Jutarnji list, 7. lipnja 2001.
RAZGOVOR: Bernard Poncet, voditelj misije OESS-a u RH, uoci predstavljanja dokumenta o Hrvatskoj:
Treba kazniti zataškavanje slucajeva zauzete imovine Razgovarala: Sanja Despot
Mnogi povratnici i dalje imaju problema s povratkom imovine i obnovom kuca, rješavanjem nekadašnjeg stanarskog prava i konvalidacijom dokumenata. Ova se vlada od pocetka deklarirala da podupire bezuvjetan povratak izbjeglica i prognanika, no, nažalost, medunarodne i nevladine organizacije registrirale su brojne slucajeve koji govore da ljudi još imaju mnogo prakticnih problema.
Uoci prošlogodišnje odluke o produljenju mandata OESS-ove misije u Hrvatskoj, hrvatska vlada pokrenula je inicijativu za izradom posebnog izvješca koje bi obuhvatillo razdoblje od pokretanja misije u travnju 1996. godine do danas, a u kojem bi bilo ocijenjeno koliki je napredak postignut, odnosno treba li se i s kolikim snagama zadržati mandat OESS-a u Hrvatskoj. U prosincu je Stalno vijece OESS-a donijelo odluku kojom se od misije u Zagrebu tražilo da do kraja lipnja, dakle na sredini postojeceg mandata, sastavi takvu procjenu. Prema rijecima voditelja misije Bernarda Ponceta, i hrvatska vlada i medunarodna zajednica “podcijenili su teško naslijede koje je novoj vladi ostavila stara vlast”.
Poncet kaže da još puno toga treba napraviti prije nego što se bude moglo konstatirati da Hrvatska ispunjava svoje medunarodne obveze, prije svega na povratku izbjeglica, te se stoga zauzima za daljnju snažnu prisutnost OESS-ovih promatraca na terenu. Osim povratka izbjeglica medu glavnim manjkavostima spominje se i prespora reforma pravosuda te nužnost uskladivanja hrvatskih zakona s medunarodnim standardima.
Poncet ponavlja kako odluku o buducem mandatu ne može donijeti on vec je trebaju zajedno donijeti Vlada RH i Stalno vijece OESS-a, ali naglašava: “Što prije Hrvatska ispuni preostale obveze, prije ce ostvariti svoje aspiracije prema euroatlantskim organizacijama”.
Voditelj misije OESS-a danas ce u Becu predstaviti taj dokument, sastavljen na tridesetak stranica. Uoci puta nije želio prognozirati kakva ce biti reakcija veleposlanika Stalnog vijeca.
• Koja su pitanja tijekom petogodišnjeg razdoblja riješena, a gdje su još uvijek najveci problemi?
- Puno je toga postignuto u pet godina, a posebno za vrijeme ove vlade. Napredak je postignut na cetiri podrucja. Ponajprije, jasno je da je opce ozracje u Hrvatskoj mnogo otvorenije. Vezano uz to, bitno se popravila sloboda medija i izražavanja. Potvrden je napredak i u reformi policije, a u proteklom razdoblju svjedocili smo i mirnoj reintegraciji Podunavlja.
Nedovoljan napredak zabilježen je na podrucju održivog povratka. Od 1995. godine do danas registrirano je oko 80.000 povratnika, od oko 300.00 koliko ih je izbjeglo iz Hrvatske. Jedan neutvrden broj njih je, nakon vrlo kratkog boravka, ponovno napustio Hrvatsku, a mnogi koji su se vratili i dalje imaju problema s povratkom imovine i obnovom kuca, rješavanjem nekadašnjeg stanarskog prava i konvalidacijom dokumenata. Ova se vlada od pocetka deklarirala da podupire bezuvjetan povratak izbjeglica i prognanika, no, nažalost, medunarodne i nevladine organizacije registrirale su brojne slucajeve koji govore da ljudi još imaju puno prakticnih problema. Bez odgovarajuceg administrativnog i zakonskog okvira bit ce nemoguce riješiti taj dugotrajan problem. To nije samo naša primjedba, to je primjedba cijele medunaroidne zajednice. Pozdravili smo tematsku sjednicu Vlade u Kninu, ali to je tek prvi korak koji mora biti nastavljen donošenjem odgovarajuceg zakonskog okvira.
• Nije li bolje rješavanje tog problema pitanje i nedostatka novca, a ne samo nedostatka volje?
- Postoji financijski problem, ali on nije jedini. Recimo, u rješavanju nelegalno okupirane imovine bilo je samo nekoliko pozitivno riješenih slucajeva. Rijec je o smetnjama na lokalnoj razini, ali središnja vlada bi, u slucaju potrebe, trebala primjeniti i disciplinske mjere prema onima koji opstruiraju proces.
• Kako komentirate rezultate upravo provedenih lokalnih izbora?
- Sam izborni proces proveden je bez vecih zamjerki. Ipak, izrazili smo zabrinutost nad cinjenicom da se u birackim popisima jos uvijek traži izjašnjavanje o etnicitetu. Zakon o drzavljanstvu još je nepravedan prema onima koji nisu Hrvati. Bili smo zabrinuti i zbog toga što hrvatski i srpski izbjeglice unutar Hrvatske nisu imali jednako pravo izlaska na izbore. To je problem kakvog smo imali i prije.
Što se politickih ocjena tice, mogu samo konstatirati kako ce ovi izbori, izgleda, rezultirati nekim promjenama na lokalnim razinama, ali tek cemo vidjeti što ce one donijeti. Za nas je manje važno tko ce vladati. Mi nikad nismo shvacali izbore kao cilj sam po sebi. Nama je važno da, tko god bio na vlasti, ozbiljno radi na ispunjavanju medunarodnih obveza koje je Hrvatska preuzela.
• Ocekujete li da ce vas u Becu pitati o stabilnosti hrvatske vlade?
- U svakom slucaju, sastav Vlade i njena stabilnost unutarnja su stvar Hrvatske. Naravno da ako Vlada nije stabilna, to može imati reperkusije na podrucja za koja smo mi zainteresirani.
Ali pojave kakve sada vidimo normalne su u svakoj demokratskoj zemlji i ne moraju voditi u nestabilnost. Loše rješenje za izbor direktora HRT-a
• Koliko ste zadovoljni sadašnjim stanjem medija u Hrvatskoj?
- Globalna slika na medijskoj sceni se popravila, ne postoji više takav pritisak i kršenje prava novinara. Ipak, želim reci kako medijske reforme idu nešto sporije nego što smo predvidali.
• Koliko ste zadovoljni novim zakonom o HRT-u?
- Zadovoljni smo nekim odredbama, poput one o privatizaciji Treceg programa i nepolitickog sastava Vijeca HRT-a. No, mislimo da zakon nije donio pravo rješenje kad je u pitanju izbor direktora. Taj izbor još je dijelom pod utjecajem politike i nije u skladu s našim preporukama.
Jutarnji list, 7 June 2001
INVERVIEW: Bernard Poncet, Head of the OSCE Mission to the Republic of Croatia, on the eve of presenting a document on Croatia:
The Cover Up of Occupied Property Cases Should Be Punished By Sanja Despot
On the eve of last year’s decision on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Mission to the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Government initiated the drafting of a special report which would comprise the period from the beginning of the Mission in April 1996 until today, which would provide an assessment of the achieved progress, i.e. on whether the mandate to the Republic of Croatia should continue and to what extent. In December, the OSCE Permanent Council passed a decision in which it requested from the Mission to Zagreb to prepare such an assessment by the end of June, therefore, in the middle of the current mandate. According to the Head of Mission, both the Croatian Government and the International Community “underestimated the difficult problems that the present Government inherited from the former authorities.”
Poncet said that still a lot needs to be done before one can say that Croatia has fulfilled its international commitments, first of all, regarding the return of refugees, therefore, he continues to advocate the further strong presence of the OSCE monitors in the field. Apart from the return of refugees, the slow reform of the justice system and the necessity of conforming the Croatian laws to the international standards were also mentioned among the main deficiencies.
Poncet repeated that the decision on the future mandate cannot be adopted by him, that it has to be adopted jointly by the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the OSCE Permanent Council, but he emphasised that: “The sooner Croatia fulfils the remaining commitments, the sooner it will realise its aspirations towards the Euro-Atlantic organisations.”
The Head of the OSCE Mission will present that document of about thirty pages today in Vienna. On the eve of the trip, he did not wish to predict the reaction of the ambassadors of the Permanent Council.
• Which issues have been resolved during the 5-year period of the mandate, and which areas still contain the greatest problems?
- A lot has been achieved in five years, and especially during the time of this Government. Progress has been achieved in four areas. Firstly, it is clear that the general atmosphere in Croatia is much more open. Linked to that, the freedom of the media and expression has significantly improved. Progress has also been confirmed in the reform of the police, and in the past period, we have also witnessed the peaceful reintegration of the Danube Region. Insufficient progress was also noted in the area of sustainable return. Since 1995 to date, about 80,000 returnees have been registered, out of about 300,000 of those who fled from Croatia. An undetermined number of them, left Croatia after a very short stay again, and many of those who have returned still have problems with the return of property and the reconstruction of houses, with the resolution of the former occupancy rights and con- validation of documents. Since the beginning, this Government has declared that it supports the unconditional return of refugees and expellees, however, unfortunately, international and non-governmental organisations have registered numerous cases from which it is evident that people still have many practical problems. Without the appropriate administrative and legal framework, it will be impossible to resolve this long- lasting problem. This is not only our remark, this is a remark of the entire international community. We welcomed the thematic session of the Government in Knin, but it is only the first step that must be continued through the adoption of the appropriate legal framework.
• Could it not be that a better solution to this problem also depends on the issue of the lack of money, and not only on the lack of will?
- There is a financial problem, but it is not the only one. For instance, there have been only several positively resolved cases in the process of resolution of illegally occupied property. This is about obstacles on the local level, but the central Government should, in case of need, also apply disciplinary measures against those who are obstructing the process.
• How do you comment on the outcome of the recently conducted local elections?
- The electoral process itself was conducted without significant objections. However, we expressed concern about the fact that the declaration of ethnicity is still requested in the voters’ registers. The Law on Citizenship is still unfair to those who are not Croats. We were also concerned since Croatian and Serb refugees in Croatia did not have the same rights in relation to going to the polls. That was a problem we had earlier as well.
As far as the political assessments are concerned, I can only state that these elections, as it seems, will result in some changes at the local levels, but we still have to see what they will bring. It is less important for us who will rule. We never considered elections as being a goal for itself. It is important for us, that no matter who is in power, that they seriously work on meeting the international commitments which Croatia took over.
• Do you expect that you will be addressed in Vienna with a question on the stability of the Croatian Government?
- In any case, the composition of the Government and its stability are an internal matter of Croatia. Of course that the instability of the Government could cause repercussions on the areas that we are interested in. But the occurrences that we see currently are normal for every democratic country and do not have to lead into instability. Bad Solution for Selection of Director of HRT
How satisfied are you with the current state of the media in Croatia?
The global image of the media scene has improved; the former pressure and violations of rights of journalists do not exist to such an extent. However, I would like to say that the reforms of the media are taking place slightly slower than we expected.
How satisfied are you with the new Law on HRT?
We are satisfied with some provisions, such as the one on privatization of the Third Channel and the non-political composition of the HRT Council. But, we are of the opinion that the Law does not provide a proper solution when it comes to the selection of the director. This selection is still partly influenced by politics and does not correspond to the recommendations we made.