ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic on Wednesday stated that the Constitutional Law on Co-operation with the Hague Tribunal would not be amended because the government believed that this would not be worthwhile.
The government has instead launched an initiative on the Croatian judiciary prosecuting war crimes committed in Croatia, which will be decided by The Hague, Granic said.
ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic on
Wednesday stated that the Constitutional Law on Co-operation with
the Hague Tribunal would not be amended because the government
believed that this would not be worthwhile. The government has
instead launched an initiative on the Croatian judiciary
prosecuting war crimes committed in Croatia, which will be decided
by The Hague, Granic said. #L#
"This is the first time in negotiations with the Hague Tribunal that
an initiative has been launched for Croatia's judiciary to be
authorised to process war crimes in Croatia," Granic said during
question time in parliament, answering a question by MP Ljerka
Mintas-Hodak.
In her question Mintas-Hodak noted that one of the conclusions
adopted by the Sabor last year was to reconsider the Law on Co-
operation with the Hague Tribunal. She reminded that the media had
reported that the Hague Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor would deliver
new indictments for war crimes to Croatia.
Anto Djapic of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) asked Prime
Minister Ivica Racan whether the government would abide by the
stand of the Badinter Commission on demarcation on Prevlaka and if
he expected the extension of the mandate of the U.N. mission on
Prevlaka.
Racan answered that the government did not have reason to change its
stand on the competence of the Commission, stressing that Prevlaka
remained above all a security and not border issue.
Racan expects that the issue of Prevlaka will be resolved by year's
end in co-operation with government bodies in Montenegro and Serbia
who he claims have been called on to co-operate. If the U.N. mandate
on Prevlaka is extended, Racan says, this will be a technical
extension that will enable all matters to be resolved by year's
end.
Racan did not want to respond to Djapic's request to comment on
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic's statements that he expects
Croatia to give in on the issue of demarcation on Prevlaka, saying
that he would not comment on statements by officials from other
countries.
Vladimir Jukic (HSP) asked Interior Minister Sime Lucin if his
Ministry had respected criteria "when on the one hand it fired
Croatian policemen due to lack of qualifications and not having
passed state exams, and on the other hand kept Serb policemen who
did not meet the same requirements". Lucin responded that the
structure of the Ministry applied the same criteria to everyone,
however, international bodies reprimanded Croatia for violating
obligations contained in the Erdut Agreement. He explained that
according to the Memorandum on Transitional Police Force, Serb
policemen were not allowed to lose their jobs under any
circumstances.
Lucin further announced that the Ministry was preparing a project
for the autumn which would ensure adequate policemen training.
Asked by Juraj Njavro of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) how it
was possible that the Croatian police employed persons who lived in
Yugoslavia and travelled to work in Croatia, Lucin said that
international bodies considered this, too, Croatia's obligation
from the Erdut Agreement, however, the Ministry would endeavour to
resolve this with the forthcoming project.
HDZ MP Zdenka Babic-Petricevic asked Minister Lucin how the issuing
of tourist passports to Yugoslav citizens, as announced during his
recent visit to Belgrade, would "prevent the killers of the
Croatian people" from entering the country. Sabor Vice-President
Mato Arlovic reacted to this question saying that the "Sabor will
order that all murderers be arrested immediately on the border".
Lucin told MP Babic-Petricevic that he did not know what the
Belgrade media quoted him as saying, however, responding to an
inquiry by the Yugoslav and Republika Srpska Interior Ministries
about the liberalisation of the visa regime, he stated that he would
propose such measures to Croatia as this was in the interest of
Croatia's economy.
"What luck if these murderers were to come to Croatia so we could
prosecute them," Lucin said, stressing that the Croatian border
police were capable of controlling entry into Croatia.
(hina) sp sb