SEMINAR ON SECURITY SECTOR SUPERVISION STARTS IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Oct 11 (Hina) - Croatia will consistently work on creating a democratic society and a modern army compatible with NATO standards, despite the specific situation in which the police and the military, created during the Homeland War, should be placed in a peace-time situation, a Croatian Prliamentar vice-president, Zdravko Tomac, said in Zagreb on Friday, speaking at a seminar focused to an efficient surveillance of the security sector. #L# The seminar war organised by the Institute for International relations (IMO) in Zagreb and the Centre for European Security Studies (CESS) from the Netherlands. "We find ourselves in a specific situation because the police and army went through a war, which has its advantages, but disadvantages as well. The most difficult task is to find a way to transfer them from a war-time to a peace-time situation, in which we have had success with the police, while military reform still awaits," Tomac said. There is no doubt that Croatia should in part share the fate of countries that surround it, but in no way does it consent to this being its only reference point, Tomac said, adding that this was why Croatia insisted on joining associations such as the CEFTA and the OSCE Mediterranean Forum. In his speech, Tomac also mentioned the situation with regard to the international war crimes tribunal's indictment against retired Croatian General Janko Bobetko, reiterating that Croatia endorsed the prosecution and punishment of all people indicted for concrete war crimes, and did not intend to defend any such person. "However, despite the difficulties we might face, Croatia cannot accept attempts to change the character of the Homeland War from a liberation war, which in fact it was, into operations with an alleged aim of persecution, even ethnic cleansing against Serbs in Croatia," Tomac asserted. "For us there is no dilemma -- Euro-Atlantic associations or the protection of the Homeland War's dignity; we want both," Tomac said, reiterating a claim by Prime Minister Ivica Racan that it was the path on which the ruling coalition would continue to tread, otherwise, Croatia would face early elections. The seminar on the efficient supervision of the defence sector is being held as part of a project entitled "Democratic Control: Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Staff Training (DEMCON-SEE)" which will, in the following three years, try to contribute to the creation of democracy in the security sector in Southeast Europe, i.e. seven countries encompassed by the project: Albania, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro. The aim of the Zagreb seminar is to establish how much civil society and the media in Croatia are managing to control the security sector and what else needed to be done for the control to become more efficient. Each month a round-table will be held on the subject in a different country. (hina) lml sb