DUBROVNIK DUBROVNIK, March 22 (Hina) - "Security and Stability in Central and Eastern Europe" is the name under which a NATO Parliamentary Assembly is holding a three-day conference in Dubrovnik, beginning Thursday.
DUBROVNIK, March 22 (Hina) - "Security and Stability in Central and
Eastern Europe" is the name under which a NATO Parliamentary
Assembly is holding a three-day conference in Dubrovnik, beginning
Thursday. #L#
The Croatian Parliament has organised the conference which gathers
150 parliamentarians from 40 countries, as well as representatives
of international organisations and ambassadors and military
attaches accredited in Croatia.
The conference was opened by the chairwoman o the Parliament's
Committee for Internal Affairs and National Security, Djurdja
Adlesic, who spoke about Croatia's experiences in introducing
democratic surveillance over armed forces.
She recalled Croatia had to draft the system of national security in
special circumstances because it was subject to military
aggression. It also did not inherit armed forces as other countries
did, but had to create its own from scratch.
During the time the armed forces were being created, insufficient
attention was paid to their monitoring which, Adlesic stressed, is
understandable to a degree, considering the circumstances at the
time. The creation of good civilian and military relations is n
important task of Croatia's policy, she added.
Croatia will pass a new law on defence which will precisely define
the relations between democratic institutions and control over
armed forces, she said.
Croatian President speaker Zlatko Tomcic presented Croatia's
foreign policy priorities -- full membership in NATO and the EU,
and, speaking about regional cooperation, he said Croatia opted for
"good relations with neighbouring countries, and in accordance
with this , co-operation within the Stability Pact for Southeast
Europe."
Based on its recent experience, Croatia has a moral right to expect
the international community to apply rapid intervention to prevent
the repeating of conflicts in this and all other regions, Tomcic
said.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly chairman Rafael Estrella said the
history of Dubrovnik's diplomacy was an example to learn from
because this city has cooperated with its neighbours to the benefit
of its residents.
This conference is an opportunity to see how much has been achieved
in the field of refugee return, the Dayton Agreement and the co-
operation with the Hague tribunal, Estrella said.
He added that changes in Yugoslavia after the ousting of Milosevic
should be discussed, as well as the situation in Macedonia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina and, as he put it, the negative effects of the Croat
National Assembly in Mostar.
The Parliamentary Assembly's director for crisis regions, James
Lion, spoke about the recent decision of the American
administration to reduce the number of its troops in Bosnia-
Herzegovina.
It is possible that the lessening of man power could send the wrong
signal, that the act was badly timed and could give an opportunity
to extremists, especially those of the Croatian Democratic Union of
Bosnia, to destabilise Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lion said.
He also warned about statements given by Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica who connected the problem of Kosovo to Republika
Srpska, followed by the problem in Macedonia, the persistent
instability in Albania, and warned about the possibility that
Montenegro could separate itself from Yugoslavia.
All this, Lion said, is enough for us to ask what is the point of the
presence of American soldiers in the Balkans.
Special attention during the three-day conference will be paid to
political changes and security policy in Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina and Yugoslavia, as well as cooperation with NATO.
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