The government has initiated unfreezing the pension so that Gotovina's family could use it, government spokesman Ratko Macek said on Saturday evening. The government forwarded the initiative to competent state institutions for execution.
Gotovina's assets were frozen in March this year when the government opted for that measure in compliance with the law on international restrictive measures.
The Ivo Sanader cabinet thus followed an example of the Council of the European Union which decided in October 2004 to apply restrictive measures, including the freezing of property, on war crimes indictees who were wanted by the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal (ICTY).
On that occasion, the Council adopted a Common Position and decree on freezing the property belonging to war-time Bosnian Serb leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and the retired Croatian general Ante Gotovina.
The Council stated then that the Common Position was also accepted by all EU member-states, countries candidates for EU membership, including Croatia, aspiring countries and EFTA member-states.
According to the Position, "all funds and economic resources belonging to the natural persons listed in the Annex, who have been indicted by the ICTY shall be frozen."
The document read among other things that "exemption may be made for funds or economic resources which are necessary for basic expenses, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utilities charges."
Exemptions may be made also for funds intended exclusively for reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services.