CRO VICE PREMIER FORWARDS PROTEST LETTER TO KLEIN

ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - Croatian vice-premier Ivica Kostovic on Wednesday forwarded a letter to U.N. Transitional Administrator for the Croatian Danubian area General Jacques Klein in relation to a statement made by Klein's deputy Derek Boothby on 2 September, the Croatian government's public relations office said in a statement. Boothby's statement, if correctly reported by Serbian news agency Tanjug, said that "it won't be possible to schedule elections in the Croatian Danubian area before spring next year" and that it was "necessary to extend UNTAES' mandate". In his letter to Klein, Kostovic expressed regret concerning the statement, on behalf of the Croatian government, pointing out that in a moment when negotiations on UNTAES' mandate and the time frame of the holding of elections in the Croatian Danubian area were still in course, such a statement from a high UNTAES official could only cause damage. Boothby's statement could also cause worry among the Croatian population, in particular among displaced persons, the letter pointed out. (hina) ha 041814 MET sep 96