PEACEFUL REINTEGRATION OF CROATIAN DANUBIAN AREA BEGINS

ZAGREB, Jan 22 (Hina) - The process of peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem into the Croatian constitutional and legal system has already begun, Croatian government officials told a press briefing in Zagreb on Monday. The government office for restoration of Croatian authority in the Danubian area is part of a UN transitional administration whose task is to reintegrate the area into Croatia's adminstrative and economic system in a peaceful manner, Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Kostovic said. He said that the role of Croatian officials in the administration would be of an advisory nature. The peaceful reintegration would be carried out through the work of expert commissions and Croatia would propose that commissions for humanitarian issues be set up to address the problem of detainees and missing persons and the exhumation of war victims, Kostovic said. Ivica Vrkic, head of the office for restoration of Croatian authority in the still occupied areas, said that Croatia was making every effort to establish its rule in the Danubian area within a period of one year. He said he was satisfied that a dialogue with local Serbs had been established but added that he was not satisfied with the content of the dialogue. Vrkic said he believed that Local Serb authorities were the greatest obstacle to the establishment of Croatian authority in the Danubian area while ordinary people there showed much more interest in Croatia. Until the deployment of international forces was completed, expert commissions would concentrate on health issues, return of refugees, opening of the Drava-Danube waterway, return of the clergy, repair of railway lines and restoration of rail traffic, Vrkic said. (hina) vm mm 221425 MET jan 96