Children Together
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Spanish OSCE Chairmanship The Number 130 COURIER Newsletter of the OSCE Mission to Croatia June 2007 Children Together lementary education in Croatia a united and compact society, the This particularly applies to the region can be qualified as excellent. separation of Serb studies runs the of Eastern Slavonia where the OSCE I have visited some schools risk of separating this minority from has implemented a project titled and kindergartens, as well as society. In fact, the Serb children “Children Together” which seeks to Emany facilities - classrooms, dining who attend preschool institutions minimize the levels of separation rooms, dormitories, recreational separated from Croat children, while respecting the right of the parks – and found them to be of continue their schooling in separate Serb minority to a culturally specific a high level. Equally as good is the primary schools, as well as in education. teaching, enabling young people different secondary schools. They to go to university well prepared group themselves separately at “Children Together” has brought for higher education. Croatia has university, they frequent separate together young students from thirty nothing to be envious of in this field bars and establishments, marry inside primary schools in the area of Vukovar compared to more economically their cultural group and establish and Osijek. During a three month developed countries, where schools separate families; that is to say, they period the children of different are frequently not at the level that constitute a parallel social group, a cultures - chiefly Serb and Croat - could be expected judging by the sort of apartheid. studied together, worked together, functioning of other parameters. played together and the result was the production of magnificent drawings, Such quality extends on the education concerts, dances, theatrical plays, of 22 national minorities, each one essays etc. which were presented of them being entitled under the before a large group of ambassadors Constitutional Law on the Righrs of and a Government representative. National Minorities to study in their own language and script and pursuant The project is currently ongoing and to their own curriculum. There will continue in the years to come. are no objection to this right being This summer, children from different exercised, on the contrary, to visit cultures have participated in a camp, schools and preschool institutions of which will be visited by the President Daruvar, Osijek or Vukovar is a true of the Republic who endorsed this pleasure. initiative. It will be necessary to continue with this project so that The variety of languages studied - current and future generations German, Italian, Czech, Slovak etc. become accustomed to the fact will bring nothing but benefits to new that the 22 minorities existing in generations of students, provided Croatia must unite and not separate, that such diversity does not create and so contribute to the collective divisions in society. prosperity of the country and not to its deterioration. The Serb minority constitutes a very particular case. Through their legitimate exercise of constitutional provision it has established, in the same way as other minorities, educational centres starting from preschool institutions to university “...twenty two minorities level. This is perfectly correct, and existing in Croatia must to impede such a practice would unite and not separate negatively discriminate against the and so contribute to the country’s most numerous minority. collective prosperity of What is harmful in this case is that the country...” Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, if the separate programmes of the Head of Mission remaining minorities lead toward o s c e Calendar Activities Closing Split, Part of the Legacy of the Mission’s Field Presence 4 June - Presentation of the Programme for n 30 June the Split Field constantly changed as the situation Refugee Return and Programme for Housing Care in ASSC, Vukovar, host Minister of Foreign Office was officially closed. in Croatia changed with respect to Affairs and European Integration Its closure, marked officially the Mandate, and as the Mission in a ceremony headed by HOM itself evolved to respond to different 6 June - Plenary Meeting in the Ministry OAmbassador Fuentes and the last Head conditions involving the status of of Justice on War Crimes Prosecution, participants EC Delegation, ICTY Liaison Office of Field Office Jeroen Jansen, and return, minority interests, media, civil and OSCE Mission on the side of international attended by leading city, Zupania and societal and legal conditions as well as community and the Ministry of Justice, Chief local officials, was another marker other developments in Croatia. State Prosecutor’s Office and Supreme Court along the road to a completion of the on the Croatian side mandate and closure of the Mission to Today six offices in the field continue 8-10 June - Diplomatic Outing, Brijuni, Croatia. But Split’s closure should not to represent the OSCE in the Field hosted by President Mesić be seen in isolation, and the process in Croatia. Vukovar, once a Regional of mandate completion should not be Office then a Coordinating Center, 11 June - Judges’ Meeting on Inter-State Co- measured only in terms of “closures” then a Field Center covers an area operation in War Crimes Proceedings (B&H, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia), held at but also in the history of “openings” once covered by Field Offices Osijek, Supreme Court and “transfers,” of up-gradings and Vukovar, Vinkovci and Ilok. Sisak, the reducing of the Mission’s Field Presence Regional Center/Coordinating Center 12 June - Presentation of the Programme for over the years since the Mission began with the greatest number of Zupania Refugee Return and Programme for Housing in 1996. For it is in the expansion, in its AoR, stretching from Karlovac Care in ASSC, Sisak, host Minister of Justice redistribution, and closing of our Field (and its predecessors Ogulin and Sunj) 11-12 June - Visit of incoming CiO, presence that the course of Croatia’s in the West to Novski Gradiski to the Ambassador Antti Turunen, Head of Delegation progress toward mandate completion East. Knin, once the hub of all Mission of Finland to the OSCE might well be measured in very tactile activities throughout Dalmatia, 15 June - Presentation of the Programme for and plastic terms. including (did you know it?) a sub- Refugee Return and Programme for Housing office in Dubrovnik, which operated Care in ASSC, Gospić, host Sate Secretary Did you know, that at one point or out of a pair of rented hotel rooms! Antun Palarić, Head of Central State Office another, the Mission had over thirty Today Knin serves as the arm and eyes for Administration (30) different types of centers, and ears of HQ covering an area once 16 June - HOM spoke at the Regional offices, sub-offices and “presences” covered by at least five Field Offices Conference: Countries in Transition: “Between in the Field? Some, like Vukovar, and several sub offices. remembrance of social state and growing Sisak and Knin, have “always” been social exclusion”, organised by the Civic there (although their status has In assessing these changes, it is Committee for Human Rights changed over the years). Others like important to realize that this reflects 19 June - Plenary meeting at the Ministry a number of one or two person police the positive changes the eleven years of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. advisory posts in the Danube region, of the Mission have brought. In 1999 Working lunch with Minister of Foreign Affairs when the Mission took over the Police we needed nearly 30 field locations and European Integration, Kolinda Grabar Monitoring function from UNTAES in densely spread throughout the Areas Kitarović the late 90’s, appeared for only a of Special State Concern to perform 20 June - Closing ceremony of FO Split brief period, located in trailers next our mandate related work. Today the to police stations or in the police progress which Croatia has made has 21 June - Presentation of the Programme for stations themselves, served their resulted in a new role for the Mission, Refugee Return and Programme for Housing Care in ASSC, Knin, host Sate Secretary Antun purpose, and closed. Then there was as partner and guide to Croatia’s Palarić, Head of Central State Office for Daruvar, which evolved downward institutions, providing a light touch, Administration from Regional Center to Field Office accompanying the process into its and then moved to Pakrac, where it, final phases, focusing on specific 26 June - Hidajet Biščević, State Secretary together with former Field Office issues, rather than the broad pallet for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, guest at the Novi Gradiska, were merged to change of problems the Mission faced in 1996 Morning Briefing Sub-office Pakrac into a full fledged when it opened. A mission remains, Field Office, which in turn became a but as Croatia takes on more of that 29-30 June - Regional Conference “The satellite office under Sisak. mission, what remains for us grows media and election coverage”, organized by Radio 101 and ICEJ, Opatija ever smaller. In short, Field Offices have not always been “just so.” Their shape, size, Todd Becker, Deputy Head of Mission areas and levels of responsibility, have Farewell to our dear colleagues Mario Pavlović, UNHCR Asociated Protection Officer, Leos Javurek, Head of the OSCE R&I, HoM, Christian Loda, former Head of OSCE R&I Unit, Stanko Janić and Milivoj Mikulić, Deputy Ministers of Development, Marina Rožić, Head of OSCE Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anna - Maria Radić from the Ministry of Develepoment, Mrs Fuentes, Mira Loda, Massimiliano Iacchini from the Italian Embassy and Alphons Peeters from the EC Delegation at Christian Loda’s farewell lunch. 2 o s c e Mission’s unit in focus Information, Communication and Technology Unit he OSCE Mission to Croatia The System lines and apparatuses.