Vecernji list, 29. rujna 2002.
Veleposlanik Peter Semneby, voditelj Misije OESS-a u Hrvatskoj
Slucaj Bobetko Hrvatsku nece vratiti unatrag Razgovarao: Borna Keserovic
O slucaju Bobetko i suradnji Hrvatske s Haagom, kao i o drugim medunarodnim obvezama i uvjetima za euroatlantske integracije, razgovarali smo s veleposlanikom Peterom Semnebyjem, voditeljem Misije Organizacije za europsku sigurnost i suradnju (OESS).
• Hrvatska suradnja sa sudom u Haagu dio je mandata misije OESS-a koja nadgleda ispunjavanje uvjeta za pristup euroatlantskim integracijama. O hrvatskom stavu u slucaju Bobetko i Vas je izvijestio ministar Picula. Kako ce se odluka o neizrucivanju generala Bobetka odraziti na položaj Hrvatske na medunarodnoj sceni?
- Hrvatska, kao i ostale zemlje, mora potpuno suradivati s Haaškim sudom. Želio bih posebno napomenuti da ponašanje vlade u slucaju Bobetko pomno prate i hrvatski medunarodni partneri. Ne mogu nagadati što ce se dogadati, ali uvjeren sam da ce Vlada naci razumno rješenje za izlaz iz trenutacne teške situacije.
• Haag je vjerojatno najbolnija medunarodna obveza Hrvatske koja, medutim, još treba ispuniti niz drugih uvjeta za euroatlantske integracije. Koliko je postignuto na tome putu?
- Za Hrvatsku su sada najvažniji politicki uvjeti za clanstvo u Europskoj uniji. Dok Hrvatska službeno ne bude pozvana na pregovore o clanstvu, prioritet su tzv. kopenhagenški kriteriji. To ukljucuje razvoj politickog sustava, civilnog društva, pravosuda, a posebno su za Hrvatsku bitni povratak izbjeglica i stvaranje pravnog okvira za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina u skladu s europskim standardima. Nadam se da ce na tim pitanjima doci do nacionalnog konsenzusa.
Zadovoljni Nacrtom zakona o manjinama
• Ustavni zakon o manjinama još je u saborskoj proceduri, a s njime je ovih dana u Zagrebu upoznat i visoki povjerenik OESS-a Rolf Ekeus. Koliko ste zadovoljni sadržajem zakona, a koliko brzinom donošenja?
- Sadašnji Nacrt zakona prilicno je dobar. Postoje neki aspekti koji se mogu poboljšati, poput uvjeta rada samouprava nacionalnih manjina. Naravno, tu nisu najbitniji pojedini detalji, nego koliko taj zakon odražava konsenzus, te da je opceprihvatljiv za manjine. Vjerujem da ce taj akt biti uskoro usvojen i da ce to biti dobar zakon. Smatram kako ce to biti velik korak naprijed za Hrvatsku i da ce njime steci pozitivne ocjene.
Istodobno, iznimno nas brine neodržavanje dodatnih izbora na lokalnoj i regionalnoj razini koji su se trebali održati 90 dana nakon objave rezultata popisa stanovništva. Trenutacno postoji 74 lokalnih vijeca u kojima su nacionalne manjine premalo zastupljene. Rok za održavanje dodatnih izbora istekao je prije dva tjedna. Premala zastupljenost nacionalnih manjina ne može se dopustiti kao nešto trajno.
1 • Zakon o manjinama jedan je od uvjeta za povratak izbjeglica, glavnu preokupaciju misije OESS-a u Hrvatskoj, a kljucnim za to istice se povrat imovine. Jeste li tu zadovoljni dosad ucinjenim?
- Osim zakona o manjinama i povrata imovine, postoje još neki važni uvjeti za povratak izbjeglica, poput siguronosnih mjera i ekonomskog okružja. Tu su i problemi s birokracijom na koje povratnici nailaze. Kljucna je stvar za povratak ipak stambeno zbrinjavanje i vracanje imovine. Tu ima pozitivnih pomaka i pozdravljamo Vladino naknadno dodavanje krajnjih rokova za povrat privremeno zauzete imovine. Pocetkom kolovoza bilo je otprilike još osam tisuca domova koji su zauzeti.
• Postavljeni rok predvida povrat imovine do kraja godine, ali taj bi proces mogao potrajati i duže.
- To je ambiciozan cilj i drago nam je što Vlada pred sebe postavlja takve ciljeve. Cak i ako ne bude postignut, prema zakonu Vlada ce morati platiti naknadu vlasnicima sve dok im domovi budu zauzeti. Važno je to da zakon sadrži takvu obvezu u slucaju da rok za povrat imovine istekne. Postoje i drugi oblici imovine gdje nismo vidjeli neke pomake. Tu se radi o zemljištima i poslovnim prostorima, koji su bitni za život ljudi koji se žele vratiti. Ocekujemo nova zakonska rješenja koja ce pokriti ta pitanja. Istaknuo bih još i problem s povratnicima nositeljima stanarskih prava koji nemaju više gdje živjeti u Hrvatskoj. Onima koji se žele vratiti mora se naci odgovarajuci smještaj i za njih treba uspostaviti poseban program. Povratak izbjeglih uvjet je za povratak Hrvatske u Europu.
Zakone o medijima uskladiti s europskima
• Neriješeno je i pitanje pretvaranja HRT-a u javnu televiziju. Kako ocjenjujete stanje medija u Hrvatskoj?
- Ima napretka na tom podrucju, no mislim da smo tek na pola puta. To je pitanje takoder od iznimne važnosti za Hrvatsku, odnosno da se zakonodavstvo o medijima uskladi s europskim. Još valja postaviti zaštitne mjere protiv izravnog utjecaja politike na medije. Ne kažem da se to dogada danas, ali važno je da takav mehanizam postoji.
• Status rješavanja svih tih pitanja istaknuli ste u svom prvom polugodišnjem izvješcu o stanju u Hrvatskoj. O cemu cete Stalno vijece OESS-a u Becu izvijestiti potkraj godine?
- Priznat cu da je Hrvatska napravila napredak što se tice povrata imovine, a bit ce mi iznimno drago budem li mogao i izvijestiti da je ustavni zakon o nacionalnim manjinama usvojen. Naglasit cu da je potrebno uložiti još mnogo napora kako bi se omogucio održiv povratak svih koji se žele vratiti.
• Je li stoga realno ocekivati da ce taj polugodišnji izvještaj biti i posljednji misije OESS-a u Hrvatskoj, što priželjkuje hrvatska vlast?
- Jedan od naših glavnih ciljeva je da pružimo potporu pristupanju Hrvatske euroatlantskim integracijama tako što cemo pomoci da ispuni uvjete potrebne da bi se u njih ukljucila. Tako da vjerujem da postoji nekoliko stvari u kojima bismo mogli pomoci i slijedece godine.
2 • Govori se da bi slucaj Bobetko mogao izazvati nove izbore i destabilizirati zemlju što bi, kako strahuje dio javnosti, neke integracijske procese moglo vratiti na pocetak.
- Vjerujem da cemo izbjeci nazadovanje i siguran da cemo u tome uspjeti. Takoder vjerujem da vecina politickih snaga u Hrvatskoj gleda na euroatlantske integracije kao na strateški cilj.
Suci srpske nacionalnosti teško do posla u mjestima pogodenima ratom
• Mnogi od problema izviru iz nesredenog i zagušenog pravnog sustava koji se smatra glavnom zaprekom hrvatskom približavanju europskim integracijama.
- Potrebna je temeljita reforma pravosuda. Treba se riješiti cijelih kategorija sudskih slucajeva, a takoder se moraju uložiti znatni napori u obuku zaposlenih u pravosudu jer postoji manjak sudaca u ruralnim podrucjima. Istodobno, nastavljamo dobivati izvješca kako neki dobro kvalificirani suci srpske nacionalnosti ne dobivaju radna mjesta u ratom pogodenim podrucjima.
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Vecernji list, 29 September 2002
Ambassador Peter Semneby, Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia
The Bobetko Case Will Not Send Croatia Backwards By Borna Keserovic
We talked with Ambassador Peter Semneby, the Head of the Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the Bobetko case and Croatia’s co- operation with The Hague, as well as about other international commitments and conditions for Euro-Atlantic integration.
• The co-operation of Croatia with The Hague Tribunal is a part of the mandate of the OSCE Mission which monitors the fulfillment of conditions for the accession to Euro-Atlantic integration. Minister Picula informed you, as well, about the Croatian standpoint in the Bobetko case. How will the decision on non-extradition of general Bobetko reflect on Croatia’s position on the international scene?
- Croatia, like other countries, has to fully co-operate with The Hague Tribunal. I would particularly like to mention that the attitude of the Croatian Government in the Bobetko case is carefully followed by Croatia’s international partners as well. I cannot speculate what will be happening, but I am convinced that the Government will find a reasonable solution for resolving the current difficult situation.
• The Hague is probably the most painful international commitment of Croatia which, however, has to fulfill a set of other conditions for Euro-Atlantic integration. How much has been achieved in that direction?
- The political conditions are at present the most important ones for Croatia’s membership in the European Union. Until Croatia is not officially invited to negotiations on the membership, the so-called Copenhagen criteria are the priority. That includes the development of the political system, civil society, judiciary, and what is especially important for Croatia, is the return of refugees and the creation of a legal framework for the protection of national minorities in compliance with European standards. I hope that national consensus will be reached with regard to these issues.
Satisfied with the Draft Law on National Minorities
• The Constitutional Law on Minorities is still in the parliamentary procedure, and the High Commissioner of the OSCE, Rolf Ekeus, was informed about it these days in Zagreb. How satisfied are you with the content of the Law and how much with the promptness with which it is being passed?
- The current Draft Law is rather good. There are certain aspects which could be improved, such as the working conditions for the national minority self–governments. 1 Naturally, individual details are not the most significant here, but to what degree this Law mirrors the consensus and whether the Law is generally acceptable to the minorities. It is my belief that this act will be adopted soon and that it will be a good law. I am of the opinion that this will be a big step forward for Croatia and that Croatia will gain positive ratings with it.
At the same time, we are extremely concerned with the failure to hold by-elections at the local and regional levels, which were supposed to be held 90 days after the announcement of the census results. There are currently 74 local councils and 9 regional councils in which the national minorities are underrepresented. The deadline for holding by-election expired two weeks ago. The under-representation of national minorities cannot be allowed as something permanent.
• The Law on Minorities is one of the preconditions for the return of refugees, which is the main concern of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, and property repossession is emphasized as the key thing for that. Are you satisfied with what has been done so far?
- Apart from the Law on Minorities and the repossession of property, there are some other important conditions for the return of refugees, such as security measures and economic environment. There are also problems with bureaucracy that returnees are faced with. The key issues for return are still housing care and property repossession. There are positive developments with regard to that and we welcome the Government’s subsequent adding of final deadlines for the return of temporarily occupied property. At the beginning of August there were approximately eight thousand homes which were still occupied.
• The set deadline for the repossession of property is the end of this year, but that process could last longer.
- That is an ambitious goal and we are glad that the Government sets such goals before itself. Even if it is not reached, pursuant to the law, the Government will have to pay compensation to the owners for as long as their homes remain occupied. It is important that the law contains such a commitment in the case that the deadline for the repossession of property expires. There are also other forms of property with regard to which we were not able to see some progress. Those are agricultural land and business premises, which are important for the lives of people who wish to return. We expect new legislative solutions which will cover those issues. I would also like to emphasize the problem of returnees who are holders of occupancy/tenancy rights and who do not have anymore a place to live in Croatia. For those who wish to return, a suitable accommodation has to be found and a special programme has to be established for them, regardless of which part of Croatia they come from. The return of refugees is a condition for the return of Croatia to Europe.
Media legislation to be put in conformity with European legislation
• The issue of transformation of the HRT into a public television has also not been resolved yet. How do you assess the media situation in Croatia? 2 - There is progress in that area, but I am of the opinion that we are only half way there. This issue is also very important for Croatia, that is, the media legislation has to be in conformity with the European legislation. It would also be good to set safeguards against a direct political influence on the media. I do not say that this is happening today, but it is important that such a mechanism exists.
• You pointed out the status of resolution of all those issues in your first bi-annual report on the situation in Croatia. What will you report on to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna at the end of this year?
- I will acknowledge that Croatia made progress with regard to repossession of property, and I will be very happy if I can report that the Constitutional Law on National Minorities was adopted. I will emphasize that a lot of efforts still need to be invested in order to enable the sustainable return of all those who wish to return.
• Pursuant to that, is it realistic to expect that this bi-annual report will be the last report of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, which is what the Croatian authorities wish for?
- One of our main goals is to provide support to Croatia in its accession to the Euro- Atlantic integration in a manner to assist it to fulfill the conditions necessary for joining them. Therefore, I believe that there are several issues in which we could assist also in the next year.
• There are rumors that the Bobetko case could bring about new elections and destabilize the country and that this could, as a part of public is afraid of, bring some of the initiated integration processes back to the beginning.
- I believe that we will avoid backsliding and I am convinced that we will succeed in it. I also believe that the majority of political forces in Croatia view the Euro-Atlantic integration as a strategic goal.
Judges of Serb ethnicity have difficulties in getting jobs in the towns affected by the war
• Many of the problems are the result of a messy and overwhelmed legal system which is considered to be the main obstacle for Croatia’s accession to European integration.
- A thorough reform of the judiciary is needed. One should get rid of entire categories of court cases as well as invest significant efforts in the training of employees in the judiciary since there is a lack of judges in the rural areas. At the same time, we continue receiving reports that some well-qualified judges of Serb ethnicity do not get working posts in war-affected areas.
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