CROATIAN PRESIDENT TUDJMAN RECEIVES DELEGATION OF DARUVAR

ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - The President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tudjman, received today in his residence in Zagreb a delegation of the town of Daruvar (about 100 km. E of the Croatian capital), led by Daruvar's mayor, Mr. Ivan Cegledi, stated the presidential office on Sunday afternoon. Representatives of Daruvar apprised President Tudjman in detail of last Wednesday's heinous massacre committed by the Serb extremists over five inhabitants of the village of Vukovje (the Daruvar municipality), four of whom were expelled Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina's areas now occupied by the Serb aggressors. The mayor Cegledi informed Croatian President of difficult economic, social and security situation in the Daruvar area, and stressed the fact that 15 people had been killed in the municipality since the deployment of U.N. Protection Forces (UNPROFOR) in the area. On the other hand, Croatian local authorities in cooperation with UNPROFOR had already created prerequisites for the return of 500 members of the Serb minority to the municipality. In this way the Croatian authorities showed their willingness to find political solutions to the crisis and to carry out the peaceful reintegration of the UNPAs (U.N. Protection Areas) into the Croatian constitutional and legal system. At today's meting the delegation delivered a petition of the villagers of Vukovje asking for the adequate protection against possible new crimes and withdrawal of the UNPROFOR units from the area. President Tudjman expressed his condolences because of the murder of the Vukovje villagers, and pointed out that Croatian authorities and police in cooperation with UNPROFOR would investigate into the crime and search for perpetrators. President Tudjman said that the murder of the five villagers of Vukovje was one more tragical proof to the international community of the complex situation in the areas under protection of the U.N. peacekeeping forces at the same time disclosing UNPROFOR's inefficiency. President Tudjman reiterated that if the inefficiency of the U.N. peacekeepers in the UNPAs was being again proved, the world would have to accept the right of the internationally recognized Republic of Croatia to free and reintegrate the occupied areas into its constitutional and legal system by all legitimate means after the mandate of UNPROFOR expired. 151354 MET may 94