DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS

ZAGREB, Jan 8 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Kostovic held separate talks on Wednesday with representatives of three associations of families of detained and missing persons -- The Vukovar Mothers, The Croatian Phoenix and The Appeal. The meetings were attended by the head of the government Commission for Detained and Missing Persons, Ivan Grujic. Kostovic informed the associations about the progress of identification of bodies recovered from the Ovcara mass grave near the eastern town of Vukovar, the government public relations office said in a statement. Croatian experts would soon completely take over the identification process from experts of the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal. Kostovic explained methods that would be used in identification, emphasizing complexity of the process. He said that close cooperation with families was of crucial importance for the whole process. They also discussed the families' wishes regarding the manner and place of burial of the mortal remains of their loved ones. Grujic informed the associations about the work of the Commission for Detained and Missing Persons and the progress of talks with Yugoslavia. Grujic also presented data on the exhumation and identification of bodies at other mass grave sites in Croatia, the statement said. (hina) vm mm 082031 MET jan 97