ANNAN RECOMMENDS TO SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPORTING OF LETTER OF INTEN

INTEN $ T WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Hina) - The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on Thursday greeted the Croatian Government's proposed guarantees to local Serbs in the Croatian Danubian area, outlined in a Letter of Intent. The Secretary General wrote to the Security Council asking it to support the Croatian Government's Letter. "It is my view that the political package, taken in conjunction with the Basic (Erdut-Zagreb) Agreement and resolution 1037 (1996) and the guarantees contained in the Affidavit of Employment signed by the Government of Croatia on 16 December 1996..., constitutes a comprehensive framework of guarantees for Serbs who choose to stay in Croatia in Croatia as equal citizens enjoying full rights under the Croatian Constitution in accordance with international law and under international monitoring," Annan said in the letter. On January 13, the Croatian Government notified the Security Council of the contents of the Letter of Intent that offers guarantees to local Serbs in the completion of peaceful reintegration of eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Sirmium. "The letter of the Croatian Government in my view merits favourable consideration by the Council. I am obliged, however, to reiterate that strict compliance by all sides with the obligations outlined in the letter, and the full support of the international community, are essential if the reintegration process is to succeed," he added. Annan said the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) on Elections, which had been meeting intensively since the last October's report by the Secretary General on the UNTAES, failed to resolve any of the principal policy questions, including representation (the institutions for which elections are to be held), voter eligibility and timing of elections. Annan conveyed the UN Transitional Administrator's view "that the rights and guarantees outlined in the Letter (of Intent), if fully and genuinely implemented, constitute a solid basis for the holding of elections simultaneously with nation-wide elections in Croatia, and offer substantial progress towards the completion of the process of peaceful reintegration of the Region." "Through this Letter, the Government of Croatia has committed itself before the international community to implement fully the Basic (Erdut-Zagreb) Agreement and has extended additional rights and privileges to residents of the Region," he wrote to the Security Council. Annan added that the Croatian Government had indicated to the Transitional Administrator its agreement to international monitoring of the implementation of the commitments outlined in the Letter. The Transitional Administrator Gen. Jacques Klein stresses that it will be possible to hold those elections within the envisaged time-frame only if the Croatian authorities live up to their obligations with respect to the issuance of documents required for voting and completion of the technical arrangements for holding elections, according to Annan. The Secretary-General added that in the consideration of their response to the offers of the Croatian Government, the Transitional Administrator urged local Serbs "to look to the future and put aside unrealistic demands." The Transitional Administrator called on local Serbs to accept the package of measures offered and to take part in the forthcoming elections. Annan wrote that on January 16, 1997 local Serb leaders in the Danubian area had asked the additional guarantees including the exemption from military service for Serbs for at least 15 years, demilitarization and the creation of a single county in the area (currently under UNTAES administration), as well as guarantees that all displaced persons and refugees will remain in their present accommodation until their original homes are rebuilt, or to be compensated for destroyed or damaged property, or to be provided adequate accommodation in the area where they presently live. As regards those demands, the Secretary General added the Transitional Administrator had been actively encouraging the Croatian Government to maintain the present demilitarized status of the Danubian area and to reach agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Hungary on a demilitarized common border area. With respect to a prolonged exemption from military duty for local Serbs, Croatian officials informed the UNTAES that applications for the second period of deferment of military service would be positively considered. Referring to the demand that all displaced persons and refugees should be equally treated, the UN Secretary General noted that such guarantees are comprised in the existing Croatian law and international obligations outlined in international conventions signed by Croatia. "I believe that the Croatian Government should be encouraged to make a statement reaffirming its obligations under the Constitution, Croatian law and the Basic Agreement to treat all of its citizens equally regardless of their ethnicity," Annan wrote to the Security Council. The Security Council is expected to expound soon on the letter of the Secretary General in a presidential statement. (hina) jn mš 231942 MET jan 97