KNIN/KISTANJE, May 6 (Hina) - The chairman of the parliament's Committee for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities, Furio Radin, along with two other MP's on Monday visited Knin and Kistanje so that they could evaluate the
current situation in that region.
KNIN/KISTANJE, May 6 (Hina) - The chairman of the parliament's
Committee for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities, Furio
Radin, along with two other MP's on Monday visited Knin and Kistanje
so that they could evaluate the current situation in that
region.#L#
In Knin they spoke with representatives of the Croatian Helsinki
Committee (HHO), the Serbian "Prosvjeta" cultural society, the
Association of Migrant Croats, the Dalmatian Committee of
Solidarity and Mayor Vinko Maric who spoke about the difficult
economic and social situation in the town.
Olga Simic, president of HHO's Knin office said how a new wave of
Bosnian Croats who were coming to the area was hampering the
repossession of property and alternative accommodation. Serb
nationals seeking their property are faced with the problem of
court rulings and distress orders not being implemented.
Dragoljub Cupkovic, president of the "Prosvjeta" Serbian cultural
society warned about a radio programme entitled the Voice of the
People on Croatian Radio Knin which, according to Cupkovic, is
spreading the language of hate and directly threatening
coexistence. Locals phone in with messages such as "Serbs on
trees", "Bosnians in chains", "all Serbs into busses and off to
Serbia" etc, Cupkovic said and asked that the programme be removed
from the air if phone messages cannot be controlled and censored.
Jozo Kolak, the president of Migrant Croats stressed that 90
percent of Bosnian Croats now located in the Knin region wish to
remain in Croatia but they do not wish to live in someone else's
property.
Radin and the other parliament committee members said that the
Committee was interested in the social and economic situation in
the Knin region because these problems were the source of human
rights violations and were vital to the security situation in the
area. He added that he would report what they had heard and seen to
the parliament and relevant bodies of the executive authorities in
charge of these issues.
In Kistanje the Committee members met municipal head Marko Kardum.
The meeting was also attended by SDSS councillor Ilija Krneta who
objected to the mayor because he did not invite Serb
representatives from the region nor representatives of Kosovo
Croats settled in the area. Krneta referred to Kistanje as a dark
spot in Croatia because, as he said, only 20 people in that
municipality are employed and all of them Croats and the Fire
department in mono-national.
Mayor Kardum said that the repossession of property by Serbs who had
returned was the most difficult issue in the region.
(hina) sp sb