EXILED VUKOVAR RESIDENTS LAY WREATHS AT WALL OF PAIN IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Nov 18 (Hina) - Marking the fifth anniversary of the Vukovar tragedy, the exiled Croatian authorities of Vukovar, displaced people and families of missing persons laid wreaths and lit candles at the Wall of Pain in Zagreb on Monday. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Kostovic, Minister Juraj Njavro, House of Representatives Vice President Jadranka Kosor and United States Ambassador Peter Galbraith. Kosor called on the expelled residents of Vukovar "to endure with courage and dignity, like all these years, until their return to Vukovar." "Endure a little longer because Vukovar is returning home," she added. Galbraith spoke to mothers of missing and killed Vukovar residents who had built the brick wall and inscribed the names of their loved ones on it. Galbraith said that this was almost certainly the last time such a commemoration was held in Zagreb. It would be possible to organize it in Vukovar in one year's time because by then the town and its surroundings should be fully reintegrated into Croatia under the Erdut agreement and Vukovar residents would certainly return to their homes by then, he said. (hina) vm jn 181758 MET nov 96