CROATIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES U.N. TRANSITIONAL ADMINISTRATOR ( Editorial: --> 6932 )

( Editorial: --> 6932 ) ZAGREB, Oct 30 (Hina) - Great progress has been made in the two-way return of displaced persons and refugees, the restoration of trust and the establishment of local government in the Croatian Danube region, the head of the national committee in charge of restoring inter-ethnic trust, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, said in Zagreb on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting between President Franjo Tudjman and the UN Transitional Administrator of the Danube region, William Walker, Skare-Ozbolt said that also discussed was security in the UN-administered areas of Osijek and Vukovar counties ahead of the announced visits of displaced persons to cemeteries on All Saints' Day, November 1. "I think we have done quite a lot regarding the establishment of trust. Mini-committees have been set up in some towns in both counties, including Vukovar, and the national committee has already held two meetings with all the heads of municipalities and mayors in the two counties," she said. Skare-Ozbolt said that the two-way return of displaced persons and refugees to their prewar homes had stepped up, recalling that 80 families had recently returned to apartments in Vukovar rebuilt by the European Union. "I think that those are really concrete steps which lead to the completion of the UNTAES mandate on January 15," she said. Walker commended the Croatian government for the latest steps it had taken. I regard that as a good indicator of our common advance towards successful completion of the mandate, he said. As regards visits to the Danube region on all Saints' Day, Walker said that the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) would be glad to receive all those wishing to come to the area to visit the graves of their relatives and friends. Walker noted that UNTAES was cooperating with Croatian authorities in the organisation of visits, expressing confidence that there would be no incidents on that day. Asked whether they discussed a possibility of the UN civilian police staying in the region after the expiry of the UNTAES mandate, Walker said that they discussed "all issues still before us". He recalled last week's incident in which he said Vesna Skare- Ozbolt faced the problems UNTAES had with regard to the police. (hina) vm 301645 MET oct 97