Croatia: Information on who controls the town of Ogulin and whether there is or has been fighting there; on the situation for Serbs in Croatia; and on whether the Serbs control territory in Croatia

According to the Agence France Presse (AFP) attachment of 13 November 1995, Serbs in Croatia took control of western Slavonia, eastern Slavonia and Krajina during the fighting in 1991; only eastern Slavonia remains under Serb control. According to the Reuters attachment of 9 September 1993, Ogulin is a town 50 kilometres south of Karlovac. For a map showing the location of Karlovac, which is south of Zagreb, please consult page 30 of the 23 June 1995 attachment from Transition.

For information on fighting in Ogulin, please consult the following attachments: AFX News of 4 August 1995, the fourth paragraph of the second page of Reuters of 9 September 1993, The Times of 24 August 1993, The Gazette of 30 December 1991, BBC Summary of 19 October 1991, AFP of 4 August 1995 and 15 July 1993, and the second to last paragraph of the second page of AFP of 6 August 1995.

For information on an accord regulating the status of eastern Slavonia, please consult the following attachments: Radio Croatia Network of 12 November 1995, Radio Beograd Network of 12 November 1995, and the Tanjug attachments of 12 November 1995.

For information on the situation of Serbs who remained in Krajina after the Croats took control of the region following their offensive in August 1995, please consult the following attachments: Reuters of 23 December 1995 and 10 October 1995, The Times of 9 September 1995, Amnesty International of 29 September and 5 October 1995, Tanjug of 7 November 1995, Radio Beograd Network of 5 December 1995, the United Press International (UPI) of 27 December 1994, and AFP of 21 August 1995, 3 October 1995 and 8 January 1996.

For information on the rights of Serbs elsewhere in Croatia and on elections in October 1995, please consult the following attachments: The Nation of 9 January 1995, AFP of 23 and 31 October 1995, and Tanjug of 27 October 1995.

For information on the situation of ethnic Serbs after the Croats took control of western Slavonia in May 1995, please consult the third paragraph of page 9 and the last two paragraphs of page 11 of the Human Rights Watch/Helsinki attachment of July 1995.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Attachments

        AFX News. 4 August 1995. "Croatia's Tudjman Calls on Separatist Serbs to Lay Down Arms." (NEXIS)

Agence France Presse (AFP). 8 January 1996. "UN Security Council Condemns Zagreb for Human Rights Abuses." (NEXIS)

_____. 13 November 1995. "465,000 Serbs Fled Croatia and Western Bosnia: Serbs." (NEXIS)

_____. 31 October 1995. "SNS: Serb Voters 'Discriminated Against'." (FBIS-EEU-95-211 1 Nov. 1995, p. 38)

_____. 23 October 1995. Peter Cunliffe-Jones. "Serbs Marginalised in Croatian Elections." (NEXIS)

_____. 3 October 1995. "UN Security Council Concerned over Refugee Situation in Croatia." (NEXIS)

_____. 21 August 1995. "Croatian Army Razed Villages: Helsinki Rights Organisation." (NEXIS)

_____. 6 August 1995. Peter Cunliffe-Jones. "Croatia Sweeps On, As Refugees Take to the Roads." (NEXIS)

_____. 4 August 1995. "Urgent." (NEXIS)

_____. 15 July 1993. "Serb Separatists Shell Towns in Krajina." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International. 5 October 1995. Urgent Action: Croatia: Serbs in Areas Retaken by Croatian Forces. (AI Index: EUR 64/09/95). London: Amnesty International.

_____. 29 September 1995. Croatia: Human Rights Violations in the Krajina. (AI Index: EUR 64/08/95). London: Amnesty International.

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 19 October 1991. "Fighting Goes On Around Croatia." (NEXIS)

The Gazette [Montreal]. 30 December 1991. Final Edition. "Yugoslav Air Force Mounts Fierce Raids on Karlovac." (NEXIS)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)/Helsinki. July 1995. Croatia: The Croatian Army Offensive in Western Slavonia and Its Aftermath. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 6-11.

The Nation [New York]. 9 January 1995. Aryeh Neier. "Watching Rights; Evictions of Serbs in Croatia." (NEXIS)

Radio Beograd Network [Belgrade, in Serbo-Croatian]. 5 December 1995. "Serb Leader: Zagreb Violating Human Rights." (FBIS-EEU-95-234 6 Dec. 1995, p. 35)

_____. 12 November 1995. "Serb Representative on Agreement." (FBIS-EEU-95-218 13 Nov. 1995, p. 39)

Radio Croatia Network [Zagreb, in Serbo-Croatian]. 12 November 1995. "Main Zagreb Negotiator Comments." (FBIS-EEU-95-218 13 Nov. 1995, pp. 38-39)

Reuters. 23 December 1995. BC Cycle. Evelyn Leopold. "UN Targets Croatia's Abuse of Serb Residents." (NEXIS)

_____. 10 October 1995. BC Cycle. Philippe Naughton. "UN Accuses Croats of Killing Elderly Serbs in Krajina." (NEXIS)

_____. 9 September 1993. BC Cycle. "Fighting Reported in Croatia Between Croats and Rebel Serbs." (NEXIS)

Tanjug [Belgrade, in English]. 12 November 1995. "International Law Experts Comment." (FBIS-EEU-95-218 13 Nov. 1995, pp. 39-40)

_____. 7 November 1995. "UN Official on Croatian Abuses Against Serbs." (FBIS-EEU-95-215 7 Nov. 1995, p. 24)

_____. 27 October 1995. "Croatian Serbs Vote on 'Separate Ballot Paper'." (FBIS-EEU-95-209 30 Oct. 1995, pp. 38-39)

Tanjug Domestic Service [Belgrade, in Serbo-Croatian]. 12 November 1995. "'Text' of Agreement." (FBIS-EEU-95-218 13 Nov. 1995, pp. 40-41)

The Times [London]. 9 September 1995. James Bone. "UN Call to End Croat Atrocities." (NEXIS)

_____. 24 August 1993. Adam LeBor. "Tolerance for Serbs Wanes in Croatian Haven of Peace." (NEXIS)

Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe [Prague]. 23 June 1995. Vol. 1, No. 10. Patrick Moore. "Waiting and Watching in the Wake of Western Slavonia," pp. 28-32.

The United Press International (UPI). 27 December 1995. BC Cycle. Laura Lui. "Croatia to Amend Property Law for Refugees." (NEXIS)