EASTERN SLAVONIA: REBEL SERBS AGREE TO SUBMIT TERRITORY

(15 Nov 1995) Serbo-Croat/Nat
Tensions are easing in Eastern Slavonia, following the rebel Serb agreement to submit the territory to Croatian authority.
The two parties reached a deal on the transition of power on the 12th of October, allowing for thousands of Croat refugees to return home.
APTV reports from the Eastern Slavonian town of Vinkovci, where displaced Croats view the planned transition of power with both optimism and scepticism.
Eastern Slavonia prepares for winter.
As harvesting and stocking up for colder days continues, the fertile and reputedly oil rich territory looks to the future with cautious optimism.
An agreement paving the way for this last piece of Serb-held Croat land to rejoin Croatia has been signed by both parties, averting a threatened Croat attack to regain the territory.
The Croatian town of Vinkovci lies on the separation line with Serb-held areas to the east.
While its inhabitants go about re-building their lives, reminders of the fragility of the peace deal are still evident - these wooden planks provide protection from shells.
According to the agreement, Croat sovereignty over the area has been postponed for at least two years, although the details have yet to be worked out.
It is meant to preserve the multi-ethnic character of Eastern Slavonia, allowing the return of 100-thousand Croatian refugees.
This local school is presently home to displaced Croat families from Vukovar and other parts of Eastern Slavonia.
While many now see renewed hope for the future, the refugees have divided opinions on the significance of the Serb-Croat peace deal.
SOUNDBITE:(Serbo-Croat)
"I think this is much better (the agreement) than to go to another war and cause another thousand killed people and more mothers to lose their children, as long as it is respected. But I am not sure that the Serbs are going to respect it. That's why we are also ready for other options if peace is not achieved by this signing."
SUPER CAPTION: Zeljko Babic, displaced Croat
For others, any optimism is clouded by bitter memories of harsh treatment at the hands of rebel Serbs.
SOUNDBITE:(Serbo-Croat)
"I was in their (the Serbs') prison with 14 other men. They were beating me, I was all bloody from beating. And I say to all those Serbs over there who have blood on their hands not to wait for us when we come back. But some of them are good people."
SUPER CAPTION: Croat refugee from Ilok.
For people from Vukovar and other Serb-occupied areas, real peace will only return when they are safely back in their own homes, and barriers, such as this Russian-patrolled U-N checkpoint have become a memory of the past.
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