Croat FM: We won’t withdraw lawsuit

Croatia’s FM Vesna Pusic has changed her mind about the genocide lawsuit against Serbia just a few days after she announced that her country would withdraw it. Pusic is against withdrawal of the lawsuit if the missing persons, looted property and war crimes issues are not solved. Croat FM: We won’t withdraw lawsuit She has confirmed that the withdrawal of the lawsuit against Serbia depends on several important conditions and that it will not happen so soon. “There will be plenty of resistance from both sides to solve the issues. Citizens do not benefit from keeping of low-intensity conflicts, but political elections do,” the Croat minister stressed. The Croat Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the lawsuit against Serbia will not be withdrawn for now. “The minister has given a very clear political assessment, which means that there is no way the lawsuit will be withdrawn at the moment,” the ministry pointed out. According to some Serbian military analysts, when it comes to unsolved war crimes Croatia mainly means the cases of Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) General Aleksandar Vasiljevic and former Lieutenant Colonel Miroslav Zivanovic. In the end of 2011 Croatia forwarded an indictment against them to Serbia for war crimes in the Begejci, Stajicevo, Sremska Mitrovica, Nis and Stara Gradiska camps. The analysts point out that a decisive action of top state officials is necessary to solve the disputable issues between the two countries but that both Serbia and Croatia currently have other priorities. Croatian political analyst Zarko Puhovski told daily Press that Croatia believes that the missing persons issue should be solved by opening of secret services’ archives that would show where the people were buries. “Of course, this goes for both sides, but if we talk about Croatia’s issues, those are Serbian archives. I mean, around 1,800 people went missing in Croatia and 1,000 of them in 1991 were Croats, while over 800 people went missing in 1995. Those are mainly Serbs from Croatia who went missing during the Operation Storm. All of them should be found and there are good reasons to doubt that both countries did everything they needed to do in order to solve the issue,” Puhovski was quoted as saying. As far as the property issue is concerned, Croatia points out the fact that a list of destroyed properties that belonged to Croats has not been completed yet, just like properties that Croatia seized from Serbs have not been listed. Puhovski stressed that the Croat FM wants those who had not been held responsible for war crimes to be put to trial. “From Croatia’s point of view, it primarily means responsibility of leading officials, i.e. JNA officers. Serbs have been doing an exemplary job, even better than anyone else in the region. However, nobody with a higher rank than a JNA lieutenant has been touched yet. And it is wrong that people who are convicted of war crimes are treated as heroes and not as criminals in Croatia. Unfortunately, there are many mistakes on both sides,” he explained. Puhovski added that “friendly” relations between Serbia and Croatia had started too soon, “as if many things have been solved already”. Vesna Pusic (Beta) Press

Croat FM: We won’t withdraw lawsuit

She has confirmed that the withdrawal of the lawsuit against Serbia depends on several important conditions and that it will not happen so soon.

“There will be plenty of resistance from both sides to solve the issues. Citizens do not benefit from keeping of low-intensity conflicts, but political elections do,” the Croat minister stressed.

The Croat Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the lawsuit against Serbia will not be withdrawn for now.

“The minister has given a very clear political assessment, which means that there is no way the lawsuit will be withdrawn at the moment,” the ministry pointed out.

According to some Serbian military analysts, when it comes to unsolved war crimes Croatia mainly means the cases of Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) General Aleksandar Vasiljević and former Lieutenant Colonel Miroslav Živanović. In the end of 2011 Croatia forwarded an indictment against them to Serbia for war crimes in the Begejci, Stajićevo, Sremska Mitrovica, Niš and Stara Gradiška camps.

The analysts point out that a decisive action of top state officials is necessary to solve the disputable issues between the two countries but that both Serbia and Croatia currently have other priorities.

Croatian political analyst Žarko Puhovski told daily Press that Croatia believes that the missing persons issue should be solved by opening of secret services’ archives that would show where the people were buries.

“Of course, this goes for both sides, but if we talk about Croatia’s issues, those are Serbian archives. I mean, around 1,800 people went missing in Croatia and 1,000 of them in 1991 were Croats, while over 800 people went missing in 1995. Those are mainly Serbs from Croatia who went missing during the Operation Storm. All of them should be found and there are good reasons to doubt that both countries did everything they needed to do in order to solve the issue,” Puhovski was quoted as saying.

As far as the property issue is concerned, Croatia points out the fact that a list of destroyed properties that belonged to Croats has not been completed yet, just like properties that Croatia seized from Serbs have not been listed.

Puhovski stressed that the Croat FM wants those who had not been held responsible for war crimes to be put to trial.

“From Croatia’s point of view, it primarily means responsibility of leading officials, i.e. JNA officers. Serbs have been doing an exemplary job, even better than anyone else in the region. However, nobody with a higher rank than a JNA lieutenant has been touched yet. And it is wrong that people who are convicted of war crimes are treated as heroes and not as criminals in Croatia. Unfortunately, there are many mistakes on both sides,” he explained.

Puhovski added that “friendly” relations between Serbia and Croatia had started too soon, “as if many things have been solved already”.