This statement was made by Amnesty International Croatia (AIH) secretary Edin Tuzlak, who presented the AI 2005 report on the state of human rights worldwide in Zagreb on Tuesday.
"The international political agenda is occupied by the war on terrorism which has become an end in itself and a problem for the entire human kind," Tuzlak said.
As for Croatia and the war on terrorism, a month and a half ago AIH urged the government to launch an investigation after a recent AI report on secret CIA flights carrying detainees accused of terrorism and to state if it had signed with the United States secret agreements on the war on terrorism. The government has still not provided information on the matter, Tuzlak said.
AIH also warned about another problem that has again become topical - the signing of an agreement with the USA on the non-extradition of US citizens to the International Criminal Court (ICC). AIH believes that Croatia, which it believes has given an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the ICC, after years of pressure, is now closer than ever to the signing of such an agreement.
AIH strongly opposes the agreement, considering it not only disgraceful and degrading but also discriminatory towards Croatian citizens. It warns that by signing the agreement Croatia would demonstrate lack of political credibility and deny its judiciary the right to prosecute war criminals regardless of their origin. The human rights association also points to the fact that Brussels is closely following Croatia's position on the matter and will very soon present a clear position regarding the possibility to sign the agreement.
The AI annual report for 2005 was presented by AI Secretary-General Irene Khan in London on Tuesday.