ZAGREB, Nov 20 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian Government, UNTAES and local Serbs from the Croatian Danubian area met in Zagreb on Wednesday to discuss the continuation of the peaceful reintegration process.
ZAGREB, Nov 20 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian Government,
UNTAES and local Serbs from the Croatian Danubian area met in
Zagreb on Wednesday to discuss the continuation of the peaceful
reintegration process. #L#
We have had an excellent meeting and reached several important
agreements, UN Transitional Administrator Gen. Jacques Klein said
after the meeting, which was held behind closed doors.
"It was agreed that Gen. Klein would soon order the opening of
the Vinkovci-Tovarnik railway," Deputy Prime Minister Ivica
Kostovic said.
Participants agreed to increase the staff of registry offices
in the Croatian Danubian area which issue Croatian documents. They
also reached an agreement on the return of Croatian refugees to the
Baranja villages of Torjanci, Novi Bezdan, Novo Nevesinje and, in a
second stage, Baranjsko Petrovo Selo.
Both sides were to draw up an agreement on the return to
Bilje.
"We noted the need for introducing the kuna, while the Serb
delegation brought up the issue of registration of companies,"
Kostovic said.
The Government Office for Reintegration of the Croatian
Danubian Area would soon open a branch office in Vukovar and
probably in Beli Manastir, Kostovic announced. The Government
Office for Refugees would also have a branch office on the same
premises.
Development and Reconstruction Minister Jure Radic would
represent Croatia at the Dec 6 donors' conference in Vukovar,
Kostovic announced.
The meeting stressed the need for "all Croatian citizens" in
the Croatian Danubian area to apply for citizenship documents to be
able to vote, the head of the Serb delegation, Vojislav
Stanimirovic, said.
The Serb delegation presented a plan for organising education
in the Croatian Danubian area, Stanimirovic added.
Asked about the reintegration of public companies,
Stanimirovic said that public companies would be reintegrated. He
expressed hope that companies would be both "registered in Beli
Manastir and entered in records in Osijek." He also expressed a
wish that the Tovarnik-Sid (on the Yugoslav border) railway section
be opened at the same time as the Vinkovci-Tovarnik section,
because this was in the interest of both Croatia and Yugoslavia.
Asked about his own citizenship papers, Stanimirovic said he
had not yet taken out a Croatian citizenship certificate.
He described a local rally staged on Nov 18 in Vukovar as a
"commemorative, not celebratory" event.
The heads of all three delegations agreed that it was
necessary to gather reliable data on the population currently
living in the Croatian Danubian area.
The opening of additional Croatian registry offices would help
in this task, Gen. Klein explained. This would also facilitate the
elections, he added.
(hina) mm as vm
202151 MET nov 96