PREMIER HORN VISITS HUNGARIAN IFOR CONTINGENT IN OKUCANI

PUSTARE (near Okucani) Feb 3 (Hina) - Hungarian Premier Gyula Horn and Defence Minister Gyoergy Kelety on Saturday visited the Hungarian IFOR contingent, which is located in Pustare near Okucani. The Hungarian Premier attended the signing of a document which confirms the engagement of the Hungarian contingent within IFOR. #L# The document was signed by the commander of the Hungarian army 4th mechanized division, Major General Ambrus Preininger and the commander of the engineering unit of IFOR Rapid Reaction Force, Brigadier General John David Moore-Bick. The Hungarian state officials, accompanied by the Hungarian Ambassador to Croatia, Zsolt Szalay, made a tour round the camp, talked with the soldiers and visited the destroyed Sava river bridge connecting the towns of Stara Gradiska and Bosanska Gradiska. Horn expressed satisfaction with the work of the Hungarian contingent. Horn said that he had discussed with President Tudjman the issue of eastern Slavonia during today's talks in Zagreb. 'Hungary was one of rare countries which said that there could be no peace in former Yugoslavia until peace is established in eastern Slavonia. We have reached the same conclusion during last night's talks with Croatian Premier Matesa', Horn said. Brigadier General Moore-Bick also addressed the soldiers. He reiterated the tasks that were ahead of the soldiers and warned them of unexploded mines which since the beginning of the IFOR mission had killed or wounded 47 soldiers. After the signing ceremony, Premier Horn had lunch with the soldiers. The Hungarian IFOR engineering contingent, which is the only Hungarian unit in the Implementation Force, has 416 soldiers. Their headquarters will be in Pustare, near Okucani, which not long ago was the base of the Nepalese UNCRO soldiers. The Hungarian soldiers are to build a bridge over the Sava and maintain the Bosanska Gradiska-Banja Luka road. (hina) rm 031655 MET feb 96