Legacy questions about the property of the former Yugoslav People’s Army may remain unresolved after Thursday’s meeting between representatives of the five agreed successor states.
Croatia confirmed to BIRN that it planned to participate in Thursday’s meeting of former Yugoslav states on the legacy of the old Yugoslav People’s Army, the JNA, after media reported that both Croatia and Macedonia would decline to send representatives.
The first meeting of the Joint Committee for the Implementation of Annex A – Contract on Succession in Belgrade requires representatives of all five successor states – Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia – to be present.
“Croatia has confirmed its participation… although the Serbian Foreign Ministry reported that this meeting was postponed,” the Croatian ministry told BIRN.
A succession law on the distribution of Yugoslav properties between the former republics came into force in 2004, but the question of military properties has remained unresolved.
Thursday’s meeting is crucial since the complete data on the old JNA are archived in Belgrade and only when the Serbian authorities display those files will it be clear which country has what properties and their value.
“This meeting was a chance to open up questions when it comes to planes, tanks and other property of that kind, but at the moment no one can say the value of that property,” Bosnia’s Deputy Defence Minister told regional TV N1 on Thursday.
When it comes to the property of the JNA, Serbia is among the countries with the highest expectations.
“The Croats say most of the JNA’s resources have been allocated to Serbia – above all, the Military Technical Center in Zarkovo, the Technical-Testing Center, the Military Medical Academy… so we can expect some type of request or proposal for compensation,” Serbian military expert Aleksandar Radic told Vecernje Novosti on September 2.
Savo Strbac, from the Serbian NGO Veritas, told Vecernje Novosti that in Croatia alone, Serbian civilians, military personnel and police left between 40,000 and 50,000 apartments, much of which belonged to the Yugoslav army.
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