NATIONAL COMMITTEE REQUESTS MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER

( Editorial: --> 4323 ) ZAGREB, Feb 24 (Hina) - President of the National Trus- Eatablishment Committee Vesna Skare-Ozbolt and President of the Serb National Committee (SNV) Milorad Pupovac announced today that the National Committee would shortly meet Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa for talks on the two-way return. In a closed door meeting with leaders of the SNV Vesna Skare-Ozbolt went thropugh all the points that president of the SNV Milorad Pupovac and president of the Serb Independent Party Vojislav Stanimirovic had discussed with president Tudjman on 12 February. Ms Skare-Ozbolt and the SNV decided on further measures that should be taken and set the deadlines for their implementation. In a comment on emigration of the Serb population, Skare-Ozbolt said that it should be found out why those people were leaving. "Are they moving out of fear or because of economic problems? Are they selling their property out of their own free will, because they believe that they will be better off somewhere else?" asked Skare- Ozbolt. She stressed that political and security situations in the Danube region were stable, but also confirmed there were some differences in that respect. When asked to comment on Stanimirovic's accusation of some right wing elements in the Government for frustrating the implementation of certain agreements and ideas, Skare-Ozbolt categorically denied the existence of right wing elements that would block the completion of the process of peaceful reintegration. In the part of the session open to the press several SNV members pointed to an increasing number of problems besetting the two-way return. They stressed that during UNTAES's mandate the population of the Danube region was 130,000 strong, whereas it now consisted of about 60,000 people. Pupovac and Stanimirovic used to occasion to state that the situation in the Danube region deteriorated and that the Serb national community could no longer cope with the scope of the problems. (Hina) mm mr 242125 MET feb 98