ZAGREB, March 25 (Hina) - Croatian parliament vice-president and chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs, Zdravko Tomac, on Tuesday held a meeting with a European Parliament delegation, during which he expressed
his surprise by statements made by the chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal (ICTY), Carla Del Ponte, and her dissatisfaction with the degree of Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY, the parliament's public relations office reported.
ZAGREB, March 25 (Hina) - Croatian parliament vice-president and
chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs,
Zdravko Tomac, on Tuesday held a meeting with a European Parliament
delegation, during which he expressed his surprise by statements
made by the chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal (ICTY),
Carla Del Ponte, and her dissatisfaction with the degree of
Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY, the parliament's public
relations office reported. #L#
Tomac said Croatia had sent some 10,000 documents to The Hague. He
also pointed to the fact that the ICTY prosecution was wrongly
assessing the Homeland War by stating that the Croatian side had
committed ethnic cleansing during it.
Zagreb's cooperation with The Hague's tribunal was the main topic
of the talks of the European parliament Delegation headed by Doris
Pack, and the Croatian parliamentary Sub-Committee for Cooperation
with the European Parliament. The Euroepan Parliament's
representatives arrived in the Croatian capital yesterday.
Tomac said Croatia was ready to try committed crimes, but could not
accept the equating of guilt of the aggressor and participants of
the liberation war. He said it was difficult to accept a count of an
indictment about the excessive use of artillery in the Homeland
War, while footage of Baghdad being bombarded were being shown at
the same time.
Pack believes that problems arise from the wrong stand that Croatia
should not have entered a war, and added the Hague prosecution must
understand the difference between an aggression and a defence war,
said the parliament's statement.
Baroness Sarah Ludford from Great Britain, a member of the
delegation, said that war events should be clarified at the
tribunal, stressing the prosecution was not the tribunal.
The two sides also spoke about the trial of General Tihomir Blaskic,
assessing that the verdict passed to him was a dark spot on Europe's
democracy.
It is unacceptable that defendants must prove their innocence.
Political issues must not be entered into court proceedings, said a
German member of the delegation, Hans Peter Mayer.
The two sides agreed that the European Parliament Delegation for
Southast Europe would send a group of its members to The Hague to
state their criticism on the work of the ICTY prosecution.
(hina) lml sb