TRANSITIONAL POLICE FORCE WEARS CROATIAN UNIFORMS

( Editorial: --> 4967 ) VUKOVAR, Dec 1 (Hina) - Members of the Transitional Police Force (TPF) in the Croatian Danube river area have been wearing uniforms of Croatian police since Monday morning. These policemen will also have, for a while, plates with the letters 'TPF' above their police badges, besides usual insignia of Croatian police. A spokesman for UNTAES (the UN Transitional Administration of the region), Douglas Coffmann, said a few days ago that putting Croatian police's uniforms on would not influence the everyday work of the Transitional Police. An assistant to Croatian Interior Minister, Josko Moric, announced recently that the Croatian interior ministry would take on the entire jurisdiction over the TPF as of 15 December. The Transitional Police Force is multinational police in the Croatian Danube area established by UNTAES in cooperation with the Croatian government on 1 July 1996 during the process of peaceful reintegration of the region. In the beginning there were about 1,500 Serb and 22 Croat TPF members, while at the present there are about 850 Croats, 850 Serbs and about 100 members of other nationalities employed with the TPF. Until Monday morning they worked in blue uniforms with the inscription "police (policija)" on the sleeves of shirts but with no state insignia. (hina) jn mš 011100 MET dec 97