US AMBASSADOR VISITS CROATIAN DANUBE RIVER REGION

( Editorial: --> 6525 ) VUKOVAR, 22 Jan (Hina) - The problem of the return of displaced persons and refugees should be solved by returning people to their homes in the Croatian Danube River region, territories liberated in Croatia in 1995, and in Bosnia-Herzegovina, U.S. Ambassador to Croatia William Dale Montgomery said at a media conference on Thursday. Montgomery said he believed it would be good for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia to commence talks about a multi-direction return of refugees to their homes. This is not the problem of one country "but of the wider region", Montgomery said. If that problem is not solved in the entire region then there will not be lasting peace or stability, he added. It is in the interest of every government in the region that refugees return to their homes, affirmed Montgomery. The new U.S. Ambassador held the media conference in Vukovar at the end of his visit to the Croatian Danube River region. During his visit Montgomery met with representatives of the National Trust Establishment Committee, local Serb representatives, the until recently UN Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, William Walker, the Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Anica Horvat as well as returnees and some members of the local Serb population. Speaking about the situation in the Croatian Danube River region, Montgomery said that the US government and the international community were interested in the region because of the process which was under way in it and which was "important for the whole world". Announcing Friday's meeting in Zagreb of the "Article 11" Commission, which consists of international community representatives monitoring the implementation of the Erdut Agreement, Montgomery stressed it was important for the Croatian Government to facilitate a speedy two-way return. According to his evaluation, impatience by refugees and displaced persons to return in the following weeks could cause incidents. If incidents occur, the international community will demand their quick and firm obstruction, said the US Ambassador. (hina) jn mrb 222244 MET jan 98