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CROATIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WELCOMES DECISION OF MIRKO NORAC

ZAGREB, July 18 (Hina) - The decision of retired general Mirko Norac to agree to an interview with investigators from the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal is "positive and in his interest", the head of the Croatian government's office for cooperation with the tribunal, Frane Krnic, told a news briefing on Friday.
ZAGREB, July 18 (Hina) - The decision of retired general Mirko Norac to agree to an interview with investigators from the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal is "positive and in his interest", the head of the Croatian government's office for cooperation with the tribunal, Frane Krnic, told a news briefing on Friday. #L# Krnic said he had been informed about the general's decision by his lawyer, Ivan Kern. Krnic said that Norac must send a written reply at the request of the tribunal, which his office was expecting on Monday. The request by the tribunal to hear Norac as a suspect in the operations Medak Pocket and Storm was served on Norac today in the prison of the Rijeka County Court where he had been sentenced in March to 12 years' imprisonment pending appeal for war crimes against civilians in Gospic in 1991. Tribunal investigators have proposed that the interview be conducted on August 12, and if necessary also on August 13 and 14, at the tribunal's office in Zagreb, but Norac's lawyers Kern and Tomislav Sabljar think that the deadline is too short. "The defence of General Norac has asked this office to intervene in order to reschedule the interview from August 12 to the first days of September. This is necessary for General Norac to prepare better for the interview, particularly for the part relating to Operation Storm," Krnic said. Krnic said he had informed the tribunal's Zagreb office of this today and would submit a written request on Monday. According to Krnic, the latest request from the tribunal is "no surprise" because the tribunal has clearly shown its interest in Norac lately. The interview will be part of regular investigating procedure after which the Office of the Prosecutor may issue an indictment or abandon it, he added. Asked about the lawyers' concern that it would be hard to obtain all the necessary documents for defence because many staff in state and military institutions were on holidays, Krnic said his office would do everything it could to make it easier for the lawyers to prepare themselves and would assist them in obtaining the necessary documents. Commenting on the possibility of the UN tribunal referring the case to the Croatian justice system if an indictment is issued, Krnic said "it is hard to predict, but there is a chance," adding that "there have been talks with the tribunal to this effect both about Norac and others." He said that the trial of the so-called Gospic Group in Rijeka was the best recommendation for the Croatian judiciary that it was able to try war crimes. Krnic described as speculation the latest articles in the press on more indictments coming from The Hague. As long as there are investigations, indictments should be expected, but not a spectacular number of them, he said. Asked about the part of the European Union membership questionnaire relating to cooperation with the tribunal, Krnic said that there were four points that would be completed by the middle of the next week and that evidence would be presented to prove "the political will and practical cooperation of Croatia with the tribunal." (hina) vm

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