ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - The Association of Croatian Homeland War Invalids (HVIDR), in cooperation with the federation of Croatian Homeland War soldiers, will block some roads across the country between noon and 16.00 hours Thursday,
in protest of the verdict to general Mirko Norac and other defendants from the so-called Gospic Group, HVIDR officials told reporters.
ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - The Association of Croatian Homeland War
Invalids (HVIDR), in cooperation with the federation of Croatian
Homeland War soldiers, will block some roads across the country
between noon and 16.00 hours Thursday, in protest of the verdict to
general Mirko Norac and other defendants from the so-called Gospic
Group, HVIDR officials told reporters. #L#
Tomorrow's road blockade is also a sign of opposition to
unjustified accusations against Homeland War soldiers, primarily
army generals, HVIDR president Damir Varazdinac said.
Varazdinac said that Norac's verdict was delivered following the
dictate of the international community. He stated the verdict
supported claims that Serbs had taken up arms because they had been
threatened and added that not a single Serb rebel had received such
a harsh sentence for war crimes.
After Norac's verdict was passed, the Hague war crimes tribunal
immediately demanded that General Janko Bobetko's indictment be
handed to him, even though it is aware of Bobetko's condition,
Varazdinac said.
He claims that tomorrow's protest is not an act of pressure on the
judicial authorities and the Supreme Court and calls on the Supreme
Court to examine all the actual evidence in the Gospic Group case.
The president of the federation of the Homeland War soldiers, Mirko
Condic, said that the verdict "institutionalises the
criminalisation of the Homeland War".
"The shameful behaviour of those in power, demonstrated in the
cases of Generals Ademi, Bobetko and Gotovina, as well as a lack of
care for new potential indictees, show the government's attempt to
impose a war crimes mortgage on the Croatian people in the interest
of regional cooperation in the Balkans," Condic said.
Speaking on behalf of Sinj's HVIDR branch and local Homeland War
associations, Drazen Pavlovic said he had "a message from the
Cetina region for Mr. Mesic, Racan, Manolic and others - may they
join comrade Djindjic for breakfast as early as possible because
this is the only way to save the Croatian state for which we
fought".
At the end of the news conference Varazdinac and Condic said
Pavlovic's statement was his private opinion.
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