CRO GOVT MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR REINTEGRATION AS OF 15 JANUARY -

( Editorial: --> 6411 ) WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Hina) - In his report on the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem (UNTAES), UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggested that the UNTAES mandate should end on 15 January, and stressed that the main responsibility for the complete reintegration of the Serb population in Croatia lay on the Croatian government. In this process, Annan stressed, the implementation of the national programme of reconciliation bore special importance. In his analysis, Annan concluded that the responsibility for the successful completion of the peaceful reintegration of the region and true reconciliation lay in the hands of the Croatian government. The Croatian government has since October exerted great efforts in fulfilling commitments and in providing assurance to its citizens, Annan said in his report to the UN Security Council, issued in New York on Friday afternoon. The conduct in the past two months should be a basis for additional efforts. These efforts, if they are maintained, give hope that the completion of the UNTAES mandate on 15 January 1998 will not endanger the results of the intensive international investment of efforts in the region, Annan said. There were two preconditions for achieving long-term goals which the international community has set in the Croatian Danube river region, he stressed. The first is the complete and unreserved commitment of the Croatian government to a lasting reintegration of its Serb citizens. I am especially encouraged by the fact that the general reconciliation programme has been accepted as a state priority, and that President Tudjman guaranteed that the programme would continue after UNTAES, Annan said. The second precondition, he added, is that the international community, especially Croatia's key bilateral partners and regional organisations, should continue to closely follow Croatia's conduct and announce whenever the conduct is not as expected. Annan hailed the beginning of the work of the mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Croatia. Without a continuation of international involvement there is a clear risk that the end of the UNTAES could, in retrospective, be viewed as premature, Annan stressed. He added that the resolution of several issues faced Croatia in the future period. The Croatian government must this winter envelope all sensitive groups with its extended programme of social welfare, complete the reintegration of the health system, resolve disagreements in the education sector, improve conditions for the return of displaced persons and refugees, complete the full establishment of local governments and respect commitments regarding the two-year deferment of military service for Serbs. Annan also recalled the need for improving professionalism in the Transitional Police, as well as Croatian police. In this context, Annan suggested the introduction of a support group of 180 civilian police observers whose task would be to continue following the conduct of Croatian police in the Croatian Danube river region, especially concerning the return of displaced persons. This mandate would last up till nine months. (hina) lm 061855 MET dec 97