HEAVILY ARMED SERB FARMERS FORCE BLUE HELMETS TO TAKE CROATIAN CORRESPONDENTS TO VUKOVAR

CORRESPONDENTS TO VUKOVAR VINKOVCI, Sep 14 (Hina) - Croatian correspondents Antonije Rajkovic and Steve Gaunt, arrested by UNPROFOR in the disengagement zone on 30 August, are in Serb prison in Beli Manastir in the occupied Baranja (UNPA East). Civil affairs co-ordinator in Sector East, Phillipe Corwin, informed prefects of the Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties, Matej Jankovic and Branimir Glavas, about the fate of the correspondents at today's meeting. He said that members of the Russian battalion had not arrested the Croatian journalists. Armed Serb farmers encircled the journalists in the disengagement zone and they asked for help the UN Russian battalion. Russian soldiers, who were in an armored personnel carrier, accepted the correspondents. After that, Serb farmers threatened that they would destroy the carrier with heavy weapons so that Russian soldiers take the correspondents to Vukovar and handed them over to the Serb authorities. Glavas expressed dissatisfaction with UNPROFOR's work and emphasized that this year 642 persons had been expelled from the occupied Croatian areas in Sector East until mid August. UNPROFOR requested that the Serb authorities release the two journalists who have been in prison for two weeks already, Corwin said at today's press conference held in Osijek. The journalists should have been released yesterday, but the Serb authorities decide to additionally accuse them of spying. Corwin announced that he would leave for Beli Manastir tomorrow in order to visit the correspondents and to meet with the local authorities. We do not recognize their judicial authorities, so that we will not participate in legal proceedings, said Corwin. At today's press conference, Corwin did not agree with the journalist's assertion that over 600 persons have been expelled from UNPA East until August. Corwin said that most of them had voluntarily left the area for economic, health or some other reasons. (hina) jas ks 142053 MET sep 94