CROATIA'S FULFILMENT OF OBLIGATIONS IS STAGNATING - OSCE

ZAGREB, Feb 5 (Hina) - Though certain progress has been achieved, the process of Croatia's fulfilment of its international commitments is stagnating in almost all areas - from changes in legislation and the full implementation of the Programme of Return of refugees and displaced persons, to the media situation and the respect for human and minority rights, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia said in its recent Report on Croatia's progress. "As its overall conclusion in this Progress Report, the Mission identifies a general stagnation in the process of Croatia's fulfilment of its international commitments," the report said. The Progress Report will be discussed by the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna next week. The document has been submitted to all Council member-countries. The OSCE Mission stressed necessary progress depended also on a more active engagement by the international community. "The Mission recommends that - apart from Croatia's further integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions, based on clear conditions - the international community should substantially strengthen its support for normalisation and democratisation," the report said. The Mission commended the Croatian Government for adopting the Return Programme, but its insufficient implementation is accentuated as the key problem. "After four months (the Programme) must be judged to have fallen short of reasonable expectations". The most difficulty is surfacing in the return of Croatian Serbs. "The number of Serbs who have left Croatia over the three years since Dayton and Erdut (agreements), is almost as large as the number who have returned," the Mission stressed. Out of the total of 280,000 Croatian Serb refugees since the signing of the Erdut and Dayton agreements, 53,000 people have returned to Croatia, while 47,000 people, mostly Serbs, have returned from Croatia to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the same period. "It is evident that departures of Croatian Serbs to the FRY continue," the OSCE said. The report commended the Croatian Government for ensuring that applications for return are being processed in a timely manner, for the recent initiative to provide more complete information to potential returnees about the condition of their property, and for the adoption of a Reconstruction Programme and mandatory Instructions for non-discriminatory implementation. "Poor economic conditions and an atmosphere of insecurity are major factors deterring the return of displaced persons and refugees," the OSCE said. The Mission added the economic and political situation was a big obstacle to the return into the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina, particularly in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. "The political situation in Republika Srpska virtually prevents the return of Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks (Moslems)," the report stressed. Other factors aggravating the implementation of the return Programme are discriminatory laws, difficulties in the repossession of property and ensuring alternative accommodation for temporary occupants who have to vacate others' property, and problems in resolving the issue of occupancy rights. Negativities which need to be rectified are Croatia's relations with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), particularly in the light of recent remarks by some state officials. Article 19 of the Report stressed the primary reason for the non- effectiveness of the Return Programme is the "manifest resistance among officials at all levels to the fulfilment of the Programme's key commitments". "Feelings of bitterness and resentment against Serbs are publicly stroked by officials in the war-affected areas. Local authorities around the country inevitably take their cues from the Government and party officials," the Report stressed. The section of the Report dealing with the Croatian Danube region said integration of infrastructure and institutions in the region had been successful, as opposed to the integration of Serb residents, although the Government had fulfilled its commitment concerning the Joint Council of (Serb majority) Municipalities by providing it with legal status and an agreement for co-financing. The local police is performing their duties in a satisfactory manner, the Report said. The human rights situation and democratisation of society is the focus in a section of the report in which no progress has been achieved, according to the OSCE. Despite obligations it assumed upon its accession into the Council of Europe, Croatia has not proposed amendments to the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Freedoms and on the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in the Republic of Croatia. The Government has not estimated a deadline by which it would do so, OSCE stressed. The independence and impartiality of the judiciary continue to be undermined, there are problems in the operation of the courts, among other things, due to the lack of judges, discriminatory provisions of certain laws have not been rescinded, and progress lacks in the implementation of the Law and Decree Adjustment Act. "There has been no progress concerning the reform of electoral legislation," the OSCE said in the report, recalling recommendations made by the Mission to the Croatian Government in October 1998. The situation in the media was described along the same lines. Instead of recommendations made by the Council of Europe to assist transforming the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) into a public television, "the Parliament adopted amendments proposed by the governing HDZ party (Croatian Democratic Union), which ignored most of these recommendations. ...As a result, Croatian Television, the most influential medium in the country, remains subject to political control by the ruling party", the Report stressed. Some problems have become even more acute in printed media, the OSCE said. "Following public statements by a former senior state official, the Ministry of Interior admitted to conducting surveillance of journalists," the Report said, adding that the Government had in November acquired control of the Slobodna Dalmacija daily through the State Agency for Insurance of Savings and Financial restoration of Banks. The Report mentioned the "Tisak" case, a newspaper distribution company, which "reportedly controls three-quarters of the distribution market" and whose crisis jeopardises the existence of all but the largest publishing groups. "It now appears that Tisak will pass into the control of banks that are themselves state-controlled. In a situation where Croatia's biggest newspapers-printing house is controlled by the Government, this prospect gives ground for concern," the OSCE said. "Croatia has reached a crucial and delicate stage in the normalisation process. The country is a key actor in a region marked by increasing tension... The Mission therefore recommends a more active international engagement, involving intensified dialogue and increased material support," the OSCE concluded in the Report. (hina) lml