B4-1038, 1057, 1064, 1074 and 1089/97

Resolution on Croatia

The European Parliament

- having regard to its previous resolutions, reports, and recommendations on the situation in Croatia and the former Yugoslavia,

A. whereas Croatia is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

B. whereas these international agreements oblige the government of Croatia to protect the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,

C. whereas the freedom to form, operate and participate in independent non- governmental organizations and independent media free of unreasonable government interference is an integral part of the rights protected by these international agreements,

D. whereas Croatia is a member state of the OSCE, whose instruments contain similar provisions protecting the fundamental freedoms as those referred to above,

E. whereas the Government of Croatia has enacted a new law on associations this year which authorises broad interference by the government in the activities of non-governmental organizations,

F. whereas the Government of Croatia has submitted to the parliament a draft law on humanitarian organizations and humanitarian assistance which might increase governmental control over the activities of many humanitarian, refugee and human rights groups,

G. noting with concern that the Government of Croatia has continued financial investigations into a number of independent non-governmental organizations and media outlets in Croatia, as well as criminal investigations and prosecutions into their personnel, in particular the Croatian Helsinki Committee, the largest human rights group in Croatia, Feral Tribune, a political weekly newspaper; and the Open Society Institute of Croatia, the largest foundation operating in Croatia,

H. whereas on 21 November 1997 two officers of the Open Society Institute of Croatia were given one year suspended sentences and three years' probation in a criminal trial, and that on 4 December 1997 hearings in a case against staff members and various beneficiaries of the Open Society Institute of Croatia continued,

I. whereas on 4 December 1997 the Croatian government brought a libel suit against the weekly magazine Globus; whereas the trial against the Feral Tribune is scheduled to resume in December 1997,

J. whereas in October 1997 the Council of Europe expressed renewed concerns about Croatia's continued state control of the media and harassment of independent media,

1. Condems the attacks through legal and other means against independent non- governmental organizations and media and their staff in Croatia by the Croatian authorities;

2. Urges the Government and Parliament of Croatia to stop restricting the freedom of association and to review the law on associations, as well as the other laws imposing unwarranted restrictions on civil society, with a view to amending them so that they comply with international human rights standards and practice;

3. Urges the Croatian authorities to guarantee the existence of free and independent media and repeats its call on the Croatian Government to repeal its amendments to the penal code, passed in 1996;

4. Urges the Council and the Commission to help strengthen the independent media and the non-governmental sector in Croatia and to contribute to a fully democratic system in the country by means of programmes based on the Phare programe for democracy;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the Government and Parliament of Croatia.