CROATIA VITALLY INTERESTED IN ADMISSION TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

STRASBOURG, Jan 23 (Hina) - Croatia's vital interest is to become a full member of the Council of Europe and an integral part of the European political, economic and security system, Foreign Minister Mate Granic said in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Granic told a press conference at the European Palace that Croatia would cooperate with the Council of Europe and give it full information on people being investigated for human rights violations after a Croatian military operation in early August last year. He specified that 1,888 people were under investigation, and that 10 were detained and the investigation was in a final stage. Speaking of the problem of Bosnian Moslem refugees at the Kupljensko camp in Croatia, Granic said that the aim of the Croatian and Bosnian governments was to return those people to their homes in northwestern Bosnia. "Our goal is to ensure their return and full safety," he stressed, adding that Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey had set up a joint police force to provide security to the returnees. "A large number of people from Kupljensko have already returned to their homes and we want others to return as well," he said. Granic stressed that Croatia fully supported efforts aimed at strengthening the Croat-Moslem federation in Bosnia- Herzegovina, but warned that it would not be easy to implement all elements of the Dayton peace agreement concerning the federation. "It's necessary to restore confidence" between the Bosnian Croat and Moslem communities, he said. In response to journalists' questions on the situation in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, Granic said that Mostar "will be a unified town." If the Bosnian Croat and Moslem sides failed to agree on the final boundaries of districts in Mostar, Croatia would agree to arbitration by Mostar's European Union administrator, Hans Koschnik, Granic said. Granic said that Croatia was willing to fully cooperate with all international organizations investigating mass graves. (hina) vm 231853 MET jan 96