CROATIAN UNION OF REFUGEES CONVENES TODAY

ZAGREB, April 8 (Hina) - The third conference of the Croatian Union of Refugees started in Zagreb today. The Union's president, Mato Simic, said he was hoping this would be the last Union of Refugees conference, while the next one would be a meeting of the Union of Returnees. "Our goals are the same - the struggle for return and for a better life in exile", Simic said. The Croatian leadership should answer a number of our questions, he emphasized. Has Croatia really accepted the peaceful reintegration policy, how long the process would take, and what was in store for the refugees - were the most important ones. The conference was attended by several Croatian officials, led by Foreign Minister Mate Granic, who acted as the President's envoy on this occasion. "The reintegration of the occupied areas and the return of refugees never stopped being our basic aims", Granic assured the participants, recalling all major diplomatic events since 1990 until the latest UN Security Concil's resolution 981. "Only a democratic Croatia, strong in military, economic, and diplomatic terms, can put the reintegration and your homecoming to work". Granic said. (Hina) mm bk 081348 MET apr 95