Subject: Report on the Conditions of Serbs in Croatia

Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 13:34:14 EST

From: sladjana dankovic <sladjana@juno.com>

In 1995 hundreds of thousands of Serbs were ethnically-cleansed from [the Krajina section of] Croatia amid widespread burnings, lootings and murders. No action was taken against the Croatian government by the European Union or the United States. I recently visited the Lika area of Krajina in Croatia with a human rights organisation, Homo Pula. I was profoundly shocked at the appalling conditions of the Serbian population, particularly the elderly - and dismayed at the quite blatant discrimination against them by the Croatian authorities.

Many Serbs who have tried to return to their homes are living in garages adjacent to the ruins of their burnt-out houses. These temporary quarters are often unheated and uninsulated. One elderly woman I spoke to had spent two years living in primitive conditions in a hut next to her home. The hut had gaping holes in the planks, which exposed her to freezing winter temperatures. Her house had not been destroyed, but stolen. It is currently occupied by the relatives of a Croatian policeman. This case has been brought to the attention of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and she is now allowed to occupy a small curtained-off corner of the kitchen in her own house - a highly unsatisfactory solution.

Croatian occupied or owned houses benefited from full reconstruction finance, whilst Serbs were left with little or no help. Even an outsider like myself can see there is an official policy of ethnically cleansing the whole area of non-Croats. Serbs may be given papers which allow them to return, but when they do so are discouraged in everyonceivable way from staying.

In Srb, a local town, Serb returnees had been trying for years to get help to repair their homes. These were not destroyed in battle, but by the Croatian army when it ethnically cleansed the Krajina. To date no Serb home has been rebuilt. I understand that the Croatian government is to restore public housing in Srb - to accommodate 280 Croats [refugees] from Kosovo [driven out of Kosovo by the KLA (UCK), commanded by officially still Croat Army General Ceku; in 1995 commander of cleansing of Krajina from Serbs; Ceku, however, never did anything against discrimination of Kosovo Albanians then living in Croatia by Croat nationalists ...]. In contrast to Serbs who are denied employment and income, these Croats are to be provided with employment through government sponsored projects in addition to their resettlement allowance.

Serb returnees are also discriminated against in health care and education. Diabetics and heart patients have no medication except what they can afford to buy and no bags are provided for colostomy patients. There is no secondary schooling for their children. Serbs are also politically discriminated against. The forthcoming Croatian parliamentary elections will take place under a new electoral law which reduced the number of seats for the Serbian minority from three to one. At the same time, Croats living outside Croatia will be allocated parliamentary seats corresponding to the number who vote.

I can only conclude that the Croatian government is aiming for an ethnically pure state. The international community is tolerating these openly racist policies. I intend to raise this at government and international level. I have tabled an Early Day Motion in parliament condemning the blatant discrimination against Serbs and other ethnic minorities.

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