CROATIAN BLOC ADVOCATES CHANGES TO LAW ON COOPERATION WITH ICTY

ZAGREB, Sept 21 (Hina) - The Croatian Bloc (HB) has estimated that Croatia should amend the Constitutional law on Cooperation with the International Criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) based on constitutional and legal foundations for changing the law as drawn up by a non-partisan civil association with the help of attorney Ivo Farcic. #L# According to the draft of some 70 pages, the amendments to the constitutional law are based on valid legal standards and legal solutions such as the United States and countries of the European Union, for example, Italy, France and Germany, have in their cooperation with the tribunal, HB said in a statement issued on Saturday. With such changes to the constitutional law, the same legal standards as in these countries would be applied to Croatian citizens, primarily when it comes to the protection of basic human rights, HB stressed. Also, the Croatian judiciary would be able to judge the legal foundation of the tribunal's indictments, the statement said, adding that this was also "a way in which Croatia is protecting its citizens from possible political persecution and harassment (as in the indictment against General Janko Bobetko), preventing politicisation at the arrival of each new indictment, and at the same time, making it possible for the government to continue cooperating with the tribunal". The Croatian Bloc called on the government today to review its stance on refusing changes to the constitutional law, and on all parliamentary parties to support amendments to the law. If the Croatian parliament refuses the moved changes to the constitutional law, the only solution is a referendum at which Croatian citizens would voice their opinions on the issue. The non-partisan civil association consists of representatives of Homeland War associations. (hina) lml