WASHINGTON, June 1 (Hina) - The U.S. and Croatia are still discussing the U.S. request that Croatia sign an accord on the non-extradition of Americans to the International Criminal Court (ICC), a State Department official said on
Saturday, adding the U.S. had not yet considered the possibility of exempting Croatia from the signature or the consequences of not signing.
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Hina) - The U.S. and Croatia are still
discussing the U.S. request that Croatia sign an accord on the non-
extradition of Americans to the International Criminal Court
(ICC), a State Department official said on Saturday, adding the
U.S. had not yet considered the possibility of exempting Croatia
from the signature or the consequences of not signing. #L#
The open issue will be discussed over the next two weeks and the
United States is considering sending a team of experts to Zagreb for
talks with the Croatian government, Jonathan Benton, State
Department deputy director for South Eastern Europe, told
reporters after addressing the annual conference of the National
Federation of Croat Americans (NFCA).
Croatia's government has not decided yet whether to sign the ICC
accord, and hopes it will avoid the issue by getting an exemption
from George Bush.
The U.S. has announced it will stop military assistance to states
which fail to sign the accord by July 1, under the American
Servicemembers' Protection Act (ASPA) which, however, allows the
U.S. president to make exemptions based strictly on U.S. national
interests.
Asked about Croatia's prospects of getting an exemption, Benton
said the country would be viewed individually and that the ASPA
would not be used to penalise it.
Addressing the NFCA conference, Benton said Croatia-U.S. relations
were not great at the moment because of harsh disagreements over
several issues, especially Iraq and the ICC.
Other disagreements, such as the pace of reforms and refugee
returns in Croatia, are of a tactical and not fundamental nature,
said Benton, adding the problems would be surmounted because the
U.S. and Croatia had many joint interests.
He said Croatia did not have to choose between Europe and the U.S.
because the U.S. objective was for Croatia to be both a European
country and a U.S. partner which, he said, was the essence of talks
with the Croatian government.
Asked by reporters about the consequences of Croatia's failure to
back the U.S. military strike in Iraq, Benton said they mainly
referred to missed opportunities to bolster cooperation with the
U.S.
Benton said the Croatian government had made a mistake by not
supporting the U.S. operation in Iraq and that this continued to
harm relations. He added, however, that this was a short-term
problem that would be overcome.
Most people in Croatia see the request that it sign the U.S. ICC
request as an unfair application of double standards because the
U.S. demands on the one hand that Croatia unconditionally cooperate
with the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, while asking on the
other that Croatia exempt U.S. citizens from the jurisdiction of
the Rome-based ICC, which also processes war crimes.
Benton said the U.S. saw a fundamental difference between the two
courts. The Hague tribunal was set up by a Security Council
resolution to process war crimes committed at a specific time, in a
specific conflict, whereas the ICC was set up on other legal grounds
and has no restrictions as to jurisdiction or cases, he said, adding
the U.S. administration feared the ICC might be used against
Americans for political reasons.
Addressing the NFCA conference, Croatia's Ambassador in Washington
Ivan Grdesic said the U.S. should view Croatia as an important
partner and that President Bush, based on U.S. national interests,
should exempt Croatia from signing the ICC deal.
Backing his claim, Grdesic said the U.S. had a national interest in
cooperation with Croatia concerning the latter's accession to
NATO. The loss of U.S. military aid will affect an important part of
U.S.-Croatia relations, might force Croatia to refer to other
countries for cooperation and buying military equipment, while the
slowed down training of Croatian troops will weaken stability in
the region, he said.
Grdesic said the Croatian government most likely would not be able
to sign the ICC deal, stressing the cabinet's credibility depended
on endorsing both the Hague tribunal and the ICC.
The ICC request has asymmetrical consequences for Croatia and the
U.S., said the ambassador. For Croatia the ICC issue means NATO and
Europe and for the government surviving the next parliamentary
election, while for the U.S. it means just another vote, he said.
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