Baker on Yugoslavia

Secretary of State James Baker states that if Croatia and Slovenia leave the 73-year-old federation, it would undermine the cause of human rights (“Baker Urging Unity for Yugoslav Republics,” Part A, June 18). Whose human rights is he talking about?

He obviously does not care about the human rights in Croatia and Slovenia, the two democratic republics of Yugoslavia. An overwhelming majority (about 95%) of Croatians and Slovenians already voted in favor of disassociation with Yugoslavia, which they consider their prison. It is sad that Baker has to be reminded of this and the fact that every nation and every human being have the right to the pursuit of happiness, freedom and self-determination, including Croatia and Slovenia.

However, there is a hint as to what really is on Baker’s mind. The last paragraph states that “he plans to urge that the United States--and most of the rest of the world--can deal more effectively with a unified Yugoslavia.” So I reckon that expediency and a big power play are really what Baker is concerned with, and not with human rights or the moral side of this issue.

Croatia is entitled to a seat in the United Nations as an equal member among the nations of the world.

YUL B. DRASKOVIC, Inglewood