Croatia regained control of the last Serb-held part of its territory yesterday when a United Nations mission handed authority over Eastern Slavonia to Zagreb, putting a symbolic end to the 199195 Croatian war.
The UN transitional administrator, Mr William Walker, handed over a UN flag to a Croatian presidential aide, Mr Hrvoje Sarinic, at a ceremony in the former frontline village of Borovo Naselje, on Vukovar's outskirts. The handover put into place another keystone in the peace process in the former Yugoslavia and marked a success for the UN transitional administration (UNTAES). It was agreed in the 1995 US-brokered Erdut peace accords between Zagreb and the rebel Serbs. Restoration of Croatian control was delayed to avoid a flight by Serb residents.
The US envoy, Mr Robert Gelbard, attending the ceremony hailed the end of the UN mandate in Eastern Slavonia, and urged Zagreb to respect human rights and to continue the process of refugee return.
In his speech yesterday, the UN transitional administrator said the UN mission had laid the foundations for a brighter future in the region.
While there was "much unfinished business", notably as regards return of refugees and reconstruction, "a future of social justice, economic recovery and ethnic harmony is attainable", Mr Walker said.
Belgium and Russia provided the bulk of the troops in the UN mission and the Belgian Defence Minister, Mr Jean-Pol Poncelet, told a Belgian newspaper the mission had been "a success".
"We learned the lessons of past experiences," he told yesterday's edition of La Derniere Heure, saying Belgium should take credit for UNTAES troops' clear operating mandate.