ZAGREB, March 24 (Hina) - The executive authorities cannot comment on court verdicts because court rulings must be respected in a law-based state, government officials said on Monday commenting on the non-final verdicts passed by the
Rijeka County Court in the trial of the so-called Gospic Group.
ZAGREB, March 24 (Hina) - The executive authorities cannot comment
on court verdicts because court rulings must be respected in a law-
based state, government officials said on Monday commenting on the
non-final verdicts passed by the Rijeka County Court in the trial of
the so-called Gospic Group. #L#
The vice-president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mato
Arlovic, did not wish to comment on the verdict, but on events
which, he said, had a political character and present pressure on
the Rijeka County Court. Citizens are not even aware of the fact
that they can and are giving rise to suspicion of the U.N. war crimes
tribunal in The Hague, he said.
"It is clear that blocking the Sinj region and inter-county and
inter-state roads also causes harm to Croatia, and certainly to
those convicted in this concrete case," Arlovic said.
The office of Social Liberals' (HSLS) president, Drazen Budisa,
only said the party did not comment on trials.
The president of the Liberal Party (LS), Ivo Banac, said that,
taking into consideration the gravity of the acts of which they had
been convicted, the prison terms were not that long. LS Secretary
General Karl Gorinsek agreed and added that the LS believed that war
crimes must be solved by Croatian courts, not by the Hague
tribunal.
The vice-president of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), Damir
Kajin, said he was aware of the fact that the verdict would be
generally condemned by a large part of the Croatian population
which believed in the principle that it was impossible to commit war
crimes in the Homeland War.
"However, it is a fact that a significant number of innocent
civilians and prisoners of war had been killed in the Homeland War
by members of the Croatian army and that such conduct must be
condemned," Kajin said.
He expressed conviction that the verdict could be significantly
reduced by instruments of mitigation.
The trial was an attempt to confirm the credibility of the Croatian
state and to avoid the meddling of the Hague tribunal into the
interpretation of certain events in the Homeland War, said Kajin,
who believes that political and other repercussions for Croatia
would be graver had the trial been held in The Hague.
The Croatian political elite from 1991, 1992 and 1993 should have
prevented the killing of innocent civilians, said Kajin and added
that he viewed today's verdict as a verdict to people of the former
regime which knew very well about events in Gospic, but because "of
the sacredness of the Homeland War" wanted to do nothing about it.
The Croatian Bloc (HB) party issued a press release saying that as a
political party, it could not comment on a court decision, but said
that it was "an event with long-term political consequences".
"Notwithstanding the final outcome of the proceedings, the HB
considers Stjepan Grandic, Mirko Norac and Tihomir Oreskovic
heroes of the Homeland War and they enjoy our full human
solidarity," says the press release signed by HB political
secretary, Benjamin Tolic.
Gospic-Senj bishop Mile Bogovic told Hina today that he was
"especially hurt by the fact that the defenders of Gospic were put
on the defendants' stand instead of its attackers".
"I cannot comprehend that there are no guilty persons among them. I
do not ask that they be arrested now, but I do have the right to ask
myself and the Croatian public: should one have at all defended
Gospic and Croatia if in the defended Croatia, we are putting
defenders on the defendants' stand before the attackers," he said.
Bogovic explained that he "did not wish to place himself above the
court and politics, but only express his sorrow for what is
happening".
(hina) lml sb