government. The Croatian government first directly contacted UNTAES representatives on the matter of when the first offices for the issuance of Croatian documents should begin working on 30 July 1996. The issue of turning over registers of births, marriages and deaths and other documents in the hands of local authorities was raised at frequent meetings with UNTAES representatives who assured Administration Ministry officials that it was impossible to turn over the said registers due to the non-existence of appropriate cooperation with representatives of local Serb authorities. Twenty-three offices were permanently opened shortly before elections in the Croatian Danube region. Because of physical attacks and insults, as well as inadequate working conditions, the staff had to make an additional effort in their work. The report says the issue of UNTAES' turning over registers of births, marriages and deaths remained unsolved even after UNTAES-established offices ceased working and were replaced by regular registry offices in the Croatian Danube region. In this regard the government points out that a problem will arise in enforcing a law on the validation of the legality of documents issued by illegal authorities. The passing of appropriate regulations for the enforcement of the said law will ensue only after the registers are gone through, the government said. The constitution of units of local self-government in the Danube region came in the wake of an election held in mid April 1997. Domestic money transfers were introduced in the Danube region on 19 May 1997, the report says, adding that to date, many Croatian banks opened sub-branches and exchange offices in the area. The conversion of the dinar into the Croatian currency, the kuna, was completed on 15 September this year. The report further presents achievements in the reintegration of police forces, saying that Croatian laws and regulations were introduced in the region on 1 June this year. In 15 police stations and two outposts, the ethnic background of commanders and their deputies reflects the national composition of the population in the region according to the 1991 census.. On 8 September 1997, the Transitional Police Force (TPF) included 836 Croatian officers. By 30 July, 982 Serb officers serving on the TPF were given employment in the Croatian Interior Ministry. The Croatian Interior Ministry has so far financed all spheres of work of the TPF, spending about 110.7 million kuna ($17.5 million). As of 1 September, the police stations in the region provide administrative services. From 20 August 1996 to 15 September 1997, 56,044 applications for Croatian citizenship were received, as well as 130,538 applications for identity cards and 126,597 applications for passports. Over 99 per cent of the applications have been processed. Of 130,000 identity cards that have been issued, 69,485 have been issued to persons who have resided in the region since before 1991 and 60,515 to persons whose places of residence are in other areas of Croatia. Regarding the reintegration of the judiciary, the report says the issue of enforcing the Amnesty Act has been settled. Data gathered to date show it has been applied to over 12,000 persons. The Interior Ministry, in cooperation with competent courts and state attorney offices, will not arrest previously wanted persons until it is ascertained whether they have been amnestied. The issue of an alleged list of war criminals from the Danube region has also been settled. The Ministry of Justice notified UNTAES in writing that no such list existed. There is only one list with the names of 25 persons legally sentenced for war crimes committed in the Danube region. On 19 September 1997, the Croatian parliament passed the Criminal Code, which fully annuls all legal and other consequences in relation to persons who were tried and later pardoned. The final draft of a law on the validation of the legality of documents issued by illegal authorities has been adjusted at a meeting of representatives of the Croatian government, parliament and UNTAES on 22 September. The bill is expected to be adopted at the current session of parliament. As regards the reintegration of the school system, the report says classes are held in 32 elementary and two high schools. Local offices of the Croatian Pension Fund have been reintegrated in line with rules and an agreement on their organization. A total of 12,884 persons are already receiving their pensions, or will in the near future. As of January 1997, an advance of 500 kuna has been given to pension beneficiaries who qualified for retirement allowance before 1991 in line with Croatian regulations and who obtained Croatian documents. In the part focusing on the reintegration of public enterprises, the report states in detail what has been done by the following enterprises: Croatian Railways, Croatian Post and Telecommunications, Croatian Water Management, Croatian Forests, Croatian Electric Power Industry, INA-Oil Industry. A spring harvest plan for this year envisages a 57.4 million kuna-worth loan for the planting of corn, sugar-beet and sunflower on 69,500 hectares of land, the report says, adding that a total of 246.3 million kuna will have been invested in agriculture by year's end. In the part of the report referring to reconstruction work in the Danube region, it is said that war damage was registered and assessed in all 65 settlements and that 25,804 buildings were categorised according to the degree of damage. Reconstruction work has already begun on houses which suffered minor damage with the intention of rebuilding 4,000 such houses. The report says that 325 family houses were rebuilt last year and 565 this year. The reconstruction of 1,956 apartments is financed by the Ministry of Reconstruction and Development and 457 by the European Union. With the completion of these programmes, conditions would be created for the return of 40,000 people. So far 980 million kuna ($155.5 million) has been allocated from the state budget for housing reconstruction. In April 1997 the government established the Real Estate Agency to assist in solving property issues. Its priority is to solve cases of crucial importance for the conduct of the two-way return of displaced persons. The agency has so far received 2,556 requests for the sale and/or purchase of real estate, of which 110 have been processed. Citing data on the process of return of displaced persons to their pre-war homes, the report says that 12,281 Serbs staying in the Danube region have requested to return to their former places of residence elsewhere in Croatia. More than half that number, or 7,500 persons, have returned, of whom 1,408 have returned in an organised way while a little more than 6,000 have returned on their own initiative. 8,199 persons do not want to return to their former homes, preferring to sell or exchange their property. As regards the return of Croats and other ethnic groups to the Danube region, the report says that of 110,000 Croats who were expelled from their homes in the region in 1991, 80,785 are still accommodated in other parts of the country. According to data supplied by UNTAES, more than 1,500 persons have returned to the Danube region for good, or only two per cent of all the people who have filed requests to return. The report says that of the total number of people who have filed requests to return, more than 50 per cent of Serbs and only two per cent of Croats, Hungarians and others have returned. (hina) jn ha vm 242048 MET sep 97