CRO LOWER HOUSE COMMITTEE DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS

ZAGREB, Sept 30 (Hina) - The committee for human rights and the rights of ethnic and national communities or minorities of the Croatian parliament's House of Representatives on Tuesday held a session focusing on return rights and human rights in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia. Vice premier and Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic said this is the most important issue in Croatia today. We will focus on it in the upcoming months, since it is crucial for the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region, he said. The UNTAES mandate with executive authority must end on 15 January 1998, Radic pointed out, adding Croatia will agree for monitors to stay with an even more prominent role than in other countries. Croatia's goal is to realize the rights of all Croatian citizens, regardless of nationality, in line with the highest possible standards, vice premier Radic said. "The hypocritical world does not answer our call for assistance (in bringing) the rights of every citizen to the highest possible level," Radic said. In confirmation, he said that the UN transitional administrator for eastern Croatia, William Walker, had not contacted him while compiling a report on the situation in eastern Croatia, but based it on data gathered by his observers and statements made by local Serbs. According to Radic, 6,134 citizens of Serb nationality (half the number of requests submitted) had returned from the Croatian Danube region to other parts of Croatia to date, whereas only 1,000-1,5000 out of 80,000 Croats who want to return to the Danube region had managed to do so. Forty thousand Croatian returnees are expected by spring, Radic said. Vice premier Ivica Kostovic warned about twofold criteria used by the international community in relation to returnees and human rights. He pointed out 2,204 missing persons as the primary humanitarian issues. No case has been solved with the assistance of the international community to date, he said, adding that the best cooperation has been with UNTAES. (hina) ha mm 301603 MET sep 97