http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2002-daily/25-06-2002/world/w4.htm
Jang (Pakistan)
June 25, 2002
Serbs still victims of discrimination
-"Croatian Serbs were chased out of
their jobs,
particularly in the public sector.
They were chased
out of their apartments, particularly
in the big
cities and were stigmatised in a
country of war
criminals."
-[T]here are some 300,000 Serbs living
as refugees in
other countries including 250,000 in Serbia and
Montenegro. "For the most part, the young hide their
identity," he said citing as an example figures from
Split, Croatia's second-largest city, which has more
than 450,000 residents but where only nine people
declared themselves to be Serbian Orthodox.
-According to United Nations figures, only 95,000 out
of 280,000 Serbs who fled during the war have returned
so far.
ZAGREB: Seven years after the end of the
Serbian-Croatian war, and two years on after the death
of nationalist president Franjo Tudjman, Croatian
Serbs say they are still treated as second-class
citizens. "In the course of the last 12 years,
Croatia's policy has been a policy of discrimination,"
said Milorad Pupovac, president of the Serb National
Council which groups Croatia's Serb associations.
"Croatian Serbs were chased out of their jobs,
particularly in the public sector. They were chased
out of their apartments, particularly in the big
cities and were stigmatised in a country of war
criminals," he told AFP. Pupovac and other Croatian
Serb leaders have also demanded a revision of the
Balkan country's first census since independence,
asserting that it seriously exaggerated the post-war
decline in the country's ethnic Serb population.
Pupovac said more Serbs than listed were living in
Croatia, claiming that results had been flawed by
faulty methodology and failure to include returning
refugees. The new census showed that ethnic Serbs --
the country's second largest group -- had dropped to
4.54 percent of the population in 2001, down from
12.16 percent in the last survey in 1991 when Croatia
was still part of the former Yugoslavia.
The census said more than 200,000 Serbs were living in
the country but Pupovac said the actual figure is
somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000, making it
closer to six percent of the population. In addition,
there are some 300,000 Serbs living as refugees in
other countries including 250,000 in Serbia and
Montenegro. "For the most part, the young hide their
identity," he said citing as an example figures from
Split, Croatia's second-largest city, which has more
than 450,000 residents but where only nine people
declared themselves to be Serbian Orthodox.
Pupovac said the biggest problem for Croatia now is
the rehousing of those Serb refugees returning. "We
have tried very hard for the restitution of our
properties since 1997 but with very little success,"
Pupovac said. "The current occupants, who are
Croatians, have more rights than the owners and in
practice, our right of ownership is not recognised."
He said another contentious issue is the rebuilding of
Serb homes destroyed in Croatia by either military or
para-military groups and the battle for compensation
from the Croatian government. In May, the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) urged
Croatia to step up efforts to encourage the return of
ethnic Serb refugees, asking it create a more
favourable climate for their return. According to
United Nations figures, only 95,000 out of 280,000
Serbs who fled during the war have returned so far.
Pupovac said while the current government is not
anti-Serb, it has not done enough to ensure its
Serbian citizens are treated equally or offer them
protection as a minority group.
