Republic of Serbian Krajina Government-in-exile

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The Republic of Serbian Krajina Government-in-exile ("RSK") is a self proclaimed government in exile for the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

1 Overview
2 Criticism
3 EU Condemnation
4 Meetings and politics
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Overview

This government existed for a short time period after Operation Storm in the mid-90s, but was reconstitued in 2005. On 26 February 2005, a number of former legislators of the Republic of Serbian Krajina met in Belgrade at the city's Dom Sindikata (Trade Union Centre). Fewer than half of the former legislators were present (out of a former total of 83), with the president of the RSK being in The Hague and several currently being members of the Croatian Parliament.

At the Belgrade meeting, the former legislators declared themselves to be the legitimate continuation of the RSK government and called for the re-creation of the RSK on the basis of the 1994 Z-4 plan, which had called for Krajina to have a status of "more than autonomy, less than independence" within Croatia. They announced that a parliamentary election would be held and that the new name of the self-proclaimed state would be "Republic of Serb-Krajina". The meeting elected Milorad Buha as prime minister as well as six ministers without portfolio whose names were not revealed.

[edit] Criticism

This move was criticized by many, including top Serbian and Croatian government officials, as well as senior representatives of Serbs in Croatia. They all stated that such a meeting would harm Serb-Croat reconciliation and relations between the communities in Croatia. It was pointed out that the Krajina Serb legislators had rejected the Z-4 proposal when it had originally been put forward. Some Serbian nationalists also criticized the move, saying that a government in exile should have been created as soon as possible after Operation Storm, not 10 years later.

Critics have claimed that the meeting was actually organized by the hardline nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) under orders from party leader Vojislav Šešelj. This was denied by SRS official Dragan Todorović, who attended the meeting and expressed his party's "moral support to the Serbs to return to occupied territories, and when the Serbian Radicals come to power they will offer them a different support as well". It has been suggested that the meeting was a publicity stunt by the SRS. Milorad Buha, the man elected prime minister of the RSK at the meeting, represents the SRS in the National Assembly of Serbia.

Many criticized Buha's appointment to the National Assembly of Serbia, he was the replacement for Ostoja Stojanovic (a SRS deputy who died). The appointment was criticized by many who deplored the formation of the government in exile. Zagreb sent a protest note over the appointment and the formation of the government in exile.

Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister Vuk Drašković criticised the RSK "government in exile" as an attempt, "founded by a handful of marginal individuals", to sabotage Serbia-Montenegro's bid to join the European Union. The President of the association of Serb refugees from the Serbian Autonomous District of Krajina, Milan Savrljuga, accused the former legislators of having corrupt financial motives; he claimed that the national bank of Yugoslavia possessed millions of dollars transferred there from the Krajina in accounts still held in the name of the RSK government.

It has been reported that the Russian nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky supports the government in exile, and that some Greek nationalist politicians have called for Greece to veto any Croatian attempt to join the EU if the RSK legislators' demands are not met. It is unlikely that either of these moves would have any effect whatsoever on Russian or Greek actual foreign policy, respectively.

[edit] EU Condemnation

In early 2007, a notion by the EU sub committee on the Balkans called for the "dissolution" of the RSK phantom government. The Parliamentary sub-committee stated that the phantom government had "no leg to stand on" and its activity can cause "irreparable damage" to Serbian ascension talks to the EU.

[edit] Meetings and politics

The Serbian newspaper Građanski list reported that the RSK "government in exile" held its first meeting in secret in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad on 3 March. Its programme was announced in a press conference in Belgrade on 5 March, at which Milorad Buha stated that it would press for the adoption of Krajina Serb autonomy on the basis of the Vance plan and the Z-4 plan. The RSK delegates issued a document entitled "RSK government-in-exile programme tasks", which stated that "the fundamental condition for successful government performance will be the establishment of successful cooperation with nationally-oriented political parties and organizations in Serbia, the Serb Orthodox Church as well as with proven patriots."

On June 21, Buha proposed a motion in the Serbian National Assembly saying that "the Serb national question and the survival of Serbs on the territory of the Republic of Serb Krajina and Croatia can only be solved by ending the 10-year occupation of the RSK". The Radicals also called for the Assembly to oppose Croatian accession to the EU without previously "initiat[ing] the settlement of the status of the expelled Serb people".

On May 11, the government also sent a plea to Pope Benedict XVI. In it they asked him to help the Serb people, in order to end what they claimed was the continuing Croatian genocide against Serbs and ensure normalization of the situation for Serbs in the country.

On July 27, 2005 the self-appointed government said that the RSK would hold an "enlarged extraordinary session" on August 4. At this meeting it said that it would take part in a funerary liturgy for Serbs killed in Croatia from 1941 to 1945 and from 1990 to date. The Assembly said that it would vote on filing charges against Croatia at international courts in regard to genocide and ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Croatia from 1990 to 1995, and genocide against Serbs, Gypsies and Jews in World War II. Little is known of what happened at this meeting.

On 4 October 2005 the government sent a letter to the Turkish embassy in Belgrade, saying that they expressed hope that the Turkish government during its EU membership negotiation should make use of the facts about the Croatian genocide against Serbs to advance its cause and the cause of the government in exile. They said that they hoped Turkey would shed light about the Croatian genocide against Serbs in World War II and 1990-95. The government said that the genocides against Serbs is a "heavy burden for other European states." For its defense the letter mentioned that under European principles all European states are obliged to take a position on crimes that are committed in Europe and that only then can they participate in investigations of such occurrences in other continents (something the European Union frequently does). The government also reportedly stated "It is strange that they are asking for proof of Turkish crimes against Armenians in 1915, while failing to mention Croatian crimes of genocide about which there are documents, academic debates, published books by witnesses and the Croatian death camp Jasenovac section in the Holocaust museum in New York." The letter also stated that if EU member states do not refuse to shed light on the genocide against Serbs they are ignoring the UN charter on rights of man and other international law documents, which oblige them to punish the criminals.

The government has also called for Croatia to pay war damage compensation for Serb people if their demands are not meant. Milorad Buha has claimed that the value of Serb property in Croatia is worth 30 billion euros, and that this should be paid to the Serbs who lived in Croatia as a part of war reparations. The government has said that they would only seek war damage compensation for Serb people if Croatia or Bosnia did the same towards Serbia. Milorad Buha has also claimed if war damage compensation is needed that the international community should make Croatian authorities deal with the issue, saying Croatia has avoided this obligation through administrative, judicial and other methods. The governmment is also a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit to recover the Ustasha Treasury. ^[1]

Buha also stated in May 2005 that an RSK "representative office" would open "in the capital of a big European country" within a month or two, and he hoped that this act would influence other countries in helping to resolve Krajina issues. This has yet to happen.

The government has often made vocal announcements about anti-Serb incidents in Croatia. Often calling small incidents open government discrimination and continued genocide, but both occurring at a smaller scale than in the 1990s.