CROATIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS BARANJA

BELI MANASTIR, Jan 11 (Hina) - A delegation of the Croatian Parliament visited the UN-administered Baranja area of eastern Croatia on Saturday when they held talks with UNTAES officials and local Serb representatives. The talks revolved around forthcoming elections and the draft letter of intent by the Croatian Government referring to the elections in the Croatian Danubian area. Local Serb representatives have not yet formed a final judgment on the proposal. The U.N. Deputy Transitional Administrator Derek Boothby described the meeting between Croatian parliamentarians and local Serbs as successful, and announced that the U.N. Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein would meet Croatia's President Franjo Tudjman on Sunday or Monday. Boothby voiced a hope that results of the Tudjman-Klein meeting would be the Letter of Intent which may be then sent to the U.N. Security Council. The ten-member Croatian parliamentary delegation, led by a Parliament Vice President, Vladimir Seks, consisted of deputies of four parliamentary parties - the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), the Croatian Social and Liberal Party (HSLS) and the Social Democrat Party (SDP), and the Hungarian national minority's representative in the Parliament. The delegation was also accompanied by Ivica Vrkic, the head of the Croatian Government's office for temporary administration. The delegates and Serb representatives from the town of Beli Manastir met at a closed-door working dinner at the UN Belgian Battalion's headquarters at Beli Manastir. Following the dinner Vladimir Seks said to reporters that main topics of the talks had been forthcoming elections and the draft letter of intent of the Croatian Government. In the first part of the meeting the Croatian delegates talked with UNTAES civilian and military officials who informed them of the UNTAES mandate in Baranja. In the second part of the meeting local Serb representatives joined the talks on the draft letter of intent which finalized the course of the reintegration with emphasis on the elections, Seks said. Unfortunately, the letter of the intent has been still drafting, and this version was made yesterday. So, others could not been fully informed of it, and, thus, we could not discuss it much, Seks added. He said "there is little time until the elections, and a platform proposed by the Government should be accepted." He voiced a hope that the U.N. Security Council would also accept the letter. Seks said the Croatian delegates had pointed to the necessity of protecting each individual and of creating conditions for removing all consequences of the war. They also stressed that it was important that Baranja, as an integral part of Croatia, start the reconstruction and development. Seks emphasized that it was important that mutual trust be created and all displaced people return to their homes. "We must build bridges of trust which will help to soon put an end to internationalization of the problem," he said adding it was in the interest of those who were living in the area. Commenting on the forthcoming elections Seks said they were a pre-condition that elected bodies of local government and self- government could legally begin to function and that proportional representation of national minorities may be ensured. Asked which points of the letter of intent were contentious, Seks replied that they referred to the Serb proposal for merging two counties in the Danubian area into one. A representative of Beli Manastir Serbs, Vaso Zigic, expressed satisfaction with a "initiative and honest intention of the Government of the Republic of Croatia as regards the Memorandum on the reintegration of the area." Zigic said the Serb side had given some suggestions to the first version of the letter of the Croatian government last December. He pointed out Seks' statement according to which all peoples in the area should use their right to remain there. Zigic told reporters that "the Serb side has not received the latest letter of intent as a fully translated text," and that's why they could not make a final judgment about it. However, he described the latest version as being a higher-quality document than the previous one. He added that by its suggestions and proposals the Serb side would help both "the UNTAES and Croatia so as to solve the problem." The U.N. Deputy Transitional Administrator Boothby described as successful Saturday's meeting between high-ranking Croatian Parliament officials and local Serb representatives. We maintain that there is a positive and constructive feeling among people, and it is what we would like to encourage, he said adding that the letter of intent would answer many questions. Then, the Croatian delegates talked with representatives of the Baranja triangle's villages of Torjanci and Novi Bezdan, who informed them of their everyday difficulties. At the talks Seks underscored the meaning of preparations of and participation in the forthcoming elections. He said "much patience and common sense will be needed to finish the peaceful reintegration process." "Do not think about departure but about remaining," Seks told Serb representatives of the Baranja triangle's villages, and stressed that "following the elections the Croatian state will work on the improvement of all segments of life." The Parliament delegation also visited the primary school in Zmajevac where representatives of the Hungarian national minority notified them of the work of the school in which classes were being carried out in line with the Croatian curriculum for the Hungarian minority. The Hungarian minority's representatives spoke of problems of a too slow process of getting the Croatian documents. They showed interest in being included in the economy of Osijek-Baranja County and Croatia. Ivica Vrkic pledged that problems would be solved in the best way "after democratic elections and the establishment of the Croatian rule in the entire area." (hina) mš 112308 MET jan 97