CROATIA: MARKET SET UP BY UN TASK FORCE CLOSED TEMPORARILY скачать в хорошем качестве

CROATIA: MARKET SET UP BY UN TASK FORCE CLOSED TEMPORARILY

(12 Oct 1996) Eng/Serbo-Croat/Nat Serbs and Croats are setting aside the bitter legacy of war to buy and sell goods at a flea market on the site of a recent battle line. The market in Eastern Slavonia is one of the first signs of reconciliation after years of fighting between former foes. But from today (Saturday) the meeting-point for families separated by the conflict will be temporarily shut down due to concerns about the risk of visitors picking up disease. At this former battle line in north-eastern Croatia, rival Croats and Serbs used to trade gunfire. Now it's become a venue for more conventional transactions. Thousands of people come each weekend to hunt through market stalls in search of bargains. The market was set up by the U-N task force for Eastern Slavonia in the no-man's land between Croat and Serb-controlled areas. Most people from these bitterly divided communities never dreamed they would be trading with each other so soon after the end of the war. But the market's not just a venue for buyers and sellers -- many people come here in the hope of meeting friends and family members on the other side of the ethnic divide. The emotion is almost too much for this Serb woman to bear as she spots members of her estranged family across the Croat lines. Scenes like this are repeated here every market day. SOUNDBITE: (in Serbo-Croat) "We haven't seen each other for five years. This war has separated us. I'm very happy that we seeing each other in this way, and that we can meet here. And I hope it will be OK from now on. I'm very happy...I can't say anything..." SUPER CAPTION: Danica, young Serb women from Serb-held area After five year's separation there's a lot of news to catch up on. These two brothers-in-law have also been reunited at the market place. They fought in opposing sides during the war but their affection for each others appears undiminished. SOUNDBITE: (in Serbo-Croat) Bozo Pilja:" People have taken off their uniforms, and they've laid down their weapons, so now..." Franjo Kolar "...So now, it's time to start something else. This war can't be forgotten. And what happened...this can't be forgotten. But the life must go on." SUPER CAPTION: Bozo Pilja (Croatian Serb) and Franjo Kolar, Croatian, reunited brothers-in-law But the ad hoc meeting place has brought with it a series of problems for the regional authority, including an increased risk of disease. In response the governor of Slavonia has ordered the market shut from today (Saturday) until conditions can be improved. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) "We have reliable information that various kinds of crime were omnipresent at this place. There have even been some cases of drugs and arms trade. So, we thought that this place is not adequate in the present conditions, that it is not secure, and that there is a real and serious danger of spreading of various contagious diseases to the free parts of Republic of Croatia. We are expecting that UNTAES will organise proper conditions for such a meeting place in the shorter possible period. Then we'll cancel our decision, and allow to citizens to meet each other again." SUPER CAPTION: Branimar Glavas, Governor of Slavonia Reconciliation is still at a very early stage and friends and families have had to go their separate ways at the end of the day. But now that the boundary between the communities has been turned into a market they know that when it is reopened they can be together at least one day a week. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...