CORRECT VERSION OF NEWS ITEM NO. 8411

ZAGREB, Feb 27 (Hina) - We withdraw the news item headlined "Kostovic Comments on Talks of In European Parliament" (No. HNA8411) and release the correct version: "A Croatian Vice Premier Ivica Kostovic said to the Croatian news broadcast 'Motrista' on the phone last night that during his talks with European Parliament members in Brussels he had voiced hope that "elections (due to be on April 13) will pass normally (in the Croatian Danubian area as well) and that he has given full support to the administration of General Klein." In Brussels, members of the European Parliament committee for relations with southeastern Europe, on Wednesday talked with Croatian Government officials, UN Transitional Administration officials, Croatian displaced persons representatives and local Serb representatives. Most questions referred to whether registers of voters would be such that they could guarantee democratic elections, Kostovic told the Croatian Television. He added that he had explained to the committee members that the register of voters was being made on the basis of the 1991 census and registers and that persons who had arrived in the Danubian area since then would be registered as voters by receiving Croatian documents. There had been "certain suspicions" about a list of war crimes suspects, he said. In this respect, Kostovic said, the list included names of persons from the Croatian Danubian area against whom judicial procedures had been launched for war crimes or who had been already sentenced, he said. Kostovic said that a local Serb representative announced in Brussels that a Serb party from the area would be soon registered in Zagreb in line with Croatian law. Asked whether Serb demands to have a new territorial organisation in the Danubian area impeded the reintegration and whether they might influence elections, Kostovic replied that "those new Serb demands hinder rather the process of reintegration" and that General Klein and UNTAES administration were very well aware of it. "It is up to General Klein to decide whether to make some administrative steps in this respect," Kostovic said." (hina) jn mš 271614 MET feb 97