B4-0182, 0188, 0243, 0248, 0252 and 0253/96

Resolution on the situation in the former Yugoslavia

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolution of 18 January 1996 on the implementation of the peace agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 8.)),

A. noting that only a full implementation of the spirit and the letter of the Dayton agreements by all the parties involved in the conflict in Bosnia- Herzegovina will contribute to achieving real progress in the peace process for the region,

B. alarmed by the difficulties encountered in applying the Dayton peace agreement because of the continuing strong influence of Karadzic and Mladic on the civil and military authorities in the Republika Serbska and because of the lack of the promised international police force,

C. emphasizing that the re-establishment of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society in the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina should have absolute priority,

D. emphasizing that the future of Mostar and Sarajevo as united cities is essential for the future of the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina,

E. deeply alarmed by the recent attacks by extremist nationalist Croat groups on the European Union administrator, Hans Koschnick, which gravely endanger the future of Mostar as well as the Croat/Muslim Federation as a whole,

F. gravely concerned by the slow pace of arrests of suspected war criminals,

G. whereas, in order to restore trust between the communities, those guilty of war crimes must be found, judged and sentenced by the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,

H. noting that European governments are at this moment considering concrete programmes for a return of refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina to their homes,

1. Condemns the violent aggression by the Croatian demonstrators that could lead to a new outbreak of the conflict, calls for the implementation of Mr Koschnik's proposal and demands the dismantling of the two separate structures of the city;

2. Calls upon the Council and the Commission to continue their policy for the reunification of Mostar with even more determination;

3. Calls on the Croatian government to operate actively for a peaceful solution of the situation, intervening against Croat extremist groups and favouring those forces concretely striving for peace and reconciliation;

4. Refuses to accept the continuation of the so-called Herceg-Bosna politico- economic and cultural entity in any disguised form;

5. Underlines that the restoration of a just order in Bosnia-Herzegovina pre- supposes that indicted war criminals will be removed forthwith from influential positions and that they will be arrested and brought to court;

6. Demands that the International Tribunal be given proper means to determine the identities of people buried in mass graves, the cause of their death and the identities of those responsible; also asks the IFOR for effective cooperation;

7. Calls on the Serb authorities to cooperate fully in the establishment of full and detailed reports on the mass murders committed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to cooperate fully with the International Tribunal in bringing to justice those guilty of these cruel crimes;

8. Calls upon the IFOR to behave according to the Dayton Agreement and the Geneva Convention which prescribe that its competence to arrest war criminals should not be neglected;

9. Congratulates the tribunal for the speed at which it worked to have extradited to The Hague General Djorde Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic, officers in the Bosnian-Serb forces of General Mladic, who were recently arrested by the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina;

10. Is of the opinion that an excessively rapid, forced return of the refugees might destabilize the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina and therefore calls on the Commission and all European governments to develop a very careful policy of return, directly linked to the progress in the peace process and to the execution of the reconstruction programme;

11. Asks for the principle of burden-sharing to be applied by the Member States of the European Union to the costs of return and resettlement of refugees to end the very unbalanced distribution of financial and material efforts;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the President and the public prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Secretary-General of NATO, the UN High Representative and the European Union's administrator in Mostar.