CROATIA TO ASK FOR APOLOGY FROM U.N. RAPPORTEUR

NEW YORK, May 5 (Hina) - The Croatian Ambassador to the United Nations, Mario Nobilo, today issued a statement saying that Croatia was "still shocked and dismayed by yesterday's developments in the Security Council." Following is the full text of the statement: "Croatia is still shocked and dismayed by yesterday's developments in the Security Council. We believe that the Council was mislead into action by hasty and unconfirmed reports of "widespread" human rights abuses in western Slavonia. We will submit a letter to the President of the Security Council today in this regard, and will look to find a way to remedy this regrettable situation. We will also ask for apology from the Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya Gharekhan who submitted the report to the Council. Today's reports, including those from the European Union monitors, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Yasushi Akashi, and the local Serb authorities in Pakrac clearly indicate that the situation in western Slavonia was completely blown out of all proportions. Mr. Akashi was quoted of saying in Pakrac this morning: "I spoke to few Serb leaders who told me that they felt frightened, but, they have also told me that the Croatian police behaved correctly towards them". Let me say that there have been some uncomfortable incidents in western Slavonia, including some looting by civilians, but nothing of the sort submitted to the Security Council yesterday. The reports to the Council that "government and quasi-government" institutions were organizing looting expeditions were more than shocking - they were malicious. The looting that occurred in western Slavonia was done by civilians, and some have been arrested, to the extent possible, given the police resources in the area. No Government has a capacity to keep a watch over every house, and the Croatia Government cannot be expected to fully protect every single individual, even though we certainly would like to. We know that many are all too eager to point a finger to Croatia for smallest transgressions. This is not just opinion of my Government. For instance, Foreign Minister Alois Mock of Austria told the General Assembly last September 29 that Croatia is "often exposed" to "partlicularly severe condemnation," and concluded that "unobstructed access to Croatia and transparency of its structures should not mean that it is measured with a different, more stringent yardstick than that used to measure other countries in central and southeastern Europe." The reports that ethnic Serb citizens of Croatia were being transported out of Pakrac is true. Regrettably, the Council could not wait a day to find out why. These people were taken out of the area of conflict for their own safety. They are cared for in various hotels in Varazdin, Novska and Krapina, and some are being returned to their homes today. We have been accused of ethnic cleansing, but we ask you, can you ethnically cleanse people into your own territory? Obviously, the charges are preposterous. We think also that it is relevant to note that the whole resurgence of fighting in the Pakrac pocket yesterday was a result of an idea by the Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia to make this pocket into a "safe area" instead of having the local Serb surrender, as agreed by the cease-fire previously. You can make your own conclusions in this regard." 052244 MET may 95