RICHARDSON: U.N. LAYS FOUNDATIONS FOR COEXISTENCE IN DANUBE REGION

( Editorial: --> 9853 ) WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Hina) - US Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson said in New York on Friday that the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia had laid foundations on which the Croatian government and the local Serb population should build a coexistence. In cooperation with the Croatian government, UNTAES helped lay foundations for healing and reconstruction. Now that we are turning to economic reconstruction, we must test those foundations. All commitments assumed and all promises made by the government and the local Serb population must be fulfilled, he said. Richardson was speaking at a UN Security Council session which passed a resolution confirming the end of the UNTAES mandate on January 15 next year. He said that a professional, capable and unbiased police force and improvements in public security were crucial for creating a safe environment necessary for Serbs to stay and for displaced Croats to return to the region. Unfortunately, the confidence of the local population in the police continues to be weak, the US ambassador said. A support group of civilian police monitors, whose establishment was approved by the Security Council on Friday, will assist in providing necessary guarantees and confirm the commitment of the international community to help Croatia implement a comprehensive programme of national reconciliation, he said. Richardson commended the Croatian government for taking difficult steps on the path to national reconciliation. We strongly support the Croatian government in that respect and in the coming months we expect its further commitment to peace and reconciliation, both within the region and throughout the country, Richardson said. (hina) vm 201103 MET dec 97