WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Hina) - In the latest annual U.S. State Department report on human rights around the world Croatia no longer belongs to the "suspect" countries group. The new government is said to have "generally respected the
human rights of its citizens" in 2000 and that "its human rights record improved during the year."
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Hina) - In the latest annual U.S. State
Department report on human rights around the world Croatia no
longer belongs to the "suspect" countries group. The new government
is said to have "generally respected the human rights of its
citizens" in 2000 and that "its human rights record improved during
the year."#L#
The latest State Department report covers 195 countries, including
all established after the early 1990s break-up of the former
Yugoslav federation.
The criticism levelled at Croatia primarily refers to the
judiciary. Courts are said to be "subject to occasional political
influence on the local level" and suffering "from bureaucratic
inefficiency, insufficient funding, and a severe backlog of
cases."
The police is admonished for occasionally abusing prisoners, while
the legal possibility of long-term prearraignment detention is
also criticised.
"President (Stipe) Mesic and Prime Minister (Ivica) Racan made
frequent public statements encouraging the return and
reintegration of all Croatian citizens to their prewar homes. These
commitments were supported by several initiatives," the report
says, but notes the issue of restitution of property to returnees
was not solved in 2000.
The report confirms the respect of religious freedoms but reminds
religious communities were not returned their property.
It is stated there were no instances of restriction of freedom of
speech and the media in 2000.
As for changes leading to a public radio and television, the State
Department report says they were slow, and that some 900 libels
against journalists were still not concluded.
"In the first half of the year, the Government took steps to improve
cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY); however, cooperation slowed in the
second half of the year," reads the report.
"Some of the Tribunal's requests for cooperation remained
outstanding at year's end," it adds, explaining that primarily
referred to access to witnesses and documentary evidence.
The part of the report covering neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina
says the human rights situation there in 2000 was not
satisfactory.
The State Department notes a smaller number of criminal acts
spurred by national hatred, intolerance or political motives. Such
cases are said to be more frequent in refugee-return areas. "The
degree of respect for human rights continues to vary among areas
with Bosniak, Bosnian Croat, and Bosnian Serb majorities."
The report says violence in 2000 was increasingly linked with
criminal gangs. It points to the issues of illegal migration and
white slavery, and asserts the government is hesitant and slow in
preventing crime.
The State Department says Bosnia's Serb entity, Republika Srpska,
continues to refuse to do anything against persons indicted for war
crimes. Most of the 26 accused from public ICTY lists live freely in
the Prijedor and Foca areas and the authorities did not make an
attempt to arrest them, the report says.
(hina) ha