A BRIEF LOOK AT CROATIAN PRESS ON MONDAY

Ahead of the 1st World Congress of Istrians - residents of Croatia's largest peninsula (proud of their specific multi-ethnic tradition) - today's VJESNIK brings an interview with the President of Congress' organization committee "Pool Histria", Loredana Bogliun-Debeljuh. "An idea of gathering of all Istrians around the world has been present among us for a long time now", Debeljuh says. "Our dream is slowly coming true". "After all the terrors Istria had experienced through in past hundred years, worst of which was the exodus after World War II, we should meet again to discuss our future, the Istria's development, our place in future Europe. These are probably the hottest, but also most beautiful topics for us", she says. "The European Union's Ministerial Council should officially open the door for an economic agreement with Croatia on Monday" is the daily's headline of a report by its Paris correspondent Mirko Galic. "Having resolved its last dilemmas about UN-mandate in Croatia, European Union has finally cancelled its last reservations on ratifying the trade and cooperation agreement with Croatia", Galic reports. Ahead of the "Contact Group" envoys' shuttling between Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb, Vjesnik's Bonn correspondent, Nenad Ivankovic, reports that "some German analysts forecast that Milosevic could get sanctions lifting after his recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina only, while German radio emphasizes the American favour to this 'Russian-Serb plan'". The Germany's goverment however, Ivankovic recalls, "has repeatedly claimed that it wouldn't accord to sanctions lifting without Belgrade's recognition of Croatia as well." "Privatization of PLIVA Starts" the other daily VECERNJI LIST headlines its story on privatization of Croatia's leading pharmaceutical company. Classing "Pliva" among most profitable Croatian firms, the daily adds that a quarter of its shares will be on international offer. Leaders of Croatian Union of Displaced Persons held a press- briefing yesterday in Zagreb, after the Union's third conference on Saturday. Reporting on the press-briefing, VECERNJI LIST' underlines Union's demands to the goverment. The displaced people asked the Croatian Government not to accept the implementing measures of UN SC Resolution 981 if they should not guarantee the reintegration of the occupied areas into Croatian constitutional and legal system within the deadline by September 30, 1995, and if they should not ensure the return of the displaced people and the efficient Croatian borders control. "We've got no big promises of goverment officials, neither do we want them. We wanted to point out the displaced people's problems", one of the Union leaders is quoted by the daily as saying. "Reconciliation guarantees existence of the State", says Milivoj Kujundzic, the executive council's head of the parliamentary committee for 50th anniversary of the anti-Fascist coalition victory, in an inteview with 'Vecernji list'. 101219 MET apr 95