SERBS LAUNCH 'WAR OF LETTERS' CAMPAIGN

GENEVA, Feb 15 (Hina) - The Charge d'Affaires of Croatia's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, Neven Madey, today sent a letter to the chairman of the 51st annual conference of the UN Commission for Human Rights, Musa Hatim, to draw his attention to a diplomatic action of the so-called Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) of launching "war of letters". The distribution of such letters as UN documents in which Serbs make wrong and incorrect accusations reflects their international and legal status and political isolation. The latest document submitted to the participants of this year's conference of the UN Commission for Human Rights, contained incorrect data and distorted statements on the alleged violations of religious rights of Serbs in Croatia. This move was described in Madey's letter to the conference's chairman as yet another attempt of intentional propaganda by the so-called Yugoslavia to veil the fact that they carried out an aggression against Croatia. Madey said Croatia adamantly refuted such allegations. In order to inform the participants of the conference correctly a statement of Croatian Foreign Minister, Mate Granic, had also been endorsed in Madey's letter. Granic's statement presented Croatia's response to a letter by Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Vladislav Jovanovic, sent to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali in which the Yugoslav Foreign Minister accused Croatia of not respecting the human rights, particularly the religious rights of Orthodox Serbs in Croatia. In this regard Madey's letter also cited a public statement of the head of Croatia's Bishops Conference Council, Bishop Marko Culej, in which the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia refutes allegations by Foreign Minister Jovanovic and Montenegrin Orthodox Metropolitan Amfilohije Radovic. As proof that these were ungrounded accusations there was an interview with a retired Orthodox priest in Zagreb, Jovan Nikolic, who said that Orthodox Serbs in Croatia enjoyed full protection and freedom of all human and religious rights. At the end of his letter Madey asked the chairman of the conference that these endorsed statements be included as an official document of this year's conference of the UN Commission for Human Rights and as material to the agenda's item concerning "the implementation of the declaration on eliminating all forms of intolerance and discrimination grounded on religions or beliefs". (hina) mar sd mms 152154 MET feb 95