CROATIAN PM MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF DISPLACED PERSONS

ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Nikica Valentic, his deputy Ivica Kostovic and head of the Office For Displaced Persons and Refugees Adalbert Rebic today met representatives of the Association of Displaced Persons led by Mato Simic for talks on the return of the displaced to their homes and the mandate of the UN peace-keeping force in Croatia. Stressing that the liberation of the country and the return of displaced persons to their homes was the key issue, Valentic said that the Croatian government would insist on imposing control of the Croatian border with Serbia and extending UNPROFOR's mandate for three months at the most. However, "spectacular changes should not be expected," he noted. Asked whether Croatia had to sign UNPROFOR's mandate or it could reject it, Valentic replied that it was yet to be considered. On the return of displaced persons to twelve villages in the separation zone, which should have begun on September 15, Kostovic said that the plan had failed because "UN peace-keepers cannot guarantee safety. Serb authorities in Knin have presented their demands to UNPROFOR that we cannot accept, which has led to a stalemate," Kostovic said. Valentic told the meeting that a 200 million DM pilot reconstruction programme would be launched next month in a bid to do necessary repairs on houses before winter set in. The talks also centred on evictions of refugee families from apartments, and Valentic announced a meeting for next week to find a solution to that problem. (hina) jas vm 161759 MET sep 94