The United States would like to join our voice of concern to the concerns raised by the United Kingdom on behalf of the EU and associated states.

Our Croatian colleagues have appropriately invited our comments regarding the procedure for the return of persons who have left the Republic of Croatia.

The Government of Croatia must permit all documented Croatian citizens to return unconditionally to Croatia.

This is a fundamental right, and part of Croatia's international commitments. The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia states, at Article 32: "Every citizen of the Republic of Croatia shall have the right at any time to leave the state territory and permanently or temporarily to settle abroad, and at any time to return home."

The conditions imposed by the current procedures represent an unacceptable abridgment of the freedom of movement of Croatian citizens and violate numerous commitments by the Croatian government.

We cannot accept any effort by the Croatian government to make the return of refugees conditional on assistance from the international community.

Nor can the right of a Croatian citizen to return be conditioned on bilateral agreements with foreign states, the availability of housing, financial, or other extraneous issues.

We urge the Croatian government to consult closely with the OSCE mission and other appropriate multilateral organizations in advance, regarding any official action that could affect its commitments regarding refugees, minorities, and displaced persons.

(Amnesty issue)

I would like also to raise some concerns we feel about the Croatian statement given at a recent Permanent Council regarding the issue of amnesty in the case of Milorad Stetic.

We start from the premise -- which we understand is shared by the Government of Croatia -- that the amnesty provisions should be fully applied.

This is an essential element in the reconciliation process.

We wholly reject any argument that, in this case or any other, acts that would otherwise be subject to the amnesty provisions according to accepted international legal principles should be reclassified in order to make them not subject to amnesty.

For those cases where Croatian authorities allege that a case otherwise subject to amnesty should be prosecuted as a war crime, we expect Croatia to cooperate fully with the ICTY to review all such cases.

We are fully committed to supporting the international tribune's thorough examination of all alleged war crimes, regardless of the ethnicity of the perpetrator or victim.

Regarding the specific case of Mr. Stetic, we also call on the Government of Croatia to investigate allegations of his mistreatment while in government custody.

His case is important on its own terms, but it is also part of a general concern, which we count on the Government of Croatia to address fully.