ZAGREB, March 8 (Hina) - Croatian Army General Ivan Cermak, who has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war, has said in an interview with the
Zagreb daily Jutarnji List that the indictment is "absurd and unjust", that he is not guilty of the crimes with which he is charged, and that he was afraid of himself when he read the indictment.
ZAGREB, March 8 (Hina) - Croatian Army General Ivan Cermak, who has
been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for crimes
against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war, has
said in an interview with the Zagreb daily Jutarnji List that the
indictment is "absurd and unjust", that he is not guilty of the crimes
with which he is charged, and that he was afraid of himself when he
read the indictment.#L#
In an interview to be published in full on Wednesday, Cermak said he
would respond to the summons from the Hague tribunal and would
voluntarily go to The Hague this week. He said that this was his
"civil and patriotic duty" because "at this moment, the truth about
Croatia and our Homeland War is first and foremost being defended in
The Hague".
"I must say that I was afraid of myself when I saw the content of the
indictment. But I do not want to comment on its content in detail,
because anything I say may again be used against me. Nevertheless, I
feel it my duty towards the Croatian public to say that I think that
the indictment is absurd and unjust, both to me personally and to my
country, Croatia. I must also say that I feel bitterness that the
indictment was issued after all. I am a person who deeply believes in
justice and fairness. That's why I agreed to talk to the investigators
some time ago while I was in a rather awkward situation," the general
said in the interview.
Cermak also said that the indictment was not based in fact but in
"someone's perception of his role in Knin after the liberation
operation Storm".
(Hina) vm sb