CROATIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY REJECTS FALSE SERB MEDIA ALLEGATIONS

ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - The Croatian Defence Ministry's policy department issued a statement on Sunday rejecting false allegations by Serb media in Knin and Banja Luka that Croatian forces attacked Serb civilians during a recent limited action in western Slavonia, and which had been uncritically carried by some foreign news agencies. The following is the full text of the statement: "Since the beginning of the limited action of Croatian forces along the occupied stretch of the Zagreb-Lipovac highway and the Zagreb-Vinkovci railway line between Novska and Nova Gradiska, Serb media in Knin and Banja Luka, controlled by Milan Martic and Radovan Karadzic, have been continually telling lies about an alleged ethnic cleansing of the Serb civilian population and genocide over the former soldiers of the so-called Serb Krajina army who have been taken prisoner," read the statement. "They speak of 'genocide' and disappearance of between 6 and 7 thousand civilians, children, women and elderly people from western Slavonia. They accuse Croatian forces of stealing property and looting abandoned houses in Okucani. They also accuse Croatian forces of firing at civilian targets at the Okucani-Stara Gradiska road. These media maintain that threats have recently increased against the Serb population, most of whom live in the free areas of the Republic of Croatia. Banja Luka radio in particular emphasizes that Serbs have been persecuted and threatened in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. They claim that in other Croatian towns many citizens of Serb nationality have been lately taken away from their homes or streets and allegedly killed," the statement said. "Besides, they are broadcasting statements by their leaders who treaten to shell civilians in Croatian towns and cause 100,000 human casualties. They are calling on the United Nations, Mr. Akashi and foreign diplomats to leave Zagreb, which, they say, they will bombard again," the statement read. "We are astonished that none of the international factors has responded to such statements. And we are surprised that some officials of international organizations, such as the UN and UNHCR offices in Banja Luka and the UN Security Council and Secretary- General's office in New York, use in their statements a series of Serb media accusations made which can be examined on the ground. A UNHCR official in Banja Luka takes as an accomplished fact and proof allegations by hundreds of Serb refugees from Okucani, which he has not checked with international observers, diplomats and military attaches who have already visited western Slavonia. Furthermore, this official conveyed these unchecked statements to major world media. Banja Luka radio has quoted Christoper Gunnes as saying that on May 1 and 2 Croatian forces allegedly raided an UNCRO base in western Slavonia and seized 90 per cent of the equipment, including 35,000 rounds of ammunition, an armoured vehicle, several jeeps and trucks, a mines detector, small arms, a video recorder, video games, five television sets, 11 telephones, a pair of binoculars and a radio station. Knin and Banja Luka radios also carried an alleged statement by German Chancellor Helmut Khol which the Bundespresseamt yesterday confirmed had never been given. During the limited action of Croatian forces, the Defence Ministry office for military envoys organized a visit of foreign military attaches based in Zagreb to western Slavonia. The following day, several diplomats, a number of European observers and all domestic and foreign journalists, including Serbian media and agency correspondents from Zagreb, could see for themselves, and can do so every day, that broadcasts by radio and television stations controlled by Radovan Karadzic and Milan Martic, both war criminals who admitted that they had orderered shelling and missile attacks on Sarajevo, Zagreb and other cities, were empty lies. None of the domestic and foreign witnesses reported or saw any any incident of alleged gunfire against civilians, harassment or killing of prisoners-of-war or any human rights violations against Croatian citizens of Serb nationality in western Slavonia. There are no photographs or information by observers showing hundreds of people allegedly killed in refugee columns or about civilian casualties in villages. Further evidence is the appearance of villages and towns which have ramained intact in combat activities. In most of them civilians who did not want to leave now live there free and peacefully. There are also European and UN observers, foreign journalists and a number of foreign government officials. The aim of Knin leaders has been repeated by media for days. They demand that Croatia force out all civilians who have stayed to live peacefully in their villages and to transport them against their will to the territory of the so-called Serbian Republic in Bosnia-Herzegovina, to drive them out of their homes. With such information, Milan Martic and Radovan Karadzic want to scare their public and provoke public in Serbia and Montenegro," the statement said. "On the first day of the Croatian limited action, Operation Flash, Bosnian Serb forces used military force to obstruct people who were compelled to leave together with 18th Corps forces, from crossing the Sava River. On May 1, 1995 Bosnian Serb forces closed the Stara Gradiska - Bosanska Gradiska Bridge to form a shield of women, men and children between the Sava River and advancing Croatian forces. A Croatian Air Force plane engaged Bosnian Serb positions on the Bosnian side of the Sava River bridge so that Kardzic troops could no longer defend the bridge with civilians. Their blockade failed and the civilians crossed into Bosnia. Unfortunately, the Croatian pilot and hero Rudolf Peresin, who was aware of anti-aircraft forces defending the bridge, lost his life in a bid to save the civilian population. The Croatian Army did not destroy the bridge but attempted to gain control of it. Not a single guided missile was used against Karadzic's defence forces or the bridge itself because the aim of the action was not to destroy the bridge. Not a single civilian was shot on the Bosnian bank of the Sava River during the Croatian aerial action because Banja Luka television would have been at the scene to show footage of it to the world. On the Croatian side of the river all foreign crews who visited the bridge on the first day did not record any alleged civilian casualties. Actually, only Associated Press Television was there on the first day of the action. A UNHCR aid convoy set out to Banja Luka and without any permission wanted to cross the blocked bridge across the Sava between Stara Gradiska and Nova Gradiska. We do not understand why the UNHCR refuses to travel by its regular route via Moscenica. Under the Zagreb agreement, the UNHCR convoy can use the Mosecenica crossing whenever it wants. Before the convoy left Zagreb for Stara Gradiska, the UNHCR was aware that on the other side of the Sava bridge, there were 1st Krajina Corps armoured forces and two artillery batteries deployed between Bosanska Gradiska and Topola, so that, understandably, the bridge on the Croatian border was fortified against armoured forces. We call on all domestic and foreign journalists to go to the scene and see for themselves whether the Croatian side has anything to hide and examine whether Knin and Banja Luka media accusations were true. In particular, we invite you to talk to some of the 343 former 18th Corps soldiers who were set free and who did not want to go to Bosnia but wanted to return to their families. You should also talk to Croatian citizens of Serb nationality. It is suprising that some international factors have allowed to be tricked by the well-known factory of lies in Knin and Banja Luka which wants to portray paramilitary losers as political winners," concluded the statement signed by Brigadier Ivan Tolj. (hina) vm mm 071811 MET may 95