COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY DELEGATION IN OSIJEK

OSIJEK, June 8 (Hina) - A delegation of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly visited the eastern Croatian city of Osijek on Saturday. The delegation, led by Parliamentary Assembly president Tadeusz Iwinski and the Council of Europe secretary general's special adviser on former Yugoslavia Michel Flckiger, met Mayor Zlatko Kramaric for talks on the implementation of the Erdut peace agreement, reconciliation of the Croats and Serbs, and the return of refugees and displaced persons. Iwinski said that in three weeks' time the delegation would submit a report to the Parliamentary Assembly with concrete proposals for the return of refugees and the renewal of agriculture in the crisis area. Earlier on Saturday, the European parliamentarians had visited the Serb-occupied towns of Erdut, Borovo and Vukovar where they met local Serb leader Goran Hadzic who was dissatisfied with the Amnesty Act because he believed that it should encompass other parts of Croatia as well. Stressing Croatia's commitment to the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, Kramaric said that the implementation of the Erdut agreement could begin only after the demilitarization of the occupied areas. "European assistance in the reconstruction of war-damaged houses would be a good sign that Europe wants a true peace in this region," Kramaric added. The guests also held talks with Osijek County prefect Branimir Glavas, the head of the refugees association, Mato Simic, and the head of the government office for restoration of Croatian authority in the occupied areas, Ivica Vrkic. Vrkic said that despite Serb demands for autonomy, which posed a serious threat to peaceful reintegration, "Croatia has not lost its patience for the continuation of that process." Croatian experts inspected the Djeletovci oil well on Friday and Croatia expected telephone lines with Vukovar to be restored on June 12, he said. Vrkic said that the Croatian government, despite a high degree of its cooperativeness, could not tolerate Serb attempts to create a parallel public service system. Sressing that the Council of Europe supported the peaceful reintegration of the areas into Croatia, Iwinski expressed confidence in the full implementation of the Erdut agreement. He emphasized that the peace process was a test of future relations between ethnic communities in this region, particularly between Croats and Serbs. Iwinski said he hoped Croatia would be admitted to full membership in the Council of Europe after it met all the commitments it had assumed. Europe needs Croatia, and we hope that also Croatia needs Europe, Iwinski said. (hina) vm 082046 MET jun 96