U.N. FIRMLY SUPPORTS APRIL 13 AS ELECTION DATE - SIMONOVIC

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Hina) - Croatia's ambassador to the United Nations, Ivan Simonovic, said in New York that the key positive element of Friday's UN presidential statement on the situation in the UN-administered Danube region was "the firm support of the Security Council for holding elections on April 13, which it described as a realistic and achievable date." "Recent attempts to water down the Council's support for the date and to make the holding of elections conditional on yet another report of the Secretary General thus have been successfully removed," Simonovic stressed. The presidential statement demanded from Croatian authorities to continue efforts in the preparation of elections and to implement the contents of the already endorsed Croatian government initiative on the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube river region, he said. The statement reaffirmed the efforts of the international community to ensure that as many Serbs as possible stayed in the region. "Taking this into account, Croatian representatives will continue to make maximum efforts to bring this aspiration into line with the right of Croatian and all other displaced persons to return," Simonovic said. "In general, the presidential statement can be assessed as yet another step towards the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region and as an expression of the Security Council's support for the consistent implementation of the reintegration plan," Simonovic said. (hina) vm 072151 MET mar 97