CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE OPENS IN OSIJEK

OSIJEK, July 9 (Hina) - A civil rights office was opened in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek on Tuesday as part of a human rights project for the Serb-occupied areas of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja Western Srijem, sponsored by the United States and Norway. The opening ceremony was attended by officials of the Croatian government office for the occupied areas, US ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, Norwegian Foreign Ministry envoy Kai Eide, and the assistant director for Europe of the US Agency for International Development, Tom Dine. Project director Ole Rasmussen said that the success of the office depended on cooperation with local authorities and the UN Transitional Administration in the occupied areas (UNTAES). Noting that the opening of the office was proof of the continued cooperation between the US and Norway in the former Yugoslavia, Galbraith said that citizens should feel that their rights were protected. Speaking of the need for normalizing the situation in a transitional period, the US ambassador stressed that all people who wished so should be issued citizenship documents and granted the right to pension and private ownership. He added that this should not only apply to the people currently living in the UN-administered areas but also to those who had been expelled from there. Eide said that the resolution of the issues of citizenship and private property was crucial for the reconciliation process. The Norwegian diplomat noted that the civil rights office would not replace Croatian authorities and UNTAES but would provide support wherever possible. Thanking the Croatian government and UNTAES for support, Eide said that the purpose of the project was to establish confidence among people. The deputy head of the Croatian government office, Mirko Tankosic, expressed satisfaction that the international community wanted to help in the peace process and in the reconstruction of the economy and infrastructure in the areas. After the ceremony, the US and Norwegian officials travelled to the Serb-occupied Danube river town of Vukovar where a civil rights office was to be opened as part of the same project. (hina) vm 091320 MET jul 96