TROUBLES WITH THE RETURNS OF THE SERBS TO THE REGION OF KARLOVAC

AIM ZAGREB, October 4, 1997

Up till now some three thousand Serbs who had fled after the "Storm" returned to Karlovac and the neighbouring villages. Out of this number only some ten percent have certificates on the plan of return so that the majority of them lives with neighbours, relatives or in rented flats. Those who have come without certificates are actually here illegally. What does that mean? The return plan regulates the so called reciprocity. This is what the Chairman of the Commune of Krnjak, Nikola Bilicic, thinks of this problem: "We want as many Serbs to return to Croatia as Croats return to Podunavlje". Naturally, this is not possible because the Serbs are returning in greater numbers than it was expected, and not only from Slavonia, Baranja and Sirmium, and this, in turn, creates problems. It is therefore planned to give as many houses in which the Serbs have previously lived to the Croatian refugees from Bosnia and not infrequently, from Kosovo. When this does not proceed efficiently enough, then the houses are burned, as recently happened around Petrinja and Karlovac. This is usually the doing of wanton local population, but frequently of soldiers, who do it mostly out of habit.

Following the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia of September 25 on revoking certain provisions of the Law on Provisional Takeover and Management of Specific Property, this will not be so easy any more. According to this decision, the owner is free to dispose of his property any way he wants. He can sell it, he can exchange it, he can stay and live in his house or on his estate or for religious or some other reasons leave it to the church, a kindergarten, childhood friend or out of love give it away to those already living in it. Whatever he decides to do is up to him.

Likewise, as of the date of the decision his house can no longer be given to anyone, if his address is known. If not, the house can be given to someone else for use - but only until the owner appears. And that can happen any time. In this connection, the Law says the following: " (...) when the owner demands the return of his property, irrespective of the time he does that, the decision on allocating his property for someone else's use shall be annulled and shall cease to be valid".

And concludes: " (...) such property may be seized from its provisional owner and user even if he has not been given or allowed to use any other property". What else does this Law bring? In case the person living in a house of a returnee does not want to leave it, then the owner has the right of appeal.

He can also demand refund of the money he has spent on renting a flat, but only as of the day he became the owner, i.e. September 26. From the person who lives in his house he can also demand "(...) payment of a rent, fee or some other compensation for the use of his property (...)". And believe it or not, it concludes with the statement that all those whose houses have not been taken by anyone until September 26, may repossess them just like that, without being obligation to ask for anybody's approval. The credit for all this goes to Ante Klaric, Public Attorney who in January submitted his ideas to the Government and the Parliament.

Naturally, neither the Government nor the Parliament uttered a sound on this so that Klaric addressed the Constitutional Court and got what he got. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, let us say that the decision is a part of the international package of changes which Croatia was ordered to adopt in order to get a loan instead of - sanctions.

    And what is the situation  in the field? Slightly

different. For example, some 400 Serbs have returned to the Commune of Krnjak, mostly without a certificate on the "plan of return". They live in all kinds of places waiting to be able to return to their homes. According to this Law they can, but it takes time. In Croatia this law is a mere window dressing and there will be many more cases of people occupying houses which do not belong to them and their rightful owners living like stray dogs before the authorities decide to implement in practice what they profess in theory. The new law definitely doesn't exist in practice of returnees who have fled after the "Storm". In order to come back and be included in the famous "plan of return", thereby acquiring the right to health and social care, retirement and other forms of insurance, their houses have to be vacated, and that is not so. Once again Chairman Krnjak: "If someone's house is still occupied, he cannot be issued a certificate".

And where is Catch 22? One can get a certificate only when he returns illegally, i.e. without a certificate in order to claim back his property - and obtain a certificate. In this way the Croatian state turns people into criminals as they are forced to come by side-stepping the laws of state - in order to get back what is rightfully theirs. On the other hand, by side-stepping its own laws, the state is turning itself into a para-state. One of the reasons for such a situation is a chronic lack of authority and arbitrary manifestation of emotions. Namely, each local sheriff is allowed, according to his feelings, to do what is in the unwritten national interest - the less Serbs the better - even at the cost of having all the world thinking us to be idiots. In this respect, Mr.Bilicic has his own theory: "We cannot expel all Croats from Banjaluka and at the same time allow all Serbs who shot at us and worked against Croatia, to return".

We also learned from Mr.Bilicic that in the village of Rastovac, in Donji Budacki, there are Croats from Australia, about nine families (out of 12 houses in the village) whose descendants used to live in Vukovar and Ilok and who got the houses on account of that. Several owners have tried to return to their homes, but did not dare get to the door-step. We were told in Rastovac that they liked it there and that many journalists have been to visit them. Apart from the people from Australia, Bosnian Croats also come to Kordun from abroad. Simply, a man lives in Germany and decides to take up residence in Croatia. He cannot go to his own house, in Derventa for example, so that he comes to Croatia and in a matter of days gets a nice house. After that he brings his relatives, friends, a mistress and a village is started. Such examples are most numerous in Tusilovic and around Vojnic. There are people, like in the villages of Tocak and Donji Dol, who were born in Gajnice or Hrvatsko Zagorje, but after the "Storm" have become masters of the village. Openly and publicly, without any qualms.

The situation in Karlovac is slightly better as several hundred of people who have returned have relatives with houses or flats. But they have another problem. It lies in the indifference of the local authorities to help people get back their flats or houses as they do not care whether the law is being implemented or not, nor does the police, while the judiciary is powerless before the local HDZ commissioners. There are several hundred such cases in Karlovac and they are proceeding very slowly. Especially interesting is the example of Danka L. After she had left for Germany in 1992 the Sudicki family of refugees from Slunj invaded her flat. Danka came back, but they slammed the front door of her own flat in her face. Three years ago she instituted legal proceedings before the Communal Court of Karlovac and won the case.

But, that is not the end of story. The decision on eviction exists, but no one can issue an order. Danka wrote to Tudjman, then to the Office for Exiles and Refugees, and after that to the Public Attorney and finally demanded from the Communal Court the implementation of the ruling on the eviction. And nothing came out of all this. In the meantime Danka lives as a subtenant. "We do not know where to put the people who now live in that flat. You have to know that not everyone is good and that the war has corrupted many. There are those who refuse to cooperate and leave the flat. And what can we do then?" - says Mr.Josip Zaborski, President of the Regional Office for Refugees.

Mihail Zaric's flat is occupied by the Mayor of Slunj, Milan Skukan. He was given a one-year lease of the flat until his house in Slunj was finished. The house has been finished and in the meantime the Mayor lives at two addresses. Many authorities have been informed of this, but to no avail. Despite having her own, Dragica Bijelic is also forced to live in a rented flat. Some exiles from Turanj were living in it and when they moved out the state sealed off this private flat and now it doesn't belong to anyone. There are hundreds of similar examples in Karlovac and with the similar ending - flats are rarely given back, mostly never. After they loose their nerves, the owners leave Croatia whereby the objective is achieved.

However, there are those who will never give up their flats, plots or groves. And that is exactly how the "opposite side" feels - those who have fled from Bosnia - who will not surrender other people's houses as they no longer have their own. It is only a question of naming the situation in which as a result of the hypocrisy of the authorities the people from two opposed unfortunate groups will end up killing each other over a piece of land since the state doesn't want to interfere in property relations.

ALEN ANIC