MINISTER GRANIC'S SPEECH IN CROATIAN PARLIAMENT

ZAGREB, July 16 (Hina) - "The occupation of parts of the sovereign Croatian territory is the most painful Croatia's issue," said Deputy Prime and Foreign Minister Mate Granic in his speech delivered at today's emergance session of the Croatian Parliament's House of Representatives. Although Croatia has made maximum political and diplomatic efforts in order that the UNPROFOR's mandate be implemented, i.e. be extended, almost none of UNPROFOR's principal goals have been achieved in Croatia, said Granic. Spontaneous protests of displaced persons against UNPROFOR are fully understandable. We cannot and will not agree on ethnic cleansing and seizure of areas, stressed Granic. Croatia is not willing to put in question gratitude to all countries which sent their formations in order to help halting of the war and achieving, i.e. maintaining of peace in Croatia. We especially sympathize with countries and families of 16 killed and 126 wounded members of UNPROFOR in Croatia. "We will remain beholden and grateful to those people forever," said Granic. Croatia is willing to avoid new victims at all cost and to follow the policy of political dialogue. Croatia wants peace, said Granic. Because of that, an urgent, deserved and maximum attention should focus on the reintegration of Croatia's temporarily occupied areas if we want to avoid new war escalation in the troublespots in this part of the world. As the most tragic UNPROFOR's omission, Granic mentioned the fact that none of Croats expelled from the areas under the U.N. control have been returned to their homes. 5,200 Croatian citizens of the Serbian origin have come back to Croatia, in a part of the so-called Sector West controlled by the Croatian forces. The Republic of Croatia requests for an urgent and complete reintegration of the so-called 'pink zones' into Croatia's legal and constitutional system, and for the beginning of the process on the return of refugees to their homes, said Granic. Croatia insists on the re-establishment of the demographic situation in its occupied areas according to the census from 1991. Almost a forth of million of Croats, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks and Italians lived in those areas before the war and aggression started, whereas at the moment no more than several hundreds of them remain there. The Republic of Croatia also requests that those parts of Croatia's internationally recognized borders which are currently under the Serb occupation be put under UNPROFOR's effective control. Croatia demands that roads should be reopened. Croatia requests that the Djeletovci oil field, eastern Slavonia, be put under UNPROFOR's effective control and be closed until Croatian authorities take the control over the oil field. Croatia requests that UNPROFOR should take over the control of the airport in Udbina, UNPA South. A special problem is the full disregard of the Vance plan's provisions on demilitarization of UNPAs, emphasized Granic. Granic stressed that Croatia continued its diplomatic offensive in the U.N. by a request for putting a new item on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly's session - "The situation in the occupied Croatian areas", with the aim of expressing the Assembly's opinion on the necessity of a peaceful and effective reintegration of the Croatian occupied areas. "Two more months remain until the end of the current UNPROFOR's mandate, a two-month period after which the Croatian President and Government will make a final decision on the future staying of UNPROFOR in the Republic of Croatia. September is the month when decisions are to be made," said Granic and expressed his belief that the Croatian Parliament will make the final decision when all condition are met. 161634 MET jul 94