Neither Quick, Nor Easy

Despite optimistic announcements regarding the contents and scope of the (then forthcoming) talks on the part of the Croatian and Yugoslav ministers of foreign affairs, which the Yugoslav ambassador in Zagreb, Veljko Knezevic, spoke about, things have not moved beyond square one: the problem of Prevlaka still remains, refugees shall not have it any easier, visas shall continue to hinder many of those who wish to cross into “that” part of their former homeland. Normalization of relations between the two countries shall continue to be reserved for state and “tycoon” deals, since a trade agreement between the two countries has been signed, while the agreement on payment operations (which would be far more important for the army of pensioners and other interested parties on both sides), has not. Apart from the trade agreement, the ministers have placed their initials on the agreement on mutual encouragement and protection of investments, even though it is difficult - in this present moment - to perceive what it really is all about, as well as an even more important agreement on the basis of which all POWs from Yugoslav and Croatian prisons are to be released, in keeping with the principle “all for all”.

CONSULAR BUSINESS: The two ministers, along with those mentioned, have also signed an agreement on the opening up of consulates, a Yugoslav one in Vukovar and a Croatian one in Subotica (the one in Kotor awaits future times). The president of the Democratic Union of Croatians in Vojvodina, Bela Tonkovic, immediately warmed considerably at this news, and sees the opening up of the consulate in Subotica as “more proof that things have moved from a restrained phase into a more active phase and from a phase of mistrust into a phase of realistic politics”, even though Croatian politics have not been restrained in that sense for a long time now, and for which proof can be found in an item in the Croatian state budget intended for Tonkovic.

The ministers have bypassed Prevlaka on this occasion: it has been left for expert commissions which shall deal with the problem in a month’s time, and the repeated Yugoslav suggestion for the abolishment of visas has been refused by the Croatian side with the explanation that this is still not possible “due to the process of the refugee’s return”.

ranic didn’t clarify in greater details how the abolishment of visas would reflect on the otherwise sloppy and slow process of the refugee’s return (it is a well known fact that the majority of refugees do not have valid Croatian documents and are therefore forced to wait in lines in front of the Croatian consulate in order to acquire their traveler’s list, with which they will re-enter the country of which the are citizens; therefore, they do not possess any travel documents into which anyone could “place” - be it Croatian or otherwise - any visa. However, the reason for the visa regime which  is still in place is most likely unchanged, i.e. the amount of money which flows into the state treasury of both countries. Naturally, in Croatia “the state as such”  business (read: self-sufficiency and autism) still has an advantage over, for example, a profit from tourism which has suffered a downslide yet again this year, not to mention the fires which have ravaged Dalmatia and it’s islands this summer. However, here’s some consolation: the Croatian coast is far more expensive than, say, the Tunisian coast!

The suggested Yugoslav agreement on dual citizenship did not (once again) meet with Croatian sympathies. Namely, the Croatian law is clear: Croatian citizens are allowed to have dual citizenship (never mind that we have to thank the Croats from Herzegovina perhaps exclusively for that), and it is up to the FR of Yugoslavia to solve that problem in it’s internal legislature.

LEGISLATION AND LITTLE PEOPLE: Both ministers are satisfied with the results of the talks: Jovanovic stated that it stands as further proof of the enforcement of the agreement on normalization; while Granic commended the fact that all issues have been opened up between the two countries, despite the fact that not all can be easily and immediately resolved.

Parallel to these smooth diplomatic announcements, however, something entirely different is happening on the internal Croatian scene: the majority of the opposition has spoken out against the Granic-Jovanovic meeting, while certain members noticed that the Croatian government, by receiving Jovanovic in Zagreb, “clearly demonstrates which side it has taken in the Serbian-Albanian conflict in Kosovo”.

Parallel to that, the newest assessment of the Croatian Ministry of Renewal and Development has appeared on war damages which FR Yugoslavia would have to pay Croatia: nearly 28 billion American dollars for direct damages, while claiming at the same time that the problem lies in the fact that ”Yugoslavia has not budged from the standpoint that as of 1991, civil war broke out, caused by the secession of Croatia, and not an international conflict and aggression, due to which Yugoslavia, as the defeated side, would have to pay war damages”.

Not delving into the fact that Croatia has never declared a state of war which, according to some, would be a precondition for demanding war damages, one ought to remember the fact that “Oluja” (operation Storm), excluding the Serbs from Croatia, “cleaned up” some 20 thousand Serbian houses as well. Those damages shall obviously not be compensated by any “normalization” - namely, little people are not subject to normalization.