ZAGREB-BELGRADE HIGHWAY REOPENS AFTER ALMOST FIVE YEARS

BAJAKOVO, May 7 (Hina) - The Zagreb-Belgrade highway reopened after four years and seven months on Tuesday in line with an agreement on peaceful reintegration of the Serb-occupied area of eastern Croatia. The opening ceremony was held at the Bajakovo-Batrovci border crossing which was operated by Croatian policemen and customs officials wearing uniforms with Croatian insignia. The Croatian national flag was hoisted close to the border line. The opening of the international border crossing had been scheduled for noon but was delayed for 45 minutes because Yugoslav officials were late. The ceremony was attended by the commander of the UN force in the area, General Joseph Schoups, and the UN Transitional Administrator of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, General Jacques Paul Klein, who cut the ribbon. Ivica Kostovic, Croatian deputy prime minister and representative in the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), said that the opening of the highway was the first step in the reintegration of the occupied area into Croatia's legal and constitutional system and the first concrete proof of the normalization of relations with Serb-led Yugoslavia. Kostovic said he hoped that today's event would contribute to further normalization of bilateral relations. Yugoslav Transport Minister Zoran Vujovic said that the opening of the Zagreb-Belgrade highway was the result of a memorandum signed by Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and his Yugoslav counterpart Milan Milutinovic in Zagreb in March. The customs and transport regime at the Bajakovo-Batrovic border crossing would be the same as at any other crossing, along with restrictions arising from the current relationship between Croatia and Yugoslavia, Croatian officials said. Visas were required when travelling from one country to the other because the two countries still had not established diplomatic relations. Citizens could apply for visas through regular procedure or at the border crossing. Yugoslavia had already built a modern facility on its side of the border and Croatia was planning to build one soon. A Croatian customs official said Croatia was willing to open other crossings with Yugoslavia. The safety of traffic along the seven kilometre long section of the highway through the still occupied area would be ensured by UNTAES. Armed UNTAES soldiers could been seen at every 100 metres on either side of the road, which is now full of potholes and its sides are overgrown with weed and bushes. The head of the government office for restoration of Croatian authority in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, Ivica Vrkic, advised against turning off that stretch of the highway into the Serb-controlled territory. UNTAES officials removed a sign bearing the inscription "Sector East" which was left over at the entrance to the occupied area after the expiry of the UN Protection Force mandate. Traffic at the Bajakovo-Batrovci border crossing was closed in September 1991 after the Serb occupation of the area. The UN Protection Force and humanitarian organizations resumed cross- border traffic in the spring of 1992. About 150 workers of Croatian Roads, Croatian Post and Telecommunications (HPT) and Croatian Electricity Board (HEP) had been involved in preparations for the opening of the border crossing in the last 24 hours and 240 trucks transported 1,600 cubic metres of gravel. Croatian Army soldiers and Croatian Roads workers had set up a bridge over the Lubanj river in 36 hours. A Croatian Roads official said that 22 million kuna was needed to repair a stretch of the highway from the Bajakovo crossing to the Lubanj river bridge. He added that Croatian Roads was responsible for 830 km of road in the occupied area. Croatian officials attending the opening ceremony also included Interior Minister Ivan Jarnjak, Transport Minister Zeljko Luzavec, head of the Croatian Office in Belgrade Zvonimir Markovic, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Simonovic, Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff Vesna Skare-Ozbolt and Osijek County Prefect Branimir Glavas. (hina) rm vm jn 071830 MET may 96