VICE-PREMIER: GOVERNMENT WILL REPLY TO THE HAGUE WHEN IT SETS DEADLINE WITH PARLIAMENT

ZAGREB, Sept 21 (Hina) - The government will officially receive the new Hague-based international war crimes tribunal indictment with an arrest warrant against General Janko Bobetko on Monday. The deadline in which the government will respond to it, since it believes it contrary to the Croatian Constitution, because of which it will initiate a legal dispute with The Hague, will be set by the government in cooperation with the parliament, Croatian Vice- Premier in charge with relations with the Hague tribunal, Goran Granic, said on Saturday. #L# Granic spoke to reporters about the "Bobetko case" after the founding assembly of a new party "Libra" -- the party of liberal democrats -- in whose leadership he has been selected. The government believes that the indictment against general Bobetko is not harmonised with the Croatian Constitution, because it indicts the Croatian legitimate army operation in Medak Pocket, Granic said. He responded sharply to a statement by the spokeswoman of the Hague tribunal, Florance Hartmann, that the Croatian government had no legal possibilities of entering a legal dispute with the tribunal, but could only extradite General Bobetko. "She should talk to Mr. Karadzic's attorney for that," Granic said. The government has found the indictment to be in contrast to the Constitution in the fact that Bobetko has been indicted of having organised and prepared the military operation of persecution of Croatian citizens of Serb nationality in Medak Pocked on ethnic and religious grounds. Granic once again stressed that this was a legitimate military and police operation, necessary and aimed against terrorism, killing and destruction of homes, and carried out under the constitutional task of the Croatian Armed Forces and commitment of the Law on Defence. The United States could also be accused of killing and destroying had they carried out a military operation in Afghanistan against people of another nationality or religion. Granic stressed that he did not bring into question the legal responsibility of those who had killed unnecessarily and looted. He recalled that in two years, dozens of investigations to that effect had taken place in Croatian courts. "The government, however, does not accept a legitimate military operation to be indicted, because it represents the fight of the Croatian people for freedom and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia," Granic stressed. "The government could not have acted the same in the cases of generals Rahim Ademi and Ante Gotovina because then the tribunal did not indict the 'Storm' military operation", he said, adding that the government had back then expressed its dissatisfaction with what had been written in the indictment -- that Gotovina had planned some operations with (the late) president Franjo Tudjman." Granic dismissed the possibility of Croatia being the target of international sanctions for entering a legal dispute with the tribunal. He stressed the government would challenge the indictment on a legal basis, and would not act politically, in the sense of politically suspending the Constitutional Law on cooperation with the Hague tribunal. Granic confirmed he had spoken to Bobetko this morning, but refused to discuss the details of the talks. With regards to an announced meeting of retired generals and representatives of Homeland War associations in Zagreb Granic said political tensions needed defusing and there was no need to be nervous and dissatisfied. The government must cooperate with The Hague in line with its obligation, but the government and other state bodies must make judgements in line with the interests of the bodies and of the Croatian people. Cooperation with the Hague tribunal does not mean sharing its stances, he stressed. (hina) lml