INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Sept 23 (Hina) - Croatian vice-premier Jure Radic on Monday said that "Croatian authority will peacefully enter eastern Slavonia, to be followed by a period of intensive reconstruction". "The first duty of Croatian authority is the return of displaced persons to their homes", Radic pointed out during his speech at the three-day seminar which gathers domestic and international experts who discuss the administration and coordination of international aid for the post-war reconstruction of war-destroyed Croatian areas. Croatia received humanitarian aid during the war, while aid for the reconstruction provided by the international community amounted to only one per cent of the over 1.1 billion German marks that Croatia had until now invested in the reconstruction, Radic said. Head of the Croatian Office of the U.N. Development Programme Filip Marusic reiterated that the Office had been established on 16 April 1996 and pointed out that it would cooperate with the Croatian government in the reconstruction and development of war- destroyed areas, as well as making a network for the administration and coordination of international aid in Croatia. Aide to Croatian foreign minister, Spomenka Cek, pointed out that the European Union had been the biggest donor of help to Croatia. Croatia received most humanitarian aid from UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO and Caritas, former head of the Croatian government's Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons Adalbert Rebic said and added that, for a while, some 500 international organizations had been operating here. "The considerable aid that Croatia received from the international community shouldn't be forgotten", he concluded. (hina) ha mm 231829 MET sep 96