COMMISSION CLAIMS RETURN PROCEDURE "NEGATIVELY CHANGED"

( Editorial: --> 0519 ) ZAGREB, April 29 (Hina) - The procedure for the individual return of persons who left Croatia which the Croatian Government adopted on April 27 is "substantively and negatively changed" from a draft recently worked out with the international community, the Article 11 Commission assessed after its meeting on Wednesday. "We urge the Government to clarify and, as needed, revise the procedure," the Commission said. Composed of ambassadors, the Commission was constituted on the basis of the Erdut Agreement on the reintegration of eastern Croatia, with the aim to supervise its implementation. The draft agreed-upon with the international community was, according to a communique the Commission issued today, "clear and fair". With it Croatia took "an important step closer to integration in the Euro-Atlantic Community". "They (the procedures) also were an important step toward fulfilling Croatia's obligation to recognise and implement the inalienable right of all citizens to return home and reclaim their property in conditions of security," the communique said. The Article 11 Commission points out that "the procedures endorsed by the international community in no way supported or encouraged a 'mass' or 'overnight' return of refugees, nor was such a policy ever advocated by the international community. On the contrary, they dealt specifically with cases in an individual way." The changes in the new procedures are negative in relation to former ones, the Commission said in the communique. "The unconditional right of return is not clearly affirmed" in the new procedures and they are not in accordance with the Constitution as, the Commission points out, "the procedures imply that citizenship for those who left Croatia since 1991 has to be acquired by the returnee, instead of simply verified". The Article 11 Commission says in relation to former ones, the new procedures "have become far less transparent and far more subject to bureaucratic delays". "Individual return has been linked to other issues such as bilateral agreements, which is contrary to individuals exercising their right to return," it said. The new procedures do not mention the role of the UNHCR. They should also not deal with people indicted for war crimes, the Commission believes. "People who are indicted for war crimes should be tried and, if convicted, be punished in collaboration with the ICTY (the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), and not dealt with in these procedures. Individuals covered by the amnesty law should be granted citizenship verification," the communique said. Article 11 Commission referred this matter to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Secretary-General and the Contact Group "with a recommendation that strong action be taken". The Commission fully supports today's recommendation by the Peace Implementation Council's Steering Board that the international community suspend for an indefinite period its participation in the Conference on Reconstruction and Development in the Republic of Croatia. The Commission points out that "individual countries may well also take unilateral measures to demonstrate their concern". "We take these actions with deep regret," the Commission said in the communique. "However, we are concerned that the international community has communicated its position clearly and consistently, and in detail, to the highest levels of the Croatian Government in support of a draft agreement worked out directly with appropriate authorities in that government." The Croatian Government presented the first draft of "The Procedure for Individual Return of Persons Who Left the Republic of Croatia" on March 31, which the international community rejected. On April 16, the Government issued a reworked draft, agreed-upon with the international community, and requested parliament endorse it. The Parliament failed to do so. At its last sitting, the Parliament did not issue an opinion on the procedure, but adopted conclusions in four articles on the basis of an agreement reached by all benches bar that of the Croatian Party of Rights. At a closed April 27 session, the Government adopted a third draft to which today's Article 11 Commission communique refers. (hina) ha/mb 292226 MET apr 98