DISPLACED PERSONS VISIT OCCUPIED MUNICIPALITIES OF NIJEMCI,TOVARNI

NIJEMCI,TOVARNI $ K VINKOVCI, May 15 (Hina) - The UN High Commission for Refugees and the Croatian Government's Temporary Administration Office for the Re-establishment of Croatian Authority in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem on Wednesday organized a visit to the still occupied municipalities of Tovarnik and Nijemci. #L# The group who visited the municipalities included three displaced persons, Ivica Klem, prefect of the Nijemci municipality, Jakob Asic, member of the Tovarnik Municipal Authorities and Djuro Kokosarevic, and a representative of the Government's Office, Tomo Povreslo. "80 per cent of the houses in the Nijemci municipality are destroyed. All important buildings, churches especially, no longer exist", Klem said, adding that "in Nijemci a school has been preserved, because for a time it served as a barracks, and then as a penitentiary for those Serbs who refused to take part in the war". There are only nine Croats in Nijemci and they are eagerly awaiting the re-establishment of Croatian authority in the area. The group was most shocked at seeing Ilaca, where three Catholic churches and a shrine to Virgin Mary had been destroyed. Serbs also completely destroyed the village of Djeletovci, where field machinery is guarded by UNTAES. It was also evident that Serbs were systematically cutting oak trees in the area and taking wood to Serbia, because a considerable number of trucks with Serb license plates was noticed, the group concluded. (hina) ha jn 152054 MET may 96