BOURNEMOUTH, Sept 30 (Hina) - After meeting his British counterpart Tony Blair in Bournemouth on Tuesday, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan said he doubted that London would ratify Croatia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement
(SAA) with the European Union unless runaway general Ante Gotovina surrendered to the UN war crimes tribunal or the perception that Zagreb was responsible for his being at large changed.
BOURNEMOUTH, Sept 30 (Hina) - After meeting his British counterpart
Tony Blair in Bournemouth on Tuesday, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica
Racan said he doubted that London would ratify Croatia's
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European
Union unless runaway general Ante Gotovina surrendered to the UN
war crimes tribunal or the perception that Zagreb was responsible
for his being at large changed. #L#
Racan paid a working visit to Great Britain on Monday and Tuesday at
the invitation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Racan met
Blair and four of his government ministers on the margins of a
conference of the Labour Party in Bournemouth, southern England.
Racan said he doubted that Great Britain would ratify the SAA
without Gotovina's surrender, but he added that this was not
impossible, if "the perception that Croatia is responsible for that
changed".
Speaking about his meeting with Blair, Racan said that the British
PM reiterated that his country supported Croatia's integration in
the EU. Blair did not give statements after the meeting, and Racan
said the talks were held in a friendly and open atmosphere.
Speaking about General Gotovina, Racan said that Croatia should not
be punished for something it could not carry out.
He said that there were no indications of Gotovina being in Croatia.
Some information, misinformation and half-information about
Gotovina's whereabouts circulated in the international community,
but the Croatian authorities did not receive any reliable
information about his being in Croatia, he said.
"I hope that we will manage to prove that Croatia should not suffer
damage because Gotovina, regrettably, has not managed to make
another step and defend himself before the Hague tribunal," Racan
said, adding that as a law-based state, Croatia wanted to respect
its international obligations.
British Defence Minister Geoff Hoon, whom Racan also met today,
supported Croatia's initiative to open a regional centre for the
training of staff participating in peace operations. Similar
centres already exist in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. By
opening such a centre, Croatia would assume an important regional
role.
The Croatian prime minister left Great Britain for Croatia this
evening.
(hina) rml sb