ZAGREB/RIJEKA, June 10 (Hina) - The heads of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Croatia Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Democratic Centre (DC) and the Croatian Bloc (HB) on Tuesday commented in parliament on General Ante Gotovina's
interview to the Nacional weekly. They stated that the interview, providing it was authentic, should encourage the government to provide Gotovina's attorneys with documents necessary for his defence before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
ZAGREB/RIJEKA, June 10 (Hina) - The heads of the Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ), Croatia Social Liberal Party (HSLS),
Democratic Centre (DC) and the Croatian Bloc (HB) on Tuesday
commented in parliament on General Ante Gotovina's interview to the
Nacional weekly. They stated that the interview, providing it was
authentic, should encourage the government to provide Gotovina's
attorneys with documents necessary for his defence before the U.N.
war crimes tribunal in The Hague. #L#
HDZ's Jadranka Kosor said the interview shed more light on the
entire case. The party insists that the complete truth about
everything said in the interview be established and that Gotovina
be provided every assistance, she said, adding that allegations in
the indictment pertaining to ethnic cleansing were unacceptable.
Josko Kontic of the HSLS recalled the interpellation request which
his party had recently forwarded to the government, with the
support of 50 MPs, urging the government to provide an account of
all of its activities in the Gotovina case.
The government has replied that Gotovina did not want to go before
the ICTY, which proved to be incorrect, he said.
In the interview to Nacional, Gotovina said that he had learnt that
ICTY investigators wished to speak to him in 1998 via television,
when the then Foreign Minister Mate Granic, submitting an annual
report to parliament, said that the government had decided, with
the agreement of the general, that he should not talk to the
investigators.
Granic, today's DC head, said Tuesday he had told parliament that
which intelligence service chiefs had told him at a session of the
government's council for cooperation with the tribunal.
The stand of the then government, Granic says, was to ask of the UN
Security Council and the ICTY's permanent council to make a
standpoint about the prosecution's jurisdiction over the 1995
"Storm" operation.
"I had no reason to doubt what was said at the council's session
because the intelligence services' heads, who are also Gotovina's
closest friends, relayed his stand. The truth will certainly come
to light, General Gotovina has given a very intriguing statement
and there is no reason to doubt his statements," Granic said.
Asked who had provided information about the agreement with
Gotovina, Granic refused to respond since, he said, he was bound by
the obligation to keep a state secret. He did say, however, that the
council included justice, interior and foreign ministers,
intelligence services' chiefs, and Ivic Pasalic of the President's
Office.
HB's Pasalic also hopes the Nacional interview will spur the
government to change its stand regarding the Gotovina case, at
least as regards the defence of his dignity and human rights, as
well as to submit to the ICTY the necessary documents.
Asked whether he knew that the Hague-based tribunal's prosecution
in 1998 had requested to interview Gotovina and why the general had
not been informed about it, Pasalic said he was "only involved in
establishing the principle stance that the ICTY does not have
jurisdiction over the Flash and Storm operations".
Nacional has run an interview with Gotovina in its latest issue.
One of the general's attorneys, Marijan Pedisic, has confirmed its
authenticity.
After being interviewed by police today, Ivo Pukanic, the author of
the interview, told reporters he had cited the law on information
which allows him, as a reporter, not to reveal his source and the way
he obtained the information.
Damir Kajin, Istrian Democratic Assembly's vice-president, told
reporters in Rijeka today the HDZ was to be blamed the most for the
general's status. In 1998, Gotovina had the status of a suspect and
as he refused to cooperate with the tribunal, he later became an
indictee, he added.
Kajin said that the current authorities faced an impossible mission
of changing Gotovina's status to that of a suspect. He added that
sections of the general's indictment and theses about ethnic
cleansing were questionable. But it is undisputed that crimes were
committed after the Storm operation, after civilian authorities
took control over the previously occupied areas, he said.
(hina) lml sb