ZAGREB, 8 May (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on Wednesday received U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso, a statement from the President's Office said.
ZAGREB, 8 May (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman on
Wednesday received U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose
Ayala-Lasso, a statement from the President's Office said. #L#
After abandoning the socialist system and establishing its
independence, Croatia adopted laws which are among the most
advanced in the world as regards human rights, President Tudjman
said.
However, Croatia encountered certain problems during the
implementation of those laws, since it had been exposed to the
Yugo-Communist aggression and occupation of a part of its
territory. The aggression expelled not only Croats who lived there
but members of local minorities as well.
In the process of the liberation of the occupied territories,
local Serbs had been told to remain in Croatia, because all their
civil and ethnic rights would be respected. However, under the
influence of propaganda, many of them left.
'Despite pressure by more than 80,000 displaced people from
the Croatian Danubian area who are demanding the liberation of that
last portion of our country, we have agreed to peaceful
reintegration and respect for all human, civil and ethnic rights of
all those who had lived in the area before its occupation.
We have adopted a law on amnesty for all those who did not
commit war crimes in the liberated areas. Yesterday, the Government
sent to the Parliament for discussion a bill on amnesty in the
areas under U.N. temporary administration.', President Tudjman
said.
Jose Ayala-Lasso described Croatia's acts on human rights as
positive and expressed hope that the cessation of conflicts and
control of the Croatian authorities over the whole of Croatia's
territory would enable the country to fully implement those laws.
The meeting was also attended by President's Chief-Of-Staff,
Ivo Sanader, Vice Premiers Ljerka Mintas-Hodak and Ivica Kostovic,
President Tudjman's advisor on foreign policy, Zeljko Matic, and
permanent representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United
Nations in Geneva, Neven Madey.
Mr Ayala-Lasso was accompanied by Georges Mautner-Markoff,
head of the Department for Special Procedures in Geneva, and Roman
Wieruszewski, head of the Sarajevo-based UNHCR Office for former
Yugoslavia.
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