KOSTOVIC VISITS OSIJEK OFFICE FOR EASTERN SLAVONIA

OSIJEK, Jan 25 (Hina) - Croatian deputy prime minister Ivica Kostovic on Thursday visited the eastern city of Osijek where he met officials of the government office for restoration of Croatian authority in the remaining occupied areas of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem. "The Osijek office is well equipped for the job and it has already undertaken many activities, from establishing contacts with local Serbs to organizing reunions of families separated by war," Kostovic told reporters after the meeting. Kostovic, who is also a Croatian representative in the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), said that international forces would be deployed in the area after the arrival of Transitional Administrator US Gen. Jacques Klein. The UN force would comprise troops from Belgium, Italy, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Kostovic said. He said that the talks also focused on pilot programs for the return of displaced people to the villages of Bilje, Antunovac, Ceric and Lipovac. (hina) vm jn 252114 MET jan 96