ZAGREB, Oct 9 (Hina) - The United States, as any other member of Interpol, can choose its own methods to ensure fulfilment of its obligations, the Croatian government said in a statement on Thursday in response to the statement by a
US envoy regarding a reward for the arrest of a fugitive Croatian army general.
ZAGREB, Oct 9 (Hina) - The United States, as any other member of
Interpol, can choose its own methods to ensure fulfilment of its
obligations, the Croatian government said in a statement on
Thursday in response to the statement by a US envoy regarding a
reward for the arrest of a fugitive Croatian army general. #L#
The head of the US State Department war crimes division, Pierre-
Richard Prosper, told Jutarnji List daily in an interview on
Thursday that the US government had offered five million dollars
for credible information leading to the arrest of General Ante
Gotovina, who is sought by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
The Croatian government said that all Interpol member countries
were under obligation to apprehend Gotovina since a warrant for his
arrest was issued in the summer of 2001.
Since the outset, the Croatian government has been in ongoing
contact with the competent institutions of partner services,
including those of the United States, in order to obtain relevant
information that might help in fulfilling that obligation. The
competent institutions are verifying every report received, but so
far they have yielded no result, the statement said.
The government reiterated the statement by Prime Minister Ivica
Racan after a recent meeting with chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte,
that the Croatian government and relevant authorities would treat
any information about Gotovina's whereabouts with full
responsibility and that every such report would be verified.
All relevant institutions continue doing their jobs, and the
government hopes that cooperation with relevant institutions of
other countries will be more successful and will produce results,
the statement said.
In an interview with the Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz daily on
Tuesday before his visit to Zagreb, Prosper said his government was
ready to support tough measures against Croatia should Del Ponte
request so in her report to the UN Security Council today.
Any failure by the Croatian government to take true steps with
regard to General Gotovina will affect Croatia's entry into
European institutions. (...) We don't want this to happen, but
everything is in the hands of the Croatian government, Prosper said
during his visit to Zagreb.
(hina) vm