Dangerous City

Mostar, the city intended to become the focal point of the Croat-Muslim federation, saw more than its fair share of excitement over the past month. So much so that the city on Neretva river drew major attention.

The alarm was sounded by the EU administrator of the city, Hans Koschnik who warned that things could spin out of control and undermine the entire federalization and Europianization process and bring it to a dead end.

Relations between Croats and Muslims in the dangerous city have been balancing between war and peace for a long time.

The gravity of the situation was confirmed by the sudden visit by a Croatian government delegation which hurried to Mostar after a tiring Asian tour for talks with Koschnik and local Croat authorities on implementing the Washington agreement. The delegation refused to sign an agreement on common policies already meditated by the EU in the European Parliament.

The Croatian company that was repairing electric facilities left without waiting for mines to be removed from around water supply facilities. Koschnik got nothing but words instead of the help he asked for.

Federation president (Croat) Kresimir Zubak and vice-president (Moslem) Ejup Ganic agreed a complete exchange of prisoners and on a meeting of local authorities to solve electricity supplies in (Moslem) eastern Mostar. After six months of EU administration, the city is much the same as it was a year ago. Trade is booming in western (Croat) Mostar, people are strolling, sitting in cafes. The eastern part is still demolished without water or electricity and food is distributed from trucks. On the Croat side, the terror hasn't let up. Since the Washington agreement was signed, there have been 17 mysterious killings in Mostar and Moslem families are still being evicted from their homes. All that after Koschnik's edict banning expulsions.

Koschnik's team has achieved little success: lengthy negotiations resulted in the construction of a bridge which will link the Croat and Moslem sides of town and the construction of another bridge to link two Croat parts of town was easily agreed. Along with small scale communal problems like street cleaning, cooperation in combating rats and mice, those are the rare examples of cooperation. The EU has invested a lot of funds but the eastern part of town is still without power because they have been waiting for mines to be cleared from around one power relay.

 

Croatia: Tudjman Vs. Tudjman

Croatian president Franjo Tudjman seems to have had his hands full trying to calm dissatisfaction in his ruling HDZ party. A statement was issued from a party presidency meeting. One sentence stands out: we care about "every HDZ member but if someone does not adhere to the basic elements of HDZ program policy and statute, the presidency feels they have to leave the party".

Tudjman's domination of the party leadership has never been shaken even by radical right wing attacks.

The rumor among journalists later was that one of those attacks came at last week's session when several party presidency members demanded that Croatia reject the Z-4 plan and step up preparations for war. Tudjman raised his voice to reject that option and ruled that the Z-4 plan will be taken as it always has been, a basis for further negotiations but with rejection of anything that leads to the federalization or confederalization of Croatia.

The acceptance of the Z-4 plan, even conditionally, means UNPROFOR will stay because it is the main implementor of the plan and we know Tudjman decided the peacekeepers have to go. His decision ends their mandate on March 31. In the little time remaining, Tudjman has to fall in step with Tudjman and the prevailing mood among the public and opposition who lent wholehearted support to his decision. Even the fiercest foreign critics of Tudjman's decision, German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel for example, admit he can't withdraw the decision. That was confirmed in the president's latest speeches after the party leadership meeting. Not long after that meeting he told a press conference that he would not renege on his decision even if Croatia gets guarantees that the FRY will recognize it in return, something Croatia has been insisting on for months.

This is the first time that there has been mention of ongoing efforts to buy a concession for Croatia with the cancellation of the UNPROFOR mandate which would get it to change its mind. It still isn't clear what that concession would be but the efforts the Z-4 ambassadors are investing to make bargaining as painless as possible are evident.

A sudden change of mind about the blue berets could create feelings of frustration in the Croatian public that the state leadership has capitulated.

That seems to be the explanation behind the unusually numerous interviews given to Croatian state media by the three most active Z-4 ambassadors: Galbraithe (US), Kerestedzhianc (Russia) and Gaillarde (France). All three voiced grave concern over Tudjman's decision and underscored the risks of the withdrawal of the peacekeepers for both sides, Croatia more than others. Since that number of interviews to state controlled media is unimaginable without approval from the authorities, we can conclude that Tudjman wants to create the impression that the pressure on him isn't letting up but increasing. That would make his possible decision to renew or revise the UNPROFOR mandate easier.

All this has raised suspicions among the opposition most of which supported the decision to kick UNPROFOR out. Only a part of the opposition lent its support to the Z-4 plan. Opposition leaders, who were once very friendly with the diplomatic corps are now seeing doors closed in their faces while Tudjman's position is growing increasingly stronger as the man who the outside world sees as the only reliable partner to talk to.

 

Slovenia: SS on the Streets

Anxiety has been rising in Slovenia over the past few weeks, ever since two extreme right parties said they had put three-man patrols on the streets in some parts of the republic to protect Slovenians from everything included in the derogatory name "southern".

M. Gerlanc's National Socialist alliance and S. Lap's Slovenian National Right said they were forming special units to "take care of law and order" on the streets of Slovenian towns.

The National Socialists put its patrols on the streets recently. They cruise around Maribor every night from 10 to six in the morning. Although those boys walked around looking for trouble and impure blood, there wasn't a single incident in the first few days which didn't prevent some party leaders and police officials from making hurried statements. Mainly negative.

Gerlanc and Lap said they were forming the troikas because the police was doing an unsatisfactory job and crime rates were rising across Slovenia. Lap's party formed the Slovenian Hawks in Trzic, Kopar, Maribor and other towns. They are informally called SS.

The party has already bought some 30 uniforms for the members of the SS.

The Slovenian public's reactions were mild. Slovenia's police issued a statement reminding the population that they have the right and duty under the law to assist the police and inform it of any suspicious events or crimes. The police, headed by Christian Democrat A. Ster, decided not to prevent the parties from forming the units but warned that the troikas can only do what any other citizen is allowed to do: inform the police and not take the law into their own hands.

The public reacted with confusion. Most comments tried to marginalize them by saying this was a trick by right wing parties which lost at the last elections, probably meaning the SS and troikas pose no serious threat to law and order.