1993-94 CSCE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 001327 SIPDIS VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL CSCE DEPT FOR EUR/RPM/PMC E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON HR SUBJECT: 1993-94 CSCE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT: UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01327 01 OF 03 011807Z CROATIA REF: STATE 50644 ¶1. FOLLOWING IS OUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE ANNUAL CSCE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT (REFTEL). -------------- GENERAL ASSESSMENT -------------- ¶2. CROATIA CONTINUES BY AND LARGE TO IMPLEMENT ITS CSCE OBLIGATIONS, THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN SOME INCIDENTS IN VIOLATION OF CSCE NORMS. THE CONTINUED PREVALENCE OF UNSETTLED CONDITIONS -- WAR, A HOSTILE OCCUPATION AND EFFECTIVE CIVIL WAR, AND MAJOR REFUGEE FLOWS -- COMPLICATES THE GOVERNMENT'S TASK AND MAKES THE SECURITY BASKET ONCE AGAIN THE MAIN FOCUS OF DEVELOPMENTS THIS YEAR. ¶3. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SECURITY AREA, INCLUDING ESPECIALLY THE SIGNING OF A PEACE AGREEMENT WITH NEIGHBORING BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994, REFLECTED THE PURSUIT OF RESPONSIBLE SECURITY POLICIES. BEFORE THAT THERE WERE, HOWEVER, SOME CASES OF CROATIAN MILITARY OPERATIONS THAT VIOLATED CSCE NORMS. ¶4. ROUGHLY A QUARTER OF CROATIA'S TERRITORY IS STILL MILITARILY OCCUPIED BY REBEL ETHNIC SERB UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01327 01 OF 03 011807Z FORCES THAT HAVE STRONG LINKS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE "FRY." THE POLICING OF THE OCCUPIED AREAS BY THE UN PROTECTION FORCE (UNPROFOR) HAS NOT SUCCEEDED COMPLETELY IN PREVENTING MILITARY ATTACKS ON CROATIA FROM WITHIN THOSE AREAS, NOR THE ABUSE AND HARASSMENT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES. THE NUMBER OF NEW REFUGEES FLOWING INTO CROATIA DIMINISHED SOMEWHAT DURING THE YEAR, BUT THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE CHANGE IN THE OVERALL NUMBERS OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS IN THE COUNTRY WHO MUST BE CARED FOR. ¶5. IN OTHER CSCE AREAS, THERE WERE NO MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS THIS YEAR. KEY FEATURES OF THE LANDSCAPE ARE CONTINUED BUT SLOW PROGRESS TOWARD ECONOMIC PRIVATIZATION, MUCH SLOWED BY THE UNCERTAIN INVESTMENT CONDITIONS; AND A GENERAL RESPECT FOR THE PRINCIPLES EMBODIED IN THE HUMAN DIMENSION, MARRED BY CONTINUING PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE RIGHTS OF MINORITIES AND PRESS FREEDOMS, IN PARTICULAR. -------------- SECURITY -------------- ¶6. SECURITY ISSUES DOMINATE ALL OTHER MATTERS IN CROATIA, DUE TO THE CONTINUING MILITARY OCCUPATION OF LARGE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY BY BREAKAWAY ETHNIC SERBS. IN 1993, THE UNSC RECOGNIZED THESE "UN-PROTECTED AREAS" (UNPAS) AS UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01327 01 OF 03 011807Z INTEGRAL PARTS OF CROATIA. CROATIA CONTINUED TO COOPERATE IN INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO NORMALIZE THE UNPAS AND RETURN THEM TO CROATIAN GOVERNMENT CONTROL, BY PEACEFUL MEANS, IN PARTICULAR BY PROLONGING ITS AGREEMENT TO THE PRESENCE OF UN PEACEKEEPING TROOPS AND BY COOPERATING IN OTHER EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A FRAMEWORK FOR A PEACEFUL APPROACH TO THE RETURN OF THE UNPAS (SEE BELOW). THERE WERE ALSO BREACHES, HOWEVER, NOTABLY IN CROATIAN ATTEMPTS IN SEPTEMBER 1993 TO RETAKE BY FORCE CERTAIN SERB-CONTROLLED AREAS AROUND MEDAK. IN ADDITION TO MANY CASUALTIES ON BOTH SIDES, THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF THE TORTURE AND MURDER OF SERB CIVILIANS, THE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATION OF WHICH HAS NOT YET BEEN COMPLETED. CROATIA HAS NOW ENTERED INTO SERIOUS NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH WERE UNDER WAY AS THE REPORTING PERIOD CLOSED, FOR A CEASEFIRE WITH THE SERBS WHO CONTROL MOST OF THE UNPAS. ¶7. INTERNATIONALLY, CROATIA SIGNED AN AGREEMENT IN MARCH 1994 THAT WILL HELP BRING PEACE TO THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA BY ESTABLISHING A CROAT-MUSLIM FEDERATION IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND A CONFEDERATION BETWEEN THE B-H FEDERATION AND CROATIA. CROATIA HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE UNCLASSIFIED NNNN UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 01 ZAGREB 01327 02 OF 03 011808Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 ACDA-17 ACDE-00 AGRE-00 AID-01 BIB-01 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 CFE-00 C-01 OASY-00 DODE-00 ITCE-00 EB-01 EXME-00 E-01 FRB-01 HA-09 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-16 ITC-01 LAB-01 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-02 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 RPCS-01 SCT-03 SNP-00 SP-00 SR-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 RPE-01 PMB-00 /068W -------------- 372981 011809Z /38 R 011758Z APR 94 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1442 INFO AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY VIENNA AMEMBASSY BELGRADE USMISSION USNATO USMISSION USVIENNA UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 03 ZAGREB 001327 SIPDIS VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL CSCE DEPT FOR EUR/RPM/PMC E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON HR SUBJECT: 1993-94 CSCE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT: UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01327 02 OF 03 011808Z CROATIA NATO PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE PROGRAM. ALSO IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994, THE CROATIAN GOVERMENT COOPERATED IN BRINGING ABOUT A CEASEFIRE BETWEEN ETHNIC CROATIAN AND MUSLIM FORCES IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, THUS HELPING TO REDUCE VIOLENCE. A MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE SAME AREA, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN THE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT'S CONTINUED ACCEPTANCE OF A PRACTICE BY WHICH CROATIAN REGULAR TROOPS WERE INVOLVED IN FIGHTING IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. ¶8. CROATIA COOPERATES IN THE UN EFFORT TO ENFORCE A NO-FLY ZONE OVER B-H AND CONSISTENTLY GRANTS OVERFLIGHT CLEARANCE FOR AIRCRAFT INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT. IT HAS, HOWEVER, ITSELF VIOLATED THE NFZ. INFORMATION PROVIDED ON CROATIAN MILITARY FORCES PURSUANT TO VD-92 HAS BEEN INCOMPLETE. -------------- ECONOMIC -------------- ¶9. CROATIA CONTINUES TO MOVE, ALBEIT SLOWLY, AWAY FROM THE SYSTEM OF STATE OWNERSHIP THAT PREVAILED UNTIL 1991 TOWARD A FREE-MARKET SYSTEM. PRIVATIZATION CONTINUES, THOUGH MOST EFFORTS HAVE BEEN ON A SMALL SCALE. PROGRESS HAS BEEN UNEVEN AND SLOW BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01327 02 OF 03 011808Z HAS BEEN PREOCCUPIED WITH THE WAR AND ITS EFFECTS, SO THAT MANY NEW RULES AN LAWS REMAIN TO BE PASSED. FORMER EXPORT MARKETS REMAIN LARGELY CLOSED OFF AND HAVE NOT BEEN REPLACED, AND THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. AS A RESULT, ECONOMIC RECOVERY HAS BEEN BLOCKED AND THE AVERAGE STANDARD OF LIVING REMAINS AT LEAST 50 PERCENT BELOW ITS PRE-1991 LEVEL. FURTHER, THE UNCERTAIN SECURITY SITUATION HAS PROBABLY CAUSED INVESTORS, BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, TO POSTPONE THEIR DECISIONS. ¶10. A NEW ECONOMIC TEAM INSTALLED BY PRESIDENT TUDJMAN INTRODUCED IN OCTOBER 1993 MEASURES THAT LARGELY HALTED THE RAMPANT INFLACTION PREVAILING LAST YEAR, AND THIS HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO STABILIZING THE ECONOMIC SITUATION. CROATIA REMAINS A MEMBER OF THE WORLD BANK, IMF, AND ETRD AND HAS RECEIVED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM THESE INSTITUTIONS TO HELP STRENGTHEN ITS FREE MARKET BASE. THE GOVERNMENT HAS OBTAINED U.S. AND EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORT FOR EVENTUAL CLOSER ASSOCIATION WITH WESTERN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. ¶11. BECAUSE OF UNSETTLED CONDITIONS AND HIGHER PRIORITIES, CROATIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION POLICY REMAINS IN ITS INFANCY BUT FOLLOWS IN PRINCIPLE THE LINES OF WESTERN PRACTICE. CROATIA AND THE U.S. SIGNED AN AGREEMENT ON UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 ZAGREB 01327 02 OF 03 011808Z SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL EXCHANGE IN MARCH . ¶1994. -------------- . HUMAN DIMENSION -------------- ¶12. CROATIA HAS ENACTED MOST OR ALL OF THE LEGAL STRUCTURES OF A PLURALISTIC, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY. HOWEVER, THE GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO HAVE LEFT THIS MACHINERY TO OPERATE ON ITS OWN, AND HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVE IN EXTENDING ITS PRACTICAL AND FAIR APPLICATION, NOR AGGRESSIVE IN ENSURING THAT ABUSES ARE AVOIDED. ¶13. ELECTIONS IN EARLY 1993 WERE GENERALLY CONSIDERED FAIR AND OPEN BY BOTH OUTSIDE AND DOMESTIC OBSERVERS AS WELL AS THE PARTICIPANTS. BUT DEMOCRATIC, PLURALISTIC INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT YET AS ROBUST AS IN OLDER WESTERN SOCIETIES. THE SABOR (PARLIAMENT),FOR EXAMPLE, HAS LITTLE EFFECTIVE POWER TO CHALLENGE THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC. FEW CONCRETE STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ADVANCE THE AGENDA OF GREATER PLURALISM AND OPENNESS. THE GOVERNMENT AGAIN ENGAGED IN SOME ACTS (SUCH AS LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE UNCLASSIFIED NNNN UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 01 ZAGREB 01327 03 OF 03 011808Z ACTION EUR-01 INFO LOG-00 ACDA-17 ACDE-00 AGRE-00 AID-01 BIB-01 CEA-01 CIAE-00 COME-00 CTME-00 CFE-00 C-01 OASY-00 DODE-00 ITCE-00 EB-01 EXME-00 E-01 FRB-01 HA-09 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-16 ITC-01 LAB-01 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-02 PM-00 PRS-01 P-01 RPCS-01 SCT-03 SNP-00 SP-00 SR-00 SS-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 RPE-01 PMB-00 /068W -------------- 372989 011808Z /38 R 011758Z APR 94 FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1443 INFO AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA AMEMBASSY VIENNA AMEMBASSY BELGRADE USMISSION USNATO USMISSION USVIENNA UNCLAS SECTION 03 OF 03 ZAGREB 001327 SIPDIS VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL CSCE DEPT FOR EUR/RPM/PMC E.O. 12356: DECL: N/A TAGS: PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON PHUM MARR ECON HR SUBJECT: 1993-94 CSCE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT: UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ZAGREB 01327 03 OF 03 011808Z CROATIA OFFICIALS OF TWO SMALL OPPOSITION PARTIES) THAT LED TO CHARGES OF STIFLING THE FREE EXPRESSION OF OPPOSITION VIEWS. ¶14. CROATIA SHOWS A STRONG RESPECT, IN LETTER AND IN PRACTICE, FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, AND INCREASING INTERCHANGE WITH WESTERN EUROPEAN SOCIE TIES HAS BROUGHT A GREATER AWARENESS OF GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS IN THIS REGARD. THE GOVERNMENT USUALLY TAKES ACTION TO INVESTIGATE AND/OR PROSECUTE SERIOUS ABUSES, BUT RESPONSE CAN BE SLOW AND INEFFECTIVE. MINORITIES IN CROATIA -- IN PARTICULAR THE ROUGHLY 11 PERCENT . SERB MINORITY -- HAVE BEEN SUBJECT, AGAIN IN 1993, TO CRIMES OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY NATIONALIST EXTREMISTS. SERBIAN REPRESENTATIVES ALSO COMPLAIN THAT THEY SUFFER DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT IN A WIDE VARIETY OF AREAS, FROM ABNORMAL SLOWNESS IN THE ISSUANCE OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS TO DISCRIMINATION IN HIRING AND FIRING. ¶15. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PRESS REMAINS AN ISSUE. THE GOVERNMENT EXERCISES A STRONG INFLUENCE OVER MOST MEDIA, BUT THE PRESS NEVERTHELESS WILL AND DOES PRINT MATERIAL CRITICAL OF THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS LEADERS. CRITICS HAVE POINTED OUT THAT THE PRACTICE OF ALLOWING MEMBERS OF THE SABOR TO REMAIN IN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ZAGREB 01327 03 OF 03 011808Z CHARGE OF KEY PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA IS AN INVITATION TO ABUSE; THE GOVERNMENT HAS DONE NOTHING TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. ¶16. CROATIA HAS AN ORGANIZED AND EFFECTIVE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THAT OPERATES TO AN ADEQUATELY FAIR AND REASONABLE STANDARD, ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT YET FREE OF ETHNIC BIAS OR POLITICAL INFLUENCE. IN MANY AREAS, WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE IN CREATING LAWS AND PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS TO ACCORD WITH MORE GENERAL PRONOUNCEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE CONSTITUTION. WESTERN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES, ARE DEVELOPING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN THE AREA OF JUDICIAL REFORM. GALBRAITH UNCLASSIFIED NNNN