KLISA, 10 April (Hina) - Transitional Administrator in eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem, General Jacques Paul Klein and UNTAES (United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia) military force commander,
General Joseph Schoups, today held a joint press conference for Croatian and Serbian journalists at Klisa airport, occupied Croatian territory.
KLISA, 10 April (Hina) - Transitional Administrator in eastern
Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem, General Jacques Paul Klein
and UNTAES (United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern
Slavonia) military force commander, General Joseph Schoups, today
held a joint press conference for Croatian and Serbian journalists
at Klisa airport, occupied Croatian territory. #L#
The press conference focused on the role of journalists and
media in creating an atmosphere of trust in the implementation of
peaceful reintegration.
General Klein said he was convinced that the process of
peaceful reintegration could be completed successfully.
A lot had been done since the arrival of the U.N. Task Force
in the area, Klein said, announcing that the highway south of
Lipovac would soon be formally opened. Preparations for the opening
of the Sid-Vinkovci railway line were under way, he added.
The war was over and it was important to change the climate of
war, he said, adding that further conflicts would make no sense.
The UNTAES mission would fail if people who lived in the
occupied areas which would enter Croatia's constitutional and legal
system, left their homes. Those people 'are citizens of this
country', Klein said, adding 'it is our job to convince them that
they have future here'.
UNTAES military commander General Schoups said that the
deployment of 5,000 soldiers should be completed by 5 May. After
that date, the demilitarization of the area should start and it
should be completed in 30 days, Schoups said.
The mission of UNTAES forces was not only to demilitarize the
area, but also to secure the return of people 'from both sides' and
to maintain peace in the region, he added.
After the press conference, Serbian and Croatian journalists
and UNTAES representatives held a round table. The journalists
agreed not to write about it.
The talks were described as extremely useful and, as UNTAES
representatives stressed, they represented the first successfully
organized meeting.
The Serbian journalists were represented by journalists from
the weekly 'Vreme', the independent radio station B92, BK TV, TV
Politika, the dailies 'Politika' and 'Vecernje novosti' and the
Serbian news agency Tanjug. Representatives of local radio stations
from the occupied towns of Borovo and Vukovar also attended the
meeting.
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