RELEASED CROATIAN DEFENDERS HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

ZAGREB, April 4 (Hina) - The Croatian Defence Ministry on Thursday held a press conference on the release of five Croatian army members from Bosnian Serb prisons. The five released Croatian army members are: pilot Vladimir Sumanovac, Major Ante Glavan, Ivan Pupic, Josip Bracun and Leo Cvjetic. The five men were freed in the Croatian town of Davor on Tuesday, 2 April. Today's press conference was also attended by Croatian army member Dubravko Bracic, who was released on Monday, 1 April, in Blagaj near Kupres, southwestern Bosnia. The Croatian Air Force pilot, Brigadier Vladimir Sumanovac, who spent 1251 days in solitary confinement, said that he had been treated correctly, especially before the release. There had been, however, some very bad moments, he added. Sumanovac was captured near Karlovac (50 km south of Zagreb) on 30 October, 1992, in the vicinity of a rebel Serb check-point. He was imprisoned in Vojnic (until last summer occupied Croatian territory), Banja Luka, Bijeljina (under Bosnian Serb army control) and in Sremska Mitrovica (Vojvodina, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Stressing that he had been a personal hostage of the Bosnian Serb army commander, General Ratko Mladic, Sumanovac said he did not know until the last moment that he would be exchanged. Major Ante Glavan and Ivan Pupic were captured in a reconnaissance action during the liberation of Bosansko Grahovo on 11 August last year. They ran into an ambush and had to surrender themselves. Dubravko Bracic, who was exchanged on 1 April in Herzeg-Bosnia also ran into an ambush during the Croatian military operation 'Storm' on 6 August 1995, in the then occupied Croatian areas. Describing his imprisonment, he said he had to do various jobs for numerous war profiteers in several Serb-controlled Bosnian towns. (hina) rm jn 041918 MET apr 96