BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5107 HINA Zagreb, 15 October 2003

HR-POLITICS-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5107 HINA Zagreb, 15 October 2003 GOVERNMENT PREPARING REPLY TO DEL PONTE'S CRITICISMZAGREB, Oct 15 (Hina) - The Croatian government is completing the draft of a letter which Prime Minister Ivica Racan should forward to a number of addresses in reply to the criticism the chief prosecutor with the Hague war crimes tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, has made against the government, sources said on Wednesday. The letter starts from Croatia's interest in being appreciated for facts which can be checked and measured. These facts are likely to be reiterated in the letter and based on them Croatia will request an objective evaluation of everything it is doing and has done in cooperating with the U.N. tribunal, the sources said. It is estimated the letter might be sent at the end of the week. The possible addressees include Del Ponte, European Commission President Romano Prodi, and European Union ambassadors. The unfavourable assessment of Croati