IV        Implementation of the articles of the Convention

IV.XIV

Article 16

The Parties shall refrain from measures which alter the proportions of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities and are aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention.

National legislation (pursuant to the Article 16 of the FCNM):

Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities:

Article 4 paragraph 5

The undertaking of measures which change the proportion among the population in the areas inhabited by persons who belong to national minorities and which are directed at hindering the exercise or restricting the rights and freedoms stipulated by this Constitutional Law and special laws, shall be forbidden.

Comments on the implementation of the Article 16 of the FCNM:

-          The 2001 census showed significant changes in the ethnic structure of the population in the area traditionally inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, especially by Serbs living in former Republic of Serb Krajina (areas of special state concern. Compared to the former period, the situation has changed up to certain level concerning increase in minority returns (see under Item III.a. paragraph 7). However, many refugees and displaced persons continue to face different problems and obstructions related to possible return to pre-war places of residence (see under Item III.d) which directly affects the proportion of minority population in certain areas. Planned settling but also housing of ethnic Croats exiled from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro (Vojvodina and Kosovo) in areas formerly inhabited by expelled or exiled ethnic Serbs caused permanent changes in the ethnic structure in particular areas of the Republic of Croatia.[1] The Book of Rules on Priorities in Housing in the Areas of Special State Concern places to the first place persons accommodated in expellee and other means of organised housing (mostly ethnic Croats exiled from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro). On second place are the persons that are returning to their earlier places of residence or are settling in the areas of special state concern. This Law gives priority to former tenancy rights holders, apartment users whose tenancy rights were terminated and are using the apartments in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Lease of the Apartments in Liberated Areas (Mostly ethnic Serbs).[2] Such priority order could, additionally, firm or change the ethnic structure of the population in the areas of special state concern at the expense of minority communities related to the exercise of the rights specified by the Constitutional Law since the scope of certain rights guaranteed by this law depends on the number and proportional representation of persons belonging to national minorities in the population of particular areas. Since the problem of the change in proportion in the ethnic structure of the population spreads beyond the areas of special state concern, same problems are referred to those areas. Constitutional Law gives the possibility to regulate certain rights by international agreements or through the statues of local and regional self-governments regardless of proportional representation of the persons belonging to minorities within the population in total in particular area. However, possible regulation of the rights by the statute of local and regional self-government depends on political will of local authorities (for example, the right to equal official use of minority language and script of persons belonging to minorities – Articles 12 and 13 of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities).  

-          The statement by Mr. D. V. from Knin signed on July 7, 2004 in premises of the association “Hocu Kuci (I want to go home)” shows what kind of pressures are facing persons belonging to Serb ethnicity in order to make them sell their properties and leave the areas in the Republic of Croatia of their permanent residence.– ''”Statement… by which I claim that I was forced in the below described ways to sell my private house that I could not repossess until I returned to the Republic of Croatia in 1997. One year after I submitted a request to return, I was convinced that the RoC was not willing to let me repossess my property. Therefore, I offered my house to the APN – State Real Estate Agency. The price I was offered was (25.000 DM) for the  260m2 house. I gave up on selling my house and continued to fight for its restitution. After the HDZ came in power on January 01, 2004, and new Government of the RoC promised to give back all illegally possessed properties by June 30, 2004 and all other properties by December 30, 2004, the situation related to buying of private properties started to change.  Since I have been waiting for my properties for 7 years, I was ready to sell it as I realised that the Government had o intention whatsoever to let me repossess my properties. They only raised prices in order to pay me off and make me leave the country in that way. The only reason for this is my ethnic background as I am an ethnic Serb. This feeling of mine was confirmed by the information I got in State Real Estate Agency. I was told: “ Mister, you can get 65,000 Euro and be paid right away in Samobor. There is an organised transport to Samobor and further, to Serbia and Montenegro. This is the highest price you will ever be offered and you will be unable to sell your house ever again unless you accept this price right now. The city of Knin will be dead for the next 10 years and your son will never come back to live here. “ The APN agent Ljilja told me all this and I only answered that I was not satisfied with the price. She called me 5 times and repeated all this to me the very next day. Her last call on that day ended with: “What? You still did not go to collect the money?” I asked her how many houses they sold in the last month and she said “a lot…”.