CROATIAN JOURNALISTS HELD AT BELGRADE AIRPORT

( Editorial: --> 7104 ) ZAGREB, 9 Dec (Hina) - Two journalists of the Croatian weekly 'Globus' were held by Yugoslav authorities at Belgrade airport Monday night. Returning from Thessaloniki in Greece, the journalists missed their connection to Vienna, and since they did not have Yugoslav entry visas, the border police held them in the transit part of the airport and confiscated their passports and tickets. The police did not allow representatives of the Croatian embassy in Belgrade to visit the journalists. The first secretary in the Croatian embassy in Belgrade asked the Yugoslav foreign and interior ministries for help in issuing tourist passes, so that the Croatian journalists could reach the first border crossing to Croatia. Croatian embassy representatives visited the airport twice during the night but were not allowed to visit the journalists. However, overnight phone calls with the two ministries and pleas for help yielded results in the end. After they spent the night at Belgrade airport, the Croatian journalists on Tuesday boarded a flight to Vienna. (hina) jn rm 092056 MET dec 97