BELGRADE, Nov 22 (Hina) - A two-day meeting of Yugoslav and Croatian commissions for missing persons will resume in Belgrade on Wednesday. The Croatian delegation is headed by the president of the Commission for Missing and Imprisoned
Persons, Ivan Grujic, and the Yugoslav delegation by the president of the Commission for Humanitarian Issues and Missing Persons, Maksim Korac. After the first part of the meeting, held on Tuesday, the Yugoslav Government's Information Secretariat issued a one-sided statement presenting only the stands of the Yugoslav side and making no mention of Croatia's arguments and requests. According to the statement, the Yugoslav side accuses Croatia of "failing to respect previous agreements" and estimates that the arrests of Serbs in Croatia in the past month are taking on a dimension of a 'campaign'. The Yugoslav side requests that the agreement on the exchange of prisoners be impleme
BELGRADE, Nov 22 (Hina) - A two-day meeting of Yugoslav and Croatian
commissions for missing persons will resume in Belgrade on
Wednesday.
The Croatian delegation is headed by the president of the
Commission for Missing and Imprisoned Persons, Ivan Grujic, and the
Yugoslav delegation by the president of the Commission for
Humanitarian Issues and Missing Persons, Maksim Korac.
After the first part of the meeting, held on Tuesday, the Yugoslav
Government's Information Secretariat issued a one-sided statement
presenting only the stands of the Yugoslav side and making no
mention of Croatia's arguments and requests.
According to the statement, the Yugoslav side accuses Croatia of
"failing to respect previous agreements" and estimates that the
arrests of Serbs in Croatia in the past month are taking on a
dimension of a 'campaign'.
The Yugoslav side requests that the agreement on the exchange of
prisoners be implemented in line with the principle 'all for all',
adding that 91 Serbs are detained in Croatian prisons, including
those "covered by the Amnesty Law and those whom the Croatian
government and international organisations have guaranteed that
they will not be arrested if they stay or return to Croatia."
According to the statement, Croatia has not fulfilled any of its
commitments.
Grujic told Hina that Croatia had released all detainees according
to the principle 'all for all' in line with the signed agreement,
whereas Yugoslavia had failed to do so. Grujic added that this
principle did not refer to war crimes convicts.
Croatia supports the implementation of the agreement and its
judiciary is working in line with laws. If there is material
evidence on committed crimes, every case must be investigated,
Grujic said, reiterating that war crimes suspects cannot be
released.
Croatia is cooperating with international organisations in
establishing the truth about the fate of missing persons and
insisting on the documents and remains of persons abducted from
Croatia and taken to Yugoslavia, where at least 300 of them were
buried, he said.
Croatia is working on the basis of arguments and signed documents,
Grujic said, expressing a wish for progress to be made in resolving
the existing problems.
A joint press conference will be held after today's meeting, with
both sides presenting their stands.
(hina) rml