Interview: working towards a new era of ethnic co-existence in Knin

Dragan Jerkovic is the Deputy Mayor of Knin, where he is in charge of the city's infrastructure and presides over the local Minority Council. In this interview with Dorijan Klasnic of the OSCE Office in Zagreb, Jerkovic, member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), speaks about housing and returnee issues in Knin.

OSCE: Looking at recent history in Croatia, Knin is one of the areas in the country where the issue of refugee returns is most sensitive. The town itself not only has many returnees but also a significant number of settlers. The two major political parties (the SDSS and the Croatian Democratic Union) in Knin co-operate very well and this can be interpreted as a sign of reconciliation. The last few years show a major decline in ethnically motivated incidents all over Croatia.

What is the situation now with regard to refugee returns in view of the relationship between the two ethnic groups in Knin? Are you aware of ethnically motivated incidents in the Knin area, and to what extent do they affect the co-existence of the population? What is the actual share of Serbs in the population of Knin now, and do you expect any further returnees?

Dragan Jerkovic: I have to note that it is the responsibility of a local self-government to represent the standpoints that are mirrored in the population. I have been lucky to work in the city of Knin where we identified what this city needs and, I believe, were able to find the right way towards co-existence. I can state with full confidence that with regard to relations between Croats and Serbs, we have one of the best situations in the country. You can see for yourself that citizens visit the same coffee bars, they work together and co-operate. We noticed in the course of the last elections that citizens tended to ignore the bad things of the past and focused their attention on other issues.

Knin has 17,300 inhabitants. The number of Serbs amounts to 2,924. It is important to present an accurate demographic picture: this is a city in which 6,500 children are being raised.

The majority of Serbs who left this area for Serbia or a third country have more or less established their lives there. Their children attend schools in those countries, people have new jobs, many of them have sold their property here and invoked their right to housing somewhere else. Sometimes, the countries to which they moved have assisted them. Thus one should be objective and say that we do not expect any further significant influx of returnees.

The probability of ethnically motivated incidents in Knin is very low, and is definitely not a factor that would prevent the possible return of citizens of Serb ethnicity to this area.

OSCE: The OSCE Office in Zagreb is tasked with monitoring war crime trials and housing care programmes for former occupancy/tenancy rights (OTR) holders. This programme is also implemented in Knin.

How do you estimate the OTR housing care programme's implementation and what outstanding issues do you face?

Dragan Jerkovic: The programme has been functioning quite well recently. With regard to the 2008 benchmark, 116 housing units have been allocated to former OTR holders in Knin and in 51 cases these units have been taken over by the tenants. It should also be mentioned that a vast majority of families awaiting the resolution of their housing issues are already in Knin and surroundings, and it is very important that their return process be completed likewise.

The housing units are indeed being allocated, but what concerns me is that people are not moving into them. We have plenty of cases like that. Many persons have received accommodation administratively, but practically, their problems have not been resolved. Many of the housing units that have been allocated or already taken over require significant reconstruction or repairs. This is one of the greatest problems we have noted, and it is the reason why a large number of people have not moved into the housing units allocated to them.

OSCE: We know that most of the remaining successful applicants for housing care in Knin are to be accommodated in newly constructed buildings. According to information we have received from the Regional Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees (ODPR) as well as from Zagreb officials, three buildings are supposed to be constructed in the suburb of Senjak. However, it looks as though the beginning of the construction work has been delayed. Do you have any updates on this?

Dragan Jerkovic: Construction of the building in Senjak, in which the creation of 80 housing units is envisaged, has been delayed for justified reasons. Namely, that building has still not received a site permit, and I believe it is going to be very difficult to complete it by the end of this year. In addition to that building, another two buildings are being constructed in Knin, and in these cases completion is expected by the end of 2009. One will contain 16 apartments and the other 24 housing units.

Of course, it is likely that not all apartments at the mentioned locations will be allocated exclusively to former OTR holders. The number of apartments allocated will match the number of family members entitled to the square metres of floor area according to the law. The enlargement of the housing stock in the city certainly favours the former OTR holders since housing units of appropriate size will be made available at other locations as their current tenants might be accommodated in the newly constructed apartments.

OSCE: In the past, the OSCE has invested a lot of effort in addressing the issue of employment. Is the Serb minority's constitutional right to be adequately represented in the public administration (including the police) respected in Knin? What is the situation with regard to job opportunities in general for Serb returnees in Knin?

Dragan Jerkovic: Three years ago, not a single employee of the city administration was a member of a national minority. Today there are five of us. Significant progress can also be noted in administrative areas. The fire brigade unit has recruited two members of the Serb national minority, the hospital eight. The communal service has seven employees of Serb ethnicity. So progress is visible in spite of the very bad employment situation in Knin in general.

One of the main problems connected with this issue is that in the case of some of the positions that have opened up, the Serbs applying based on their constitutionally guaranteed representation do not have the qualifications required for the job.

With regard to the police force, we have encouraged young people to apply. To date, we have received three applications that meet the criteria. Two members of the Serb national minority have already started working, while another is currently undergoing training. The problem is that we do not have many young men and women who meet the requirements for working in the police force.

Private entrepreneurs everywhere, and Knin is no exception, do not care about people's ethnicity. They tend to hire people based on their expertise. In the factory producing screws, we have 36 employees who are members of national minorities, but also in other private companies where the only criterion is the quality of work.

OSCE: The completion of the housing care programme is planned for the end of this year or, if there are any delays, in the course of 2010. What is your estimate?

Dragan Jerkovic: With respect to Knin, I believe that it would be more realistic to expect the completion of programme implementation next year. It is impossible to complete it by the end of this year, taking into account all the technical issues, mostly associated with construction, we have been facing.