STRASBOURG, 23 Sept (Hina) - The U.S. State Department initiative aimed at suspending Croatia from the Council of Europe encountered a reaction completely opposite the one the United States had expected, Croatian Parliament Vice
President Zarko Domljan told reporters in Strasbourg Tuesday afternoon.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
STRASBOURG, 23 Sept (Hina) - The U.S. State Department initiative
aimed at suspending Croatia from the Council of Europe encountered a
reaction completely opposite the one the United States had expected,
Croatian Parliament Vice President Zarko Domljan told reporters in
Strasbourg Tuesday afternoon. #L#
Last week, before a session of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly, the U.S. State Department distributed a text
on five pages to the Council of Europe leading people and
governments of the organisation's member-countries.
In the language of diplomats, the form of the text is known as
a 'non-paper'. The text presents an opinion that the Parliamentary
Assembly should propose that the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers should suspend Croatia from the Council.
Although the U.S. initiative was discussed at Tuesday's
meeting of the Council's Political Committee in Strasbourg, Hina
could not get an official confirmation or a comment from the U.S.
Embassy in Zagreb on the State Department's 'non-paper'.
Among the parliamentary delegations of 40 member-countries,
the State Department text caused the effect opposite to the one
Washington had expected, said Domljan, who is heading Croatia's
parliamentary delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly.
The presented objections are informal estimates, in the
formulation of which the State Department is not presenting correct
facts, Domljan said.
Most of the objections concern standard topics for which
Croatia is usually held responsible, Domljan stressed.
The text of the initiative was discussed officially only at
today's meeting of the Political Committee, he said.
I said at the meeting that a non-European country, which only
has the status of an observer in the Council of Europe, does not
have the right to take any action against a full member of the
Council of Europe, Domljan said, adding that nothing important or
dramatic, which would call for suspension, had happened in Croatia.
Moreover, I said that what the State Department text presented
were positive steps forward, Domljan said.
According to the State Department text, Croatia had achieved
little or no progress in the area of cooperation with the
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in the
return of refugees and displaced people, cooperation with the U.N.
Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia and support for the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatia is also criticised because
of stalling the implementation of the Dayton peace agreements, the
poor human rights situation, the prevention of free movement of the
Serb and other minorities, its intention to impose restrictive
measures on the right to peaceful assembly, undemocratic elections,
discrimination against national minorities and the non-existence of
independent judiciary.
According to Domljan, Croatia is in the regular process of
monitoring which includes new members of the Council; there are two
rapporteurs - Hana Suhocka and Gunnar Janson - who will visit
Croatia in October and submit their reports after the visit. On the
basis of the reports, the Parliamentary Assembly will be able to
discuss anything in connection with the commitments Croatia had
taken over at the moment of its admission to the Council, on 6
November 1996, Domljan said.
Croatia should also be visited by the presidents of all five
political groups of the Parliamentary Assembly, who would gain an
on-the-ground insight into the situation in the country, Domljan
said.
There is no reason for any action outside the regular
procedure, Domljan concluded.
(hina) mm rm
231857 MET sep 97