CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER PRESENTS HIGH DECORATION TO BROWN'S SON

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Hina) - Michael Brown, son of US Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown who died in a plane crash in Croatia last week, on Thursday received a King Dmitar Zvonimir decoration awarded to his father by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Presenting the decoration at a ceremony in the Croatian Embassy in Washington, Croatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa said that "the family of Ronald Brown has lost a person they loved, the United States a persevering leader and Croatia a friend it could trust." Secretary Brown and 32 other Americans died when their plane hit a mountainside near the southern coastal town of Dubrovnik in stormy weather. The delegation was on a mission that was to open the way to US participation in the postwar reconstruction of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Michael Brown thanked the Croatian government and people for their assistance, care and feelings they had shown in difficult moments for his family. At the invitation of the Croatian government, the Brown family would arrive in Croatia to attend a ceremony in commemoration of the plane crash. (hina) vm 121101 MET apr 96