BELI MANASTIR BELI MANASTIR, Nov 13 (Hina) - Croatia's Vice Premier Zeljka Antunovic, who on Monday toured together with Article 11 representatives the eastern town of Beli Manastir, said this area of Baranja was not only encumbered
with difficulties in the reconstruction of the war-hit towns and villages but also with war crimes. Therefore preconditions for the coexistence in the area upon the return of displaced Croatians are three elements - truth, justice and peace. In Beli Manastir, Antunovic, other Croatian Government officials, international officials from Article 11, local authorities and the local Serb ethnic community's representatives held a closed four-hour meeting on the implementation of the returns programme and care for refugees and displaced persons as well as on economic possibilities for the development of Baranja. After the meeting Antunovic said today's talks were yet another proof that probl
BELI MANASTIR, Nov 13 (Hina) - Croatia's Vice Premier Zeljka
Antunovic, who on Monday toured together with Article 11
representatives the eastern town of Beli Manastir, said this area
of Baranja was not only encumbered with difficulties in the
reconstruction of the war-hit towns and villages but also with war
crimes. Therefore preconditions for the coexistence in the area
upon the return of displaced Croatians are three elements - truth,
justice and peace.
In Beli Manastir, Antunovic, other Croatian Government officials,
international officials from Article 11, local authorities and the
local Serb ethnic community's representatives held a closed four-
hour meeting on the implementation of the returns programme and
care for refugees and displaced persons as well as on economic
possibilities for the development of Baranja.
After the meeting Antunovic said today's talks were yet another
proof that problems should be solved with joint efforts.
Those problems should be solved by local authorities supported by
County and state government, while international assistance will
be necessary for the economic recovery, she added.
The head of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation)
mission in Croatia, Bernard Poncet said they could not settle the
problems today but the meeting was useful for the consideration of
the overall situation.
The Zagreb-based US Embassy charge d'affaires, Charles English,
said his country was willing to contribute to the economic recovery
on the basis of a programme which local authorities should propose.
He also viewed the meeting as useful at which the partnership of the
Government and local community was visible.
Asked by reporters what ethnic Serb representatives had spoken
about at the meeting, Antunovic said they had raised the issue about
the arrest of 13 Serb war crimes suspects and voiced
dissatisfaction as they thought that the Zagreb Government had not
shown sufficient understanding for the matter.
I told them that it was not a political process but apprehension was
conducted in line with the grounded suspicion regarding the
arrested men's accountability, the Deputy Premier said adding that
those "who have no blood on their hands have nothing to fear as
political revenge is history."
She reiterated that economy in Osijek-Baranja County had gravely
been devastated by the war and that 34,250 people had been forced to
flee their homes (during the Serb occupation).
Beli Manastir Mayor Ivica Buconjic said fundamental problems in his
town were of social and economic nature rather than political,
while a leader of the returnees' association pointed to the problem
of departure from Baranja owing to a serious social situation.
(hina) ms