TRIESTE/LJUBLJANA, March 21 (Hina) - The issue of the property of Italians who fled or left Slovenia and Croatia after WWII (so-called 'esuli') will remain open even after the 110 million dollars of compensation for their property are
paid in full, as envisaged by the Rome agreement of 1983 between Italy and Yugoslavia, Carlo Giovanardi, an Italian minister in charge of relations with parliament, said in an interview with the Trieste-based "Il Piccolo" on Thursday.
TRIESTE/LJUBLJANA, March 21 (Hina) - The issue of the property of
Italians who fled or left Slovenia and Croatia after WWII (so-
called 'esuli') will remain open even after the 110 million dollars
of compensation for their property are paid in full, as envisaged by
the Rome agreement of 1983 between Italy and Yugoslavia, Carlo
Giovanardi, an Italian minister in charge of relations with
parliament, said in an interview with the Trieste-based "Il
Piccolo" on Thursday. #L#
Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Wednesday his
country had returned its debt to Slovenia entirely by making the
final payment on the account of Dresdner Bank in Luxembourg. Rupel
believes Italy will take over the payment and holds the matter
closed.
Giovanardi said the payment was a positive step towards respect for
the signed agreements, but added that Rome did not consider the
matter closed.
The Italian official said the paid amount did not refer to
situations which were not covered by the Rome agreement. He said an
Italian Foreign Ministry commission had been considering those
situations, taking into account individual rights in the European
context of respect for human rights.
The Trieste paper also reports that Silvio Berlusconi's government
will not rush to take over Slovene payments and that the same
principle will be applied to Croatia until the matter is entirely
resolved.
If there is good will in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, the matter
could be closed within several months, the paper says, adding Italy
welcomes a decision by Croatian parliament to adopt an amendment by
MP Furio Radin under which the esuli, who today are Italian
citizens, could participate in the process of denationalisation in
Croatia.
(hina) rml