ZAGREB, Nov 3 (Hina) - The direct war damage Croatia suffered under Serb aggression earlier this decade totals DM65.3 billion, says a report by the State Commission for Listing and Assessing War Damage which parliament's House of
Representatives discussed on Wednesday.
ZAGREB, Nov 3 (Hina) - The direct war damage Croatia suffered under
Serb aggression earlier this decade totals DM65.3 billion, says a
report by the State Commission for Listing and Assessing War Damage
which parliament's House of Representatives discussed on
Wednesday.#L#
The report covers the period between 15 August 1990 and 31 August
1995, and until 15 January 1998 for the Danube River Region in
eastern Croatia.
Presenting the report, the president of the State Commission, Ivan
Novacic, said the war had taken Croatia several years backwards,
and been responsible for the loss of two and a half Gross National
Products. The condition for reconstruction is economic revival, he
asserted.
The report states the indirect war damage was three to four times
higher than the direct damage, of which 40 percent refers to
material damage, 20 percent to war costs, and 34 percent to the
costs of living and health.
According to demographic estimates, up to 20,000 people were killed
or have gone missing during the aggression.
Discussing war damage, representatives insisted on the possibility
of compensation. Opposition MPs asked why the government had failed
to demand war damages from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and
why war damages do not include succession to former Yugoslav
federation property.
Vladimir Seks on behalf of the parliamentary bench of the ruling
Croatian Democratic Union refuted claims that Croatia could have
taken more effective measures to secure compensation for war
damage.
Parliament on 6 October 1991 concluded that Serbia, Montenegro, and
the Yugoslav People's Army had carried out an armed agression
against Croatia. This, Seks said, is the legal foundation for
procedures which should lead to compensation for war damage.
At the time, parliament could not pass a decision on the
proclamation of a state of war, since no country, nor the
international community were willing to give military and
effective support to the proclamation of Croatia's independence,
Seks explained.
He added the actions Croatia had filed against Yugoslavia would
succeed, but pointed out other mechanisms were necessary to
adequately compensate for war damage. Seks reminded no state pays
any war damage unless it has suffered total military defeat, been
pacified, or obligated to do so by peace agreements.
Representatives pointed out the war made Croatia lose its medium-
term development cycle. The war took Croatia 15 years backwards,
said Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Assembly, adding a
minimum of 25 years will be necessary to complete reconstruction
according to the current tempo of earmarking.
The MPs pointed to the high damage suffered in the economy.
Opposition representatives reminded of 600,000-700,000 jobs lost
in the past nine years. Snjezana Biga-Friganovic of the Social
Democratic Party wondered how many jobs were lost due to war, and
how many due to poor privatisation.
Opposition MPs also asked if Croatian politics were responsible for
the lack of international assistance to economic development,
which they said was crucial to reconstruction.
Seks refuted these remarks, pointing out the international
community had denied Croatia access to the PHARE programme due to
the "Storm" military operation and the liberation of Croatian
territory occupied by Serbs.
Seks asserted Croatia's economic and social make-up would have been
entirely different if one third of the state budget had not have to
be earmarked for reconstruction.
Representatives commended the war damage report as a valuable
source of data which may be used before the international community
or international institutions.
(hina) ha jn