ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula told foreign ambassadors accredited to Croatia on Thursday that the indictment against general Janko Bobetko could destabilise Croatia and the region, the Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.
ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula
told foreign ambassadors accredited to Croatia on Thursday that the
indictment against general Janko Bobetko could destabilise Croatia
and the region, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. #L#
Picula today met some foreign ambassadors and informed them of the
current situation and the activities the Croatian government was
undertaking with regard to the indictment against Bobetko.
"Unfortunately, the indictment against general Bobetko could have
a destabilising effect on Croatia, and potentially the wider
region," Picula told the ambassadors, pointing to a series of
disputable formulations contained in the indictment, the Ministry
said.
The Ministry starts from the theory that the Hague-based
International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was
founded with the aim to strengthen the stability of former Yugoslav
countries involved in the conflicts in the 1990s by punishing the
perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the Ministry statement, the Croatian government has
been trying to "explain, correct and contest some allegations from
the indictment, particularly those referring to command
responsibility and political assessments of the Homeland War".
Picula is quoted as saying that the Croatian authorities intend to
continue the legal dialogue on disputable issues with the Hague
prosecution and, if necessary, request the opinion of the panel of
judges in line with the tribunal's statute.
Picula stressed that the Croatian government "is in no way
discontinuing cooperation and dialogue with the International
Criminal Tribunal in The Hague".
The minister reiterated that Croatia supports the tribunal and
believes that all war crimes should be processed and their
perpetrators punished, the Ministry said.
"Croatia also wants its courts to fully carry out their obligation
of prosecuting all persons suspected of war crimes," reads the
statement. An example of the government's determination to bring to
justice those responsible for war crimes in Croatia, regardless of
their nationality, is the trial of the Gospic Group in Rijeka, reads
the statement.
Picula also stressed that the government would in no way change the
priorities of its foreign policy, the main goal being the
implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and
its strategic goal being stability in the region. Croatia acts as a
generator of stability and security in this part of Europe, the
minister said.
(hina) rml