UNTAES CIVIL POLICE MEMBER INJURED IN ILOK INCIDENT

VUKOVAR, 24 Dec (Hina) - A representative of the U.N. Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) headquarters in Vukovar confirmed tonight that an incident happened during a Christmas Eve mass in the Church of Saint Ivan Kapistran in Ilok Tuesday, in which a group of local Serbs damaged the sacristy. In an interview with a correspondent of the Croatian news agency Hina from Osijek, deputy UNTAES spokesman Yuriy Chizhik expressed regret at the incident, in which a UNTAES civil police member was wounded. #L# At the time of the incident, U.N. Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein attended a session of the assembly of the so-called region of eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem in Vukovar. Immediately after he had been informed about the incident, Klein left the session and demanded from local Serb representatives Vojislav Stanimirovic and Goran Hadzic to go with him to Ilok. According to Chizhik, Hadzic and Stanimirovic spoke to Serb demonstrators in Ilok who soon after that allowed the congregation to leave the church, with the help of UNTAES civil and military police. General Klein addressed the local population though Radio Vukovar, Chizhik said, adding that Klein expressed his regret at the fact that the incident had happened on the Christmas Eve. The grave incident, during which believers had been maltreated, caused serious damage to the sacristy, the shattering of church windows and injuring of one of UNTAES members, Klein said. (hina) rm 242139 MET dec 96