BELGRADE, Nov 22 (Hina) - Since the signing of the Agreement on the Normalisation of Relations between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in August 1996, some problems between the two countries have started to be solved,
but many issues have remained open. A difficult issue for both sides are the whereabouts of missing persons. Government commissions who have been meeting and cooperating regularly for a number of years have managed to find and identify only those who had been killed, while the number of people registered as missing who had been found alive is very small. The commissions ceased working during last year's NATO strikes on Yugoslavia, but they are expected to resume their sessions. Not the least bit lesser problem is the issue of refugees. Belgrade has used every opportunity to accentuate the return of Serb refugees to their homes as a priority demand. According to Yugoslav statisti
BELGRADE, Nov 22 (Hina) - Since the signing of the Agreement on the
Normalisation of Relations between Croatia and the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia in August 1996, some problems between the
two countries have started to be solved, but many issues have
remained open.
A difficult issue for both sides are the whereabouts of missing
persons.
Government commissions who have been meeting and cooperating
regularly for a number of years have managed to find and identify
only those who had been killed, while the number of people
registered as missing who had been found alive is very small.
The commissions ceased working during last year's NATO strikes on
Yugoslavia, but they are expected to resume their sessions.
Not the least bit lesser problem is the issue of refugees. Belgrade
has used every opportunity to accentuate the return of Serb
refugees to their homes as a priority demand. According to Yugoslav
statistics, in Croatian 1995 military operations "Storm" and
Flash" alone, about 300,000 Serbs left their homes, and the number
of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina totals almost one
million.
Among refugees from Croatia the most numerous are those who
received Croatian documents, but do not wish to give up their
refugee status, which results in constant pressures on Croatia that
it is not doing enough for their return.
The presence of refugees in Yugoslavia makes it possible for
Yugoslav authorities to request more international assistance
which has so far frequently been used for assisting the poorest
categories of local citizens.
There is, however, no word about a dozen thousand Croats who fled
from Serbia and Vojvodina. The position of the Croat national
minority has not been defined at all, although the Agreement on the
Normalisation of Relations stipulates a solution to the problem.
The new FRY government authority has made promises to improve the
status of national minorities.
The crash of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's regime
has opened up opportunities for solving the issue of succession to
the former Yugoslavia. The new government formed at the federal
level has given up its stance that FRY is the only legal heir to the
former Yugoslavia.
This has made possible its accession into the UN and Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and it is expected hat this
will facilitate negotiations on succession.
The programme for negotiations is still not known, but it is
presumed the Yugoslav side would give up on its maximalistic
requests, as it is in its interest to get hold of its rightful
property share as soon as possible, primarily gold in Basel, as well
as for the problem of succession to be dropped from the agenda.
Although it has dropped its principle of continuity for practical
reasons, the new authority has not clearly accepted the views of the
Badinter Commission on the disintegration of the former
Yugoslavia. President Vojislav Kostunica has recently stated it
was not a moot point that Croatia and Slovenia had separated, so it
is possible this would influence the negotiations on succession.
Belgrade has little to say about Croatia's law suit against FRY to
the International Court of Justice in The Hague for aggression and
its demand for 35 billion dollars of compensation for damage during
the war.
The official stance continues to be that a civil war, not
aggression, had occurred in the area of the former Yugoslavia.
The Serb side is not prepared to assume responsibility for the war,
including the payment of war reparations.
Such an attitude towards the war reflects the attitude towards war
criminals and the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
The fact that FRY has still not extradited to The Hague suspects of
war crimes committed in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, who are
living in Yugoslavia, is a burden on relations between Croatia and
Yugoslavia.
Yugoslav officials have claimed cooperation with The Hague was not
their priority.
In relation to outstanding issues caused by Serb views on the causes
of the war, the problem of borders seems a simpler issue.
Corrections to the border on the Danube River due to the change of
the river's course could be solved with a little good will.
Croatia's southernmost peninsula of Prevlaka, however, has for
years been a push and pull subject on the internal political scene.
There have been claims recently, including those by officials of
the ruling Democratic Opposition of Serbia, that Croatia should
cede Prevlaka to Montenegro.
It seems, however, that the issue of Prevlaka will be solved in
direct negotiations between Croatia and Montenegro, and a solution
is around the corner.
FRY's accession into international organisations, with assumed
obligations, including the extradition of war criminals, is
expected to facilitate the solving of open issues in the relations
between Croatia and FRY.
(hina) lml