---- - ---------------,--,--,------- GRoATI-A 2-, MAR..-- 15 Av C:r 1qq5 [ / S TR.., l c.., TL~ c_,o ,-J F l O e NT I A L ] Go r-J t= t o 1:::. r--TT I A L. J UN ARCHIVES . PLEASE RETAIN SERIES s-1<3 35 ORIGINAL ORDER BOX '3'2- FILE _ '$_ ACC. z.o ll / 0 l q5 I . INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE .. .. ON THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA .. Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10 Office of the Co-Chairmen CRYPTOFAX TRANSMITTAL IMMEDIATE PAGE 1 OF 2 TO: The Secretary-General COPY: Goulding/Annan/Gharekan, New York Akashi, Zagreb ____ -,,-, ,-------- _,. r l)_r- ,--;-- - FROM: Thorvald Stoltenb~~g/1~:lfA 1d(.c l , DATE: 26 July 1995 / SUBJECT : Meeting with Sarinic 1. I had a meeting this morning with Minister Sarinic, President Tudjman's Chief of Staff, who was passing through Geneva, to discuss the planned talks between the Croatian Government and the Croatian Serbs and to review the current situation generally . Highlights of our meeting follow: 2. Regarding the planned talks between the Croatian Government and the Croatian Serbs, Minister Sarinic said that while they would like to meet as soon as possible because of the deteriorating situation in the area, it was important to get a dialogue with a person representing the Serbs that had influence enough to implement what they might agree upon. President Tudjman felt that the talks should not take place before there was a Government in Knin with whom Zagreb could deal. That did not mean people who agreed with Zagreb, but who could talk to Zagreb and deliver agreement. Neither Martic nor Babic was considered to fall into the latter category. Mikelic had indicated that he would be given a mandate to negotiate with Zagreb but his mandate had so far not materialized. In the circumstances, some more time should elapse before the talks in Geneva . To a question from me, Minister Sarinic said they could meet with the Serbs any time provided it was with the "right" person. 3. On the situation in Bihac, Sarinic was extremely worried. He said that at the moment "contrary to other reports" the Croatian Government did not have forces in the Bihac area, but they did assist the HVO with logistics. However, they had three brigades on standby to send them into Bihac, if need be, to secure the Bihac area. He said that the Croatian Government would under no circumstances accept a Serb-Abdic takeover in Bihac, which would be directly - 2 - detrimental to Croatian security. Sarinic said he was concerned that Milosevic and Belgrade themselves also considered Bihac crucial to Serb security. Hence, Bihac could be the situation that brings Croatia and Serbia into conflict once again. This situation makes the planned Geneva meeting between Zagreb and Knin even more important. 4. Against this background, Sarinic and I agreed that it would be important for me to go and see Milosevic for his evaluation of the situation in Knin, the prospects for a new Government, and his views concerning an appropriate Croatian-Serb interlocutor for the planned talks. 5. During our conversation, the serious situation in Osijek came up. Apparently, three Croatian garbage collectors were arrested by the Croatian Serbs following which the Croatian Zuupan Glavas had ordered that garbage be thrown into the river with serious polluting effects. Sarinic said that he would ask Glavas to stop the pollution if we managed to get the Croatian garbage collectors out of prison. This issue will be raised at a meeting Ambassador Eide will have in Knin on 27 July. 6. I have asked to see Milosevic at his earliest convenience. ++ C'( CY ++ 1995-0 7-26 02: 35 56 0 4 UNITED NATIONS HOS NE W YORK .. _,l t ,_. ,. ·- ., "' 1·· •-~-----:....--~-::..\.,C.',..> f 1~ : CNZ 651 CYZ 677 P2/4 lo)~ JtIUJD .1Jfr ~J . 1dl. 2 l 1995 i.:·. PERMANENT MISSION OF THE FEOERAL·RE?UBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS 8!5'\ FlrTH AVENUE, NEW '!'OAK. N . Y. 10021 TEL (2121 879•870014 FAX (212) 879•8705 ;l>PI< 0 ~o-oOll~ ( -:r~ "'1 r 21 July 1995 Your Excellency, I have the honor to transmit, enclosed herewith, a letter of His Excellency Mr. Vladislav Jovanovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, addressed to you. I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as an official document of Lhe General Assembly under item 114c of the provisioanl agenda and of the Security Council. ~ Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. QPKO-OUS(l INCOMING MAIL Bratislav Djordjevic Minister Plenipotentjary Charge d'affaires a.i. •,.,,,_,..,. ..... to CM,traJ/other: --- His Excellency nr. Boutros Boutros-Gh~l i Secretary-General ot the Uni.ted N~tions N e w Y o r. k - .J +fr CYCY +fr 1 '.395-07-26 0 2: :36 56 0 4 UNITED NATIONS HQ S NE W YORK 651 CYZ 677 F3/4 CNZ r . ·. ! I~ 7°F. -·~-.! JJg. ff __~ -: • t . f . !i ;j . I_. , .. :1_UL ?. I ~Jei FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA ·. .. ......:LlliL~ -.: : -_._. FEDERAL MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAffiS - Belgrade, 20 July 1995 Excellency, _ I am writing to draw your attention to the events in the region of Gorski Kotar, part of the Republic of Croatia with the majority Serbiim population in 8 local communities (175 villages) living outside the United Nations protected areas. Over the past three years, the Serbs in Gorsl<l Kotar have been exposed to the threat of forcible mobilization and are in fact being forcibly mobilized to which the international community continues to turn a blind eye. · These acts of the Croatian authorities constitute a blatant violation of the oral agreement reached between the Serbs and the Croatian authorities in August 1991 on the maintenance of the status quo in the area of Gorski Kotar pending a general political solution. These acts are also contrary to the agreement signed by the representatives of the Serbs and Croatian authorities on 6 July 1992 which, inter alia, envisages that the Croatian authorities will not mobilize the Serbs from this region into the Croatian military. The first threats of the Croatian authorities to mobilize all Serbs aged between 16 and 60, may I recall, date back to January 1992. On his visit to the municipality of Dreznica on 26 May 1992, Croatian Interior Minister Josip Boljkov.ic reguestt!d a lisl uf all St!rbs aged betweer1 16 and 60 eligible for military service. Mobilization of Serb:; was subsequently suspendeu after they complain~d to UNPROFOR ~ The mobilization in the villages of Brestovac and V,tunja of 8 June 1992 and in all other Serbian villages of 20 June l 992 was also suspended after the complaint of Serbs to UNPROFOR and .F.CMM representatives. But already on 29 A~1gu~l 1992, S Serl>s from Dreznica were forcibly mol>ilized . On l November 1992, 20 I 6-year old young men from Jascnak, Srpskc Moravicc, Gomirje and Dreznica wer~ summoned for mi li tary July, while a nurnuer of Serbs were mobilized also on 28 December 1992. H.E. Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali SecretRry-Creneral United Nations New York, N.Y. 10017 . ++ CYCY ++ 1995-0 7-26 02 : :3? 56 0 4 UNITED NATIONS HQS NEW YORK oo- CNZ 651 CYZ 677 P4/4 2 I All Serbs eligible for military service in all 8 Serbian communities refused the summons for military duty they were sent on 9 February and 12 March 1993 and the mobilization was called off after an urgent intercession by Serbs' representatives with UNPROFOR and EC1\1M". However, the Croatian authorities did mobilize forcibly those Serbs who had found shelter in Gorski Kotar as refugees. In 1994, the Croatian authorities continued the forcible mobilization of Serbs by abducting them from their homes and places of work and by checking their identity in streets and on public roads. On 13 August 1994, for instance, all Serbs eligible for military service from Gomirje, Srpske Moravice, Jasenak, Dreznica and PoniJ...-ve were forcibly mobilized and sent to the firing line to fight their fellow Serbs from the Republic of Serbian K.rajina. The mobilization led to a mass exodus and abscondence of Serbs in the woodli and mountains of Gorski Ko tar. Since 6 May 1995, the Serbs from the areas of Srpskc Moravice, Gorrurje, Jasenak, Dreznica, Gomje and Donje Dubrave are being forcibly mobilized all over again. They are being taken to serve in the units of the Croatian Defence Council in Bosnia-Herzegov.ina or the units of the Croatian regular forces in the territory of former Bosrua-Herzegovina So far, all Serbs eligible for military service from Brestovac and Vitunja have been mobilized; l O Serbs from Musulinski Potok; 15 Serbs from Gomirje and Srpskc Moravice and 5 Serbs from Dreznica, Jasenak and Gornje and Donjc Dubrave. The mobilization is carried out by night by brealcing into people's homes and with brutal use of force. These instances provide abundant evidence that the Croatian authorities carry out a continued and forcible mobilizat1on of Serbs in this region, as well as that they have stepped up these actions recently despite the existing agreements. I wish to recall, Excellency, that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. informed the United Nations of these problems on two occasions, as well as of the, generally, very difficult situation of 6 000 Serbs living in Gorski Kotar in the immediate vicinity of the war zone. They are exposed to enormous pressure and the Croatian authorities continue to violate their basic human and national righb Therefore, the Yugoslav Government views the acts of forcible mobilization in the context of the continueu efforts of the Cmat1an authorities to compel the Serbian population to leave their ancestral homes and to ethnically clean.c;e this region, as was the case with Western Slavonia (UNPJ\ Sector West).