NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Hina) - Long-term presence of international +institutions is the guarantee of a successful process of +democratisation and establishment of civil society in Croatia, UN +special rapporteur on human rights Jiri
Dienstbier said in New York +on Wednesday.+ International presence will help strengthen democratic forces in +the state authorities and general public, Dienstbier said in his +report on the human rights situation in Croatia.+ The membership in the Council of Europe and aspirations towards +joining the European Union have positively affected Croatia's +authorities as well as the views and behaviour of many politicians +and public officials in Croatia, Dienstbier notes.+ The lack of democratic traditions, the legacy of communism and +recent conflicts with and intolerance towards Serbs will make the +process of developing respect for human rights a lon
NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Hina) - Long-term presence of international
institutions is the guarantee of a successful process of
democratisation and establishment of civil society in Croatia, UN
special rapporteur on human rights Jiri Dienstbier said in New York
on Wednesday.
International presence will help strengthen democratic forces in
the state authorities and general public, Dienstbier said in his
report on the human rights situation in Croatia.
The membership in the Council of Europe and aspirations towards
joining the European Union have positively affected Croatia's
authorities as well as the views and behaviour of many politicians
and public officials in Croatia, Dienstbier notes.
The lack of democratic traditions, the legacy of communism and
recent conflicts with and intolerance towards Serbs will make the
process of developing respect for human rights a long one, says the
UN special rapporteur.
The report, based on data gathered by mid August 1998, is divided in
eight sections. The most important section refers to the right to
return.
The Croatian Government Programme of Return is in line with
relevant UN documents and the Convention on the Status of Refugees
of 1951, the report says.
The return of Serb refugees to the Croatian Danube River region is
hampered by several factors: mines, destroyed water and power
supply infrastructure and the lack of employment opportunities in
the areas of return. Unemployment is the main obstacle to the return
of Croat displaced people as well.
There is around one million mines on some 11 per cent of Croatia's
territory, which by the beginning of August caused the death of more
than 20 people.
Ethnically motivated murders are now rare and murder attempts are
classical crimes partly directed at intimidating or discouraging
Serb returnees, Dienstbier says commenting on respect for life and
personal security.
The Croatian National Parliament annulled the disputable laws on
temporary take-over and management of property and on leasing flats
in the liberated areas in July this year. However, there are many
difficulties in the return of refugees and displaced people,
especially to the areas currently inhabited by Bosnian Croat
refugees, Dienstbier warns.
The UN Special Rapporteur dedicated the main section of his report
to the situation in Croatia's judiciary. He believes that
politicians and state officials still too often interfere with the
work of courts in Croatia. He also expresses his dissatisfaction
with the instruction the Croatian Supreme Court President issued in
May this year to all courts not to inform international
organisations about their work.
There are many obscurities in the implementation of the Amnesty
Law, Dienstbier notes adding that the trials of war crimes suspects
are being unnecessarily stalled.
He mentions two cases which, in his opinion, are not in accordance
with international standards - the trial of the so-called Sodolovac
group and the case of the former Supreme Court president Krunislav
Olujic.
Three years ago, the former UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Elizabeth
Rehn warned of human rights violations during and after the
military operation "Storm", but Croatian authorities never
answered to those cases appropriately, says Dienstbier.
Commenting on the freedom of expression and the right to assembly,
the UN Special Rapporteur says that the authorities have a
practical monopoly on the press and electronic media. Croatian
Radio Television is in reality under direct control by the Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ) and independent media are swamped by private
complaints filed by government members or persons close to them.
A special section of the report is dedicated to the problem of
missing persons. Dienstbier presents data by the State Commission
for Missing and Imprisoned Persons on 1,866 missing persons and
those by the association of families of missing Serbs on 2,541
missing persons and compares them with data provided by the
International Committee of the Red Cross on some 700 Croatian Serbs
who went missing during the operation "Storm".
In the section on church and reconciliation, Dienstbier reports of
two attacks on churches in the Danube area and stresses the possible
positive role of the Catholic church.
The recently appointed Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic is
determined in his support for reconciliation, Dienstbier notes.
The UN General Assembly will discuss the report on November 6, when
Croatia's permanent representative in the United Nations Ivan
Simonovic is expected to deliver a speech.
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