Yugoslavia (Hansard, 19 May 1993)

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made by Her Majesty's Government to the Croat Government following the attack by Croat forces on UN-protected Serbian positions in Krajina in January; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing) on 9 February,Official Report, column 545.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the President of Croatia in relation to reports of forcible detention of Muslim civilians by Croat forces near Mostar.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg), on 17 May,Official Report, column 43.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's ambassador to Zagreb has been instructed to draw to the attention of the President of Croatia the establishment of a war crimes tribunal; and if Her Majesty's Government will make similar representations to the leader of the Bosnian Croats, Mr. Mate Boban.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
No such instructions have been given. We welcome the UN Secretary-General's draft for the statute of such an international tribunal.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requirements will be imposed on the(a) Serbian, (b) Montenegrin and (c) Yugoslav Governments as a requirement for the removal of economic sanctions.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
The sanctions imposed under United Nations Security Council resolutions 757, 30 May 1992; 787, 16 November 1992; and 820, 17 April 1993, apply to Serbia and Montenegro which together constitute the so-called "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".
The measures adopted in these resolutions will apply until the UN Security Council decides that the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro have taken effective measures to fulfil the requirements laid down in UNSCR 752, which was adopted on 15 May 1992.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had 163W with the German Foreign Minister, Herr Klaus Kinkel, about Croatian aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
The Croat/Muslim clashes in central Bosnia were discussed at the meeting of EC Foreign Ministers on 10 May. All partners expressed their concern over the renewed fighting between Bosnian Croats and Muslims in Mostar and agreed that the EC presidency should send a firm protest to President Tudjman of Croatia. Mr. Kinkel undertook to reinforce this message when he met President Tudjman on 14 May.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now urge his counterparts at the United Nations to consider a full range of economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Republic of Croatia in the event that Croat aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina continues.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
The EC presidency sent a message to President Tudjman on 12 May making clear that unless Croatia used all its influence to stop the fighting between Croats and Muslims in central Bosnia, stronger measures would be considered.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals for military intervention in the former Yugoslavia have been discussed with the United States State Department since 8 May; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
We are in regular contact with the United States Government on developments within the former Yugoslavia. We are agreed that the first objective must be to induce the parties to accept a lasting ceasefire and a negotiated settlement. We have taken a number of measures in the United Nations to maximise pressure on the parties, without excluding the possibility of stronger measures. No decision has been taken on the steps which might be taken if the Serbs continue to reject the will of the international community.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Croatian Government regarding the disruption of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees effort following Muslim-Croat fighting around the British Army base at Vitez.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham, to the hon. Member for Blackpool, North (Mr. Elletson) on 17 May,Official Report, column 43.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions took place at the last meeting of EC Foreign Ministers of the official visit to the Republic of Croatia on 14 May by the German Foreign Minister, Herr Klaus Kinkel.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
Mr. Kinkel made it clear at the meeting of EC Foreign Ministers on 10 May that he would use his visit to Zagreb to press President Tudjman to use his influence to end the fighting between Croats and Muslims in Mostar and to reinforce the message to be sent by the EC presidency on this.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's164W Government's representative to the United Nations Security Council will propose the establishment of safe havens in areas populated by the indigenous Serb community in the Republic of Croatia, following Croat Army attacks against these areas in January.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
There have been four United Nations protected areas (UNPAs) in Croatia since February 1992. There are no plans to designate safe areas in Croatia like those established in Bosnia by United Nations Security Council resolution 824. The co-chairmen of the international conference on the former Yugoslavia have brokered negotiations to establish a ceasefire following the Croatian army attacks in January, but the Krajina Serbs have so far failed to ratify the resulting agreement.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Croatian President following reports by the EC special envoy Jose Maria Mendiluce on the forecast of future numbers of Muslims who would be forced to move as a result of Croatian aggression; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham, on 17 May,Official Report, column 43. We have made no specific representations on the comments by UNHCR special representative Mr. Mendiluce.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the numbers of regular Croatian troops currently within the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
Although there have been numerous reports of regular Croatian troops in Bosnia, we have no specific information on their numbers.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Croatia to dismantle the self-appointed Croat state of Herceg-Bosnia in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
The London conference made it clear in its statement of principles that we upheld the fundamental obligation to respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region. The Vance-Owen peace plan—which the Croats have accepted—insists that Croat areas in Bosnia should remain part of the sovereign Bosnian state. We reflect this in all our contacts with the Croatian Government.

§ Mr. Faber
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the illegal supply of arms to the Bosnian Croats from the Republic of Croatia; and if he will put forward proposals to seal the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
We are aware of numerous reports of arms supplies to the Bosnian Croats from the Republic of Croatia. We have pressed the Croatian Government to cease military support for the Bosnian Croats and to exert their influence to bring the fighting to an end.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what pressure Her Majesty's 165W Government have put on the Croat Government to withdraw their forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina; what efforts Her Majesty's Government have made to persuade the Croat Government to stop supplying the republic they have declared there; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham, on 17 May,Official Report, column 43.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to recall Her Majesty's ambassador to Zagreb in the light of Croat aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

§ Mr. Garel-Jones
We have no such plans.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list visa requirements for Croat citizens entering the United Kingdom; and what plans he has to review them in the event of changes in United Kingdom-Croat relations.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
I have been asked to reply.
Nationals of Croatia are not subject to a United Kingdom visa requirement, and there are no present plans to impose such a requirement.