SOCIAL DEMOCRATS OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON FUGITIVE GENERAL'S CASE

SLAVONSKI BROD, Sept 27 (Hina) - Social Democratic Party (SDP) vice president Mato Arlovic said on Saturday the international community's criticism that Croatia was not cooperating enough with the Hague war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia would be in place if Croatia knew Ante Gotovina's whereabouts but did not wish to arrest him. #L# "In that case (Croatia) would not break only international law but its own as well since an arrest warrant has been issued for Gotovina," Arlovic told reporters in Slavonski Brod at a local county SDP meeting. He said it was perfectly clear that Croatia would do everything to arrest Gotovina and turn him over to the Hague tribunal if it found out where he was, in line with its international commitments, the tribunal's statute, and its own constitutional law on cooperation with the tribunal. "But we equally expect of European countries, if Ante Gotovina is there, to... arrest him." Arlovic said this subject was likely to fall in the background following talks with chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in Zagreb early next month. Speaking of the SDP platform for coming parliamentary elections, Arlovic said a significant guideline was the meeting of conditions for admission to the European Union. He reiterated the SDP would run independently on the national level but did not rule out the possibility of coalitions in some constituencies. (hina) ha