PULA, Feb 19 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic said on Thursday the moves of the Ivo Sanader Cabinet had been received well both in Croatia and in Europe.
PULA, Feb 19 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic said on Thursday the
moves of the Ivo Sanader Cabinet had been received well both in
Croatia and in Europe.#L#
He added, however, that one now had to match words with actions.
Speaking on Radio Pula, Mesic opposed purges, namely the replacement
of personnel elected in accordance with the law only because there had
been a change of government. These people have to complete their terms
of office if they have not broken the law and do their job
responsibly, he said.
Asked how Croatian officials, led by him, intended to convince the
chief prosecutor with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Carla del
Ponte, that fugitive Croatian Army General Ante Gotovina was not in
Croatia, Mesic said it was presumed that Gotovina was not in Croatia
since Croatian intelligence and police claimed so.
The President said del Ponte was doing her job well and could not be
accused of being unfair towards Croatia.
"Nobody from Croatia has ended up before the Hague tribunal because
one suspect died, the other is on provisional release, while the third
is at large," Mesic said, stressing that cooperation with the tribunal
was good.
Speaking of Istria, the President said everyone felt good on Croatia's
largest peninsula because of the air of tolerance and respect for
every man, despite political fighting.
The high degree of tolerance in Istria is a prerequisite for the
development of democracy on the European level and by European
standards, Mesic said, adding that if the other parts of Croatia were
like Istria Croatia would have joined the European Union a long time
ago.
(Hina) ha