"Basically, the purpose of the agreement was for the Serbs to achieve their rights, which were suspended. Solutions to their problems were postponed or one simply thought that Serbs would get tired and stop insisting on their rights. On the other hand, it was our goal to achieve the status of a political factor for Serbs in Croatia, to have them recognised as a political fact, in the parliament, government institutions and at a local level, Pupovac said, adding that conditions had been created to solve those problems.
The problem of former tenancy rights holders was not solved over the last 12 months, Pupovac said.
"Deadlines (for solving that issue) will be extended by another six months, until the end of June 2005. We also have not been able to solve the problem of participation of Serbs in state institutions in areas of return - in police, courts, executive bodies of authority, public companies."
"Serbs are also trying to reclaim their property and to prove that there is a policy aimed at preventing their return...," Pupovac said, explaining that the Agency for Mediation in Real Estate Transactions (APN) was buying Serb houses without the consent of their owners and with forged documents.
"Many Serbs have been double-crossed because mediators, together with APN staff, by all accounts signed double contracts in many cases, one of the contracts was shown to the person selling his/her property and the stated price was regularly lower than it actually was, while the other contract was shown to the Agency and the stated price was regularly higher, Pupovac said.