U.S. BELIEVES IN CONTINUED UNCRO PRESENCE IN WESTERN SLAVONIA

ZAGREB, May 11 (Hina) - The US believes in the importance of the UNCRO presence in western Slavonia and the fulfillment of its mandate in line with UN Security Council resolutions, US Ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, told a press conference today. "We believe that the continued UNCRO presence in the area is an essential element in assuring the Serb population there that their safety will be protected and that their human rights will be respected," he said. Asked about the departure of Serbs from western Slavonia, Galbraith said: "We are very concerned at the departure of the Serbian community from western Slavonia. We are not interested in supporting a process of reintegration if the end result of that process is an ethnically pure country," he said. "We believe that it is in Croatia's overriding interest that those people stay," he said. "Of course, it is a fundamental human right to be able to travel freely, and if the Serbian people there do wish to leave, it is of course their right to leave and no one can interfere with that right," he said. Galbraith said that the commitments made by the Croatian governnment in that direction were "extremely positive." "Western Slavonia is a test case," he said. "So far, the commitments of the Croatian Government have been encouraging. We are watching the actual implementation of these commitments on the ground," he stressed. (hina) jn as 111442 MET may 95