HAGUE TRIBUNAL INVESTIGATORS CONCLUDE INTERVIEW WITH NORAC

ZAGREB, Sept 3 (Hina) - Investigators from the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal have concluded their interview with retired Croatian Army General Mirko Norac in connection with the Medak Pocket operation, his lawyer said on Wednesday afternoon. #L# The tribunal investigators tried to establish his command responsibility, lawyer Ivan Kern told reporters outside Remetinec prison in Zagreb. Norac had commanded the 9th Guards Brigade during the Medak Pocket operation in 1993. The tribunal has issued indictments against General Rahim Ademi and the late Janko Bobetko for the killing of Serb civilians and the destruction of houses in the Croatian army operation in the Medak Pocket in September 1993. The interview mainly revolved around various orders, and Norac presented some documents, including those found in the archives of rebel Serb forces after Operation Storm in 1995. The investigators also presented some documents and asked Norac to comment on them, Kern said. Asked if he thought the tribunal would issue an indictment against Norac, Kern said that the investigators were rather firm in their belief that there were grounds for command responsibility, or rather that it was a borderline case, which he said could be inferred from the wording of their questions. Kern said he believed that the investigators "don't have enough strong arguments" to convict Norac, adding that it was hard to prove his criminal responsibility on the basis of what Norac said and the documents referred to by the investigators. Norac has been sentenced by the county court in Rijeka to 12 years in prison pending appeal for war crimes committed against Serb civilians in Gospic in 1991. Last weekend he was transferred from the court's custody to Zagreb to be questioned by the Hague tribunal investigators. (hina) vm sb