UNHCR: BRCKO AND EASTERN CROATIA CRUCIAL FOR PEACE PROCESS

SARAJEVO, Feb 10 (Hina) - Arbitration on the status of the northern Bosnian town of Brcko and the reintegration of UN-administered eastern Croatia are crucial for the peace process, the UNHCR special envoy to the former Yugoslavia, Carrol Faubert, said on Monday. In a statement released in Sarajevo, Faubert called on the authorities and individuals in the Serb Republic and the Moslem- Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to exercise restraint and to fully respect minority rights before and after a decision on the strategic Sava river town of Brcko was reached. All people, regardless of their nationality, have the right to stay in their homes. Their departure would only add to the problem of refugees and cause them further misery. It is high time that divisions were abandoned and the process of unification embraced, Faubert said. The UNHCR said in the statement it was encouraged by recent decisions of the Croatian government to guarantee the Serbs in the Danube river region the right to vote in the next election and to issue them with citizenship documents. The UNHCR called on the Croatian government to make every effort to ensure full safety of the Serbs in the region when it fully reverts to Croatian rule. It urged the local Serb authorities to maintain the peace and build up confidence ahead of the completion of the reintegration process, particularly on election day in mid-March. Recalling that in the last six years the UNHCR had dealt with the tragic consequences of the war in Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina, Faubert warned that there were no more resources for providing for new refugees. UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said in Sarajevo on Monday that this organization had no information that would confirm that Serbs were leaving eastern Croatia for Bosnia-Herzegovina. (hina) vm jn 101457 MET feb 97