Courtesy Visit by Dr M Zuzul, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia.

Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
17 AUGUST 2004
COURTESY VISIT BY DR M ZUZUL, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF CROATIA.

Chairperson: Mr K Asmal (ANC)

Documents handed out:
None

SUMMARY
The Croation Foreign Minister, Mr M Zuzul, addressed the Committee and informed Members of the need to build on the good relations that already existed between South Africa and Croatia. He briefly outlined how Croatia had achieved its independence after the break-up of Yugoslavia and how it had accommodated Serb and other minorities in its parliamentary system. He also commended South Africans on its democratic achievements and illustrated how Croatia had gone about reconciliation. The Foreign Minister also stated that the United Nations (UN) still had an important role to play in international relations and that Croatia hoped to gain entry into the European Union (EU) by 2008.

The discussion that followed raised the importance that mutual tourism could have in further strengthening relations between the two countries. In addition, it became evident that bilateral trade between Croatia and South Africa could open doors in Africa and the EU alike. The Committee noted that Croatia faced a serious threat from landmines planted during the civil war and offered South African assistance in clearing them.

MINUTES

Mr M Zuzul (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia) spoke of the privilege he felt to be speaking to this Committee and to be in South Africa. He introduced his delegation as Mr M Zupanic (Croatian Ambassador to South Africa), Mr D Margeta (Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia), Mr A Heina (Head of Cabinet) and Mr D Ridicki (Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs). They were in South Africa to reaffirm the good relations that exist between South Africa and Croatia. In that regard he welcomed this opportunity to speak to Members. The establishment of a fully functioning democracy in South Africa had great consequences not only for South Africa but also for the world as a whole. In Croatia they believed in the possibility of having friendly relations between the two countries. They were also visiting South Africa to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference in Durban. NAM was founded in Croatia. Croatia is no longer a full member of NAM because they have decided to become full members of the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). However they appreciated the role that NAM played in the past and still played.

Croatia only recently obtained its independence, although it had existed in some or another form for thirteen centuries. They had achieved independence on several occasions, only to become occupied by another country or being amalgamated into a larger state organisation. The collapse of Communism led to the opportunity to achieve their independence. The Croatian people felt that in the former Yugoslavia, Croats were not given equal status. However, unlike Czechoslovakia they were not able to get peaceful separation. Serbian leaders could not accept the break-up of Yugoslavia and started a war. Instead of enjoying the privileges of independence right away they had to fight an unnecessary war. From 1991 to 1995 the main parts of Croatia were occupied. It was only in 1998 that the whole of Croatia was liberated. The role of international communities such as the UN was important. Croatians were given the chance to see how the organisation operated on the ground. Amongst its successes was the peaceful return of the last occupied region of Croatia in 1998. It was one of the unique total successes of the UN. The planning, implementation and aftermath were all effectively implemented. Croatia appreciated the role of the UN in the modern world. There was no organisation that could take its place. Through inter-country co-operation the UN could be made more efficient. He said that African nations and South Africa in particular had a major role within the UN. He congratulated South Africa in becoming the host for the Pan-African Parliament.

Since 1996 there had been some political turbulence in Croatia just as all countries passing through difficult times experienced. There had been a new government for the last eight months and there had been some very big achievements in this time. Croatia achieved the first part of its strategic goal of membership of the EU when in June 2004 Croatia became an official candidate for entry into the EU. It was likely that negotiations for entry into the EU would commence in the first quarter of 2005. They were hoping to be able to join the EU in 2007/2008. The very good relations that South Africa had with the EU opened another avenue for possible further co-operation between South Africa and Croatia. There was no need to wait for Croatia's entry into the EU before strengthening relations.

He once again thanked the Chairperson for giving him the opportunity to address the Committee. He congratulated the Members and the people of South Africa for the huge advancement in developing democracy over the last ten years.

Discussion

Mr D Gibson (DA) expressed relieve that Mr Zuzul had spoken one of South Africa's official languages so well. He mentioned that 4 000 South Africans travelled to Croatia in 2003. He wanted to know how many Croatians travelled back to South Africa. Croatia was one of the most beautiful countries in the world but was almost completely unknown in South Africa. With more publicity and a bit more effort the tourist trade could be trebled. He asked what steps were being taken to boost tourist trade.

Ms S Motubatse-Hounkpatin (ANC) said that it was a relief to everyone that a country like Croatia was able to move past its troubles and achieve self-determination. Peace in the home and villages was necessary before it could come to the continent. Conflict arose when one group oppressed another, he added.

Ms Njobe (ANC) asked how Serbs were being integrated into the rest of society in Croatia. She wanted to know how bilateral relations should be developed and strengthened.

Mr Zuzul said that Croatia was a beautiful country. The main difference between South Africa and Croatia was their population sizes. Croatia was a relatively small country with a population of approximately four and a half million. There was the possibility to strengthen tourist relations. The number of tourists coming from South Africa to Croatia had grown significantly. Tourism in Croatia was seasonal and therefore concentrated in the summer months (June, July, August). Croatia had 1180 islands. Croatia was not well enough known in Africa. Due to budgetary constraints, Croatia's only embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa was in South Africa. The tourism trade could be the way to promote both countries. Croats were interested in travelling abroad. In January approximately 15-20% of Croats travelled for vacation. Through proper promotion winter travel to summer countries could be supported. The country's tourist industries were not in competition but were complementary. Several bilateral treaties had been signed. Having more people travelling between the countries would strengthen bilateral relations. There had been a big improvement in South African tourism. There was a need for major improvement in Croatian tourism infrastructure. However, they did not want to repeat the mistakes of many European countries which had destroyed natural beauty by overdeveloping. Croatia needed to protect rather than destroy their natural habitat. They wanted to create a small, high quality tourist industry.

Mr Zuzul said that the political issues were important. The terrorist warnings received in the last few days demonstrated the dangers of the world people live in. Terrorism was a great threat to the future of humanity. Only through close co-operation could terrorism be fought. No country, no matter how powerful could face the threat unilaterally. There was a major role for the UN to play. He asked for the support of South Africa for Croatia's membership application to the Security Council for 2008/2009. Membership would be a great achievement not only for Croatia but also for the region as a whole. Between war and peace existed only a fine line. Croatians never thought that they would have war. Croatia's big steps towards the EU did not mean that they were trying to ignore their neighbours' problems. As long as there was trouble anywhere in Europe there could not be a truly stable continent. The same applied to Africa and the world as a whole. The only way to reduce the threat of war was through diplomacy. There was a tendency to divide the world into regions that were stable and those which were destined to remain instable. This was incorrect. There was no region in the world with a more violent history than Europe. There was no predestined right for some countries to fight and others to be peacemakers.

Mr Zuzul said that there had been elections in Croatia eight months ago. There was a parliamentary coalition in power. Croatia had changed its constitution in 2000 to move from a semi-presidential system to one where the powers of the president were more limited. The Croatian Parliament represented all population groups. It consisted of 152 members and eight seats reserved for minority groups. Three of these were reserved for Serbs. All eight currently supported the government. This showed that they had been very successful in dealing with the problem of the Serbian minority. There was an obligation to make all Croatian citizens think of Croatia as their homeland. They were satisfied with the progress dealing with the Serbian minority that they had made so far.

Mr Zuzul said he was impressed that there were so many women present in the Committee. He said that the representation in the Croatian Parliament was not "bad", with about 25% of MPs women. This was very respectable with regards to the rest of Europe. In the government the proportion was higher. There were fourteen Cabinet Members, of these four were women which included the Vice-President. Women were increasingly finding their place in democracy and political life. There were presidential elections coming up and there was speculation that one of the presidential election candidates would be a woman.

A Member asked for clarity regarding the eight minority representatives.

Mr S Huang (ANC) asked what the Croatian government was doing to tackle its unemployment problem and how they were trying to attract foreign investment.

The Chairperson asked how Croatia was managing to reconcile the different religious and ethnic groups.

Mr Zuzul said that members representing minorities had the right to choose what list they wanted to appear on. They could appear as "all other citizens" or on the party list. The Serbian minority had three seats guaranteed which was their minimum representation. The minorities had their quota allocated according to their respective size. This system gave minority groups more representation than they would have otherwise achieved. It was a form of positive discrimination.

Mr Zuzul said that one of the biggest challenges Croatia faced was its economic situation. They had a significant agricultural trade deficit. The way the EU heavily supported agriculture made the gap bigger and bigger. Croatian production was more expensive than in the bigger European countries. They were promoting the possibility of investment in Croatia and looking at greenfield investment. There was an opportunity for Croatia to serve as an entry point into the EU for South Africa. Communication was taking place between Croatian ports and South Africa. Similarly, South Africa could serve as an entry point into Africa for Croatia. The unemployment rate was 17.5%. This was not the same in all areas as in Zagreb it was about 6-7%. In Eastern Slovenia it was above 50%. This used to be one of the richest parts of Yugoslavia. It was very rich agriculturally but there was a massive problem with land mines. Croatia had the second highest number of landmines in the world as only Bosnia-Herzegovina had a larger problem. The industrial infrastructure that was in place was destroyed during the war.

Mr Zuzul said that while reconciliation was a long-term process there had been significant progress. He cited two examples. They had held their New Year celebrations in an Italian area. This highly symbolic event had reassured the Italian community and Croatians as a whole that the Croatian government recognised the right of minorities to speak in their native language. In Yugoslavia racial division was not a problem, instead it had been divided along religious lines. The religious division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy was one of the problems in the war in the region. Croats were almost all Roman Catholics whilst Serbs were almost all Orthodox. In the former Yugoslavia the division was illustrated by when someone celebrated Christmas. Catholics celebrated it in December whilst the Orthodox celebrated it in January. In 2003 for the first time the elected Croatian leader went to the Serbian community to celebrate an Orthodox Christmas. This may have been a small event but every small event could have major political consequences. Two days later, the Holy See congratulated the leader on celebrating Orthodox Christmas and this gained enormous prominence within the Catholic community in Croatia. This was a major step towards reconciliation.

The Chairperson shared Mr Zuzul's concern at the reform of the EU. He hoped that South Africa would support Croatia's application to the Security Council. The current trade balance was heavily in South Africa's favour. There was a need to increase trade and move towards being equal trading partners. South Africa had developed good landmine clearing technology and could offer Croatia assistance with the land mines problem. He thanked Mr Zuzul and his delegation for visiting South Africa.

The Chairperson and Mr Zuzul exchanged gifts.

The meeting was adjourned.