ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - Croatian courts will issue indictments against a former leader of rebel Croatian Serbs, Milan Martic, and a former army commander of the self-proclaimed Republic of Srpska Krajina, Milan Celeketic, for the
shelling of Zagreb, Jastrebarsko and Karlovac in May 1995.
ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - Croatian courts will issue indictments
against a former leader of rebel Croatian Serbs, Milan Martic, and a
former army commander of the self-proclaimed Republic of Srpska
Krajina, Milan Celeketic, for the shelling of Zagreb, Jastrebarsko
and Karlovac in May 1995. #L#
The Zagreb County prosecution will hold a news conference on the
issue Tuesday.
Martic is currently on trial at the Hague-based U.N. war crimes
tribunal for ordering the shelling of Zagreb on May 2 and 3, 1995,
but the Zagreb County prosecution decided to issue an indictment
against him before a Croatian court as well.
Croatia's chief prosecutor, Mladen Bajic, explained that Martic
and Celeketic would not only be accused of shelling Zagreb, but
Jastrebarsko and Karlovac as well. These attacks occurred at the
start of May of 1995 as well, as a retaliatory act by rebel Serbs for
being defeated in western Slavonia after the Croatian military-
police "Flash" operation.
Asked whether the issuing of the indictment against Martic for the
same crime for which he is being tried in The Hague was a sign that
the U.N. tribunal could let the case be tried before Croatian courts
and whether this possibility was mentioned in contacts with the
tribunal's chief prosecutor, Bajic replied in the negative.
"We are issuing the indictment because the tribunal showed no
interest in Celeketic, nor in the attacks on Jastrebarsko and
Karlovac," Zagreb County Prosecutor Krunoslav Canjuga said.
He added that the Croatian prosecution "does not bring into
question the jurisdiction of the Hague tribunal (by issuing the
indictment) which has precedence over Croatian courts".
Martic and a former Yugoslav People's Army commander for Vukovar,
Mile Mrksic, surrendered to the Hague tribunal last May.
Martic was sentenced to 15 years in prison in absence by a Sibenik
court in August 1993 for terrorist acts and the persecution of
Croats from the villages of Vrpolje and Potkonje, near Knin.
Celeketic was a JNA lieutenant-colonel and commander of the Okucani
Corps. Martic appointed him commander of the Republika Srpska
Krajina army in February 1994.
After suffering defeat in western Slavonia, he resigned from this
post. He was succeeded by Mrksic.
(hina) lml sb