RIJEKA: MAIN COMMITTEE OF THIRD CROATIAN BLOC ESTABLISHED

RIJEKA, Sept 29 (Hina) - The main committee of the Third Croatian Bloc, made up of 23 members from all sides of the country, was established in Rijeka on Sunday. #L# The party's president, Vladimir Bebic, commented on events relating to the indictment and arrest warrant issued against retired Staff General Janko Bobetko by the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal. The Hague tribunal must function because Croatian courts are not capable of doing so, Bebic said, adding that the tribunal was a reflection of the lack of respect of the international community towards the functioning of the Croatian legal system. He said that crimes should be processes notwithstanding who committed them. Although not guilty, Bobetko should prove his innocence in The Hague. This warrant is not a blow to the Homeland War, but is a process of de-Tudjmanisation, Bebic stressed. The Third Croatian Bloc began its electoral campaign on Sunday with the motto "This Is It". The party gathers about 500 members -- representatives of independent lists, independent intellectuals and lists of citizens from 2001 elections, Bebic said. (hina) lml