OSCE Croatia Mission Chief visits Danube region

OSIJEK, 19 July 2001 (OSCE) - Bernard Poncet, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, today met the newly prefect of the Osijek-Baranja county in Croatia's Danube region, and said that he was "encouraged to see that the new authorities in the region are aware of the work that still needs to be done".

Mr. Ponced, who expressed satisfaction after the conclusion of his meetings, also addressed the issue of the position of the deputy prefect in the Osijek-Baranja County, and re-emphasized the legally binding character of the Erdut Agreement and the Letter of Intent.

While in Osijek, Mr. Poncet visited the OSCE-sponsored project, mobile.culture.container, and attended a discussion with multi-ethnic youth from Vukovar, Dalj and Osijek on the OSCE-initiated project 'Defence of Our Future'.

Mr. Poncet is currently on a two-day visit to the region to meet the newly elected authorities there.

Yesterday, Mr. Poncet had met with county and local authorities in Vukovar, and expressed hope that they would encourage peaceful co-existence among communities in the region. He also met representatives of the Joint Council of (Serb) Municipalities with whom he reviewed the situation with respect to the Serb community, following the local elections.

Although Mr. Poncet noted during his two-day trip that general progress had been achieved, he emphasized that a number of difficult issues were still to be resolved, including the non-discriminatory resolution of property, tenancy rights and other return issues.

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For more information please contact Alessandro Fracassetti, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission to Croatia, tel. +385 1 309 66 20.