ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - The number of ethnically motivated incidents in the Croatian Danube region is high for the time of year, spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mark Thompson, said in
Zagreb on Wednesday. The OSCE held there has not been a coherent and convincing effort by the Croatian Government in the implementation of the Programme of the Establishment of Trust which the Government adopted in October of 1997, Thompson told a regular news conference in Zagreb. "We believe that this trend is likely to continue as the return process also continues as the weather improves, unless there is a very clear effort at national level, by the Government, to build trust between and inside communities in the war-affected areas, and, above all, in the Danube region," Thompson said. He called on the Government commission for the return of refugees to publicise the Programme of R
ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - The number of ethnically motivated
incidents in the Croatian Danube region is high for the time of
year, spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), Mark Thompson, said in Zagreb on Wednesday.
The OSCE held there has not been a coherent and convincing effort by
the Croatian Government in the implementation of the Programme of
the Establishment of Trust which the Government adopted in October
of 1997, Thompson told a regular news conference in Zagreb.
"We believe that this trend is likely to continue as the return
process also continues as the weather improves, unless there is a
very clear effort at national level, by the Government, to build
trust between and inside communities in the war-affected areas,
and, above all, in the Danube region," Thompson said.
He called on the Government commission for the return of refugees to
publicise the Programme of Reconstruction of war-torn Croatian
regions, adopted by the Government on October 15, 1998.
There has been no information campaign about the programme,
although the Government Commission should have organised it so
those interested could obtain insight into the deadlines by which
they can apply for reconstruction assistance, Thompson said.
"The deadline falls in the middle of March, therefore it is not very
far away, and we call on the Government Commission to publicise the
Reconstruction Programme," he stressed.
Thompson announced a visit of senior international officials to
Croatia on February 8 and 9, under the organisation of the OSCE.
Special UN Rapporteur for the former Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier,
OSCE representative for the freedom of the media, Freimut Duve,
OSCE High Commissioner for national minorities, Max van der Stoel,
and director of OSCE's office for democratic institutions and human
rights, Gerard Stoudmann, will, during their two-day visit, hold
talks with Croatian senior officials and representatives of the
international community.
Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Andrej
Mahecic, said representatives of the Article 11 Commission, which
observes the implementation of the agreement on the peaceful
reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, would on Wednesday
afternoon hold talks with representatives of Bosnian Croats about
the return of Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Bosnian Serb
entity of Republika Srpska.
"This is the point in time when the international community very
much wants to take a more active role with regard to the situation of
Bosnian Croats as the key element in finding solutions," Mahecic
said.
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