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UPDATE: PM Kosor meets representatives of veterans' associations

ZAGREB, April 12 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her associates on Tuesday held talks with representatives of 18 Homeland War associations, saying after the talks that one of their conclusions was that news of the verdicts against three Croatian generals tried by the Hague war crimes tribunal, to be announced on Friday, should be received with calm and dignity.

After the talks, which lasted almost two hours, Kosor told reporters the meeting was very good and open, one of the topics being the forthcoming verdicts in the case against generals Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markac and Ivan Cermak, who have been tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Kosor said one should receive the news of the verdicts with calm and dignity, showing unity. She added that one should know that the verdicts were not final.

Protests and possible unrest after the announcement of the verdicts cannot change anything about the verdicts, she said.

She recalled that the declaration adopted by the Croatian parliament on the 1991-1995 war of independence underlined that the Homeland Defence War was just and defensive.

"Croatian soldiers defended their land and their home, it is a fact just as that Croatia was a victim of the brutal aggression," the Croatian premier said.

One of the participants in the meeting, Josip Klemm, said that the association of special police forces and other veterans would organise on Thursday a walk in support of the Croatian generals. He, too, said there would be no protests, calling for dignified behaviour.

Other participants in the meeting said they were confident that the three Croatian generals were innocent.

Veteran Ivica Tolic said he believed that the defence teams had managed to refute all claims made by the prosecution.

The head of the HVIDR-a war veteran association, Josip Djakic, recalled that the three generals had expressed their wish that no protest rallies be organised.

"We will respect their wish not to protest and not to cause additional problems to the Croatian state," Djakic said adding that Croatians "have so far won all the battles" and that "we will win this legal battle, too".

Asked by reporters whether war veterans who had announced protest rallies after the tribunal's forthcoming verdict, had contacted her, PM Kosor said that they had not asked for any meeting with her.

"Had they requested the meeting, I would have gladly accepted that proposal," she said.

Today's talks also revolved around possibilities for upgrading veterans' position in the society.

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