CROATIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY'S STATEMENT ON UN SC REPORT

ZAGREB, May 5 (Hina) - Croatian Defence Ministry's political department sent a statement to the HINA Croatian news agency on Friday. The statement is following: "Last night, the local New York time, the UN Security Council held a session. At the session the UN undersecretary, entitled for the work of the UN Security Council, Chinmaya Gharekhan, submitted a report. In the report Mr. Gharekhan accused Croatian forces in Pakrac of inhuman treating between 800 and 1000 Serbs there after Serb forces had surrendered. He also accused the Croatian forces of separating soldiers from women and children and of not allowing UNCRO to control the situation in the area. Gharekhan also blamed Croatian Army for cases that individuals became drunk, looted houses and abused civilian population. He also accused the Government in Zagreb of terse and dangerously radical statements. Gharekhan accused the Croatian forces of systematical violations of human rights, and he blamed the Croatian forces for not still releasing members of Serb paramilitaries units who had surrendered. At the end of the session British Ambassador Sir David Henney accused the Croatian Government, and said that the quasi- governmental organizations were carrying out organized plunder in western Slavonia. The information headquarters and the political department of the Defence Ministry most strongly protest against such tendentious statements, and regard them as pro-Serbian, fabricated and malicious. The information headquarters and the political department of the Defence Ministry confirmed yesterday that on the first day of the liberation of Okucani two civilian persons had been arrested and held in custody because they had attempted to loot abandoned houses. The information headquarters and the political department of the Defence Ministry strongly protest against statements that Croatian governmental and non-governmental organizations plunder in western Slavonia in an organized manner. It is pure fabrication that the Government has issued dangerously radical statements. These departments of the Defence Ministry remind of the appeal issued by the Croatian Government and repeated many times lately, in which civilians are guaranteed security and all human rights, whereas soldiers, who laid down arms, are granted a pardon in line with the law, besides that. Civilized and human conduct of Croatian forces has been showed also in the last few days toward civilians and former soldiers in the Pakrac area, where occupying paramilitary troops have killed 105 and wounded 296 persons since the beginning of the war in 1991, Croatian and foreign journalists and correspondents could be assured of this today, who are granted free access to western Slavonia. We reiterate the fact that only in the town of Kutina in the hotel and junior dormitory 168 elderly people of Serb nationality are now accommodated, who have been left by paramilitary extremists. No case of revenge taken by any member of Croatian forces' has been registered. Croatian Interior Minister Ivan Jarnjak has been in the Pakrac area since yesterday, and he can confirm this statement. Foreign military envoys, who visited several places in western Slavonia yesterday, could also confirm this. During their visit they did not recorded any considerable devastation of civilian facilities. Serbian media, that functions in the temporarily occupied Croatian territories, also reported that there were only attacks on primarily military targets during the limited action of Croatian police and territorial defence. However, that media did not miss to report about allegedly hundreds of civilian casualties, with the obvious intention to cause Serbia's interference in the limited action aimed at re-opening of the highway and railway line, as well as to provoke the international community's condemnation. Numerous teams of journalists, who are allowed to freely enter the area in question, could be convinced of the only truth. Many former members of the so-called Krajina army's 18th corps 51 brigade, who laid down arms, are treated in a civilized and human way, what foreign TV crews and correspondent can witness as well. After the law on granting pardon has been observed in the treatment of these former soldiers, they are allowed to choose whether they would like to live in Croatia as its peaceful citizens or they would like to leave the state for other countries. Croatia observes all international conventions, what can be proved in the present conduct of the Croatian state that has occupied no inch of other territory, while it has been exposed to the aggression. The Defence Ministry political department and information headquarters hope that Mr. Gharekhan and Ambassador Hanney will soon receive the true, correct reports of UNCRO and other organizations on the situation in western Slavonia, and that the international community will soon pay attention to how to help the sovereign Republic of Croatia that has liberated its roads and how to help it in its reconstruction and building of the war-damaged area of western Slavonia," concluded the statement, signed by Brigadier Ivan Tolj the head of the political department and coordinator of the information headquarters. (hina) mm mms 051522 MET may 95