ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - The Croatian government's office for cooperation with international organisations maintains the headquarters of NATO's Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia interpreted the SOFA agreement on the status of peace
troops on Croatian territory too liberally.
ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - The Croatian government's office for
cooperation with international organisations maintains the
headquarters of NATO's Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia
interpreted the SOFA agreement on the status of peace troops on
Croatian territory too liberally. #L#
The office has protested against last week's landing of SFOR
helicopters on a soccer field in southern Croatia, Hina learned on
Tuesday.
Last week two SFOR helicopters brought chief commander John
Sylvester and his entourage to Dubrovnik to attend a two-day
conference on operation planning.
Croatia protested against it, claiming the landing breached
existing agreements and Croatian laws. The SFOR command dismissed
the accusations.
Both sides refer to SOFA, the Croatia-NATO agreement on the status
of peace troops on Croatian territory which gives NATO troops
permission to move freely on sea, land, and in the air in view of
successfully performing their tasks.
The same agreement stipulates that peace troops have to cooperate
with the host country, respecting its domestic and international
legal norms, the government office told Hina.
The problem arose because the SFOR seemingly interpreted the SFOA
agreement too liberally, particularly the part referring to the
freedom of movement for SFOR troops, thus disregarding domestic and
international legal norms, the office said.
According to spokesman Scott Landy, the SFOR was given permission
by the town of Dubrovnik to land on the Gospino polje soccer field.
The government's office for cooperation with international
organisations, however, maintains that despite obtaining
permission to land from local authorities, the SFOR failed to
comply with the SOFA agreement and Croatian legal norms.
(hina) ha sb