ZAGREB, Oct 16 (Hina) - Parliament president Zlatko Tomcic has said that in contesting the indictment against Janko Bobetko, Croatia has done nothing that is not envisaged by the statute and rules of the UN war crimes tribunal at The
Hague, and that international pressure, which he claims is contributing to a bad public climate, should be withheld until legal proceedings are over.
ZAGREB, Oct 16 (Hina) - Parliament president Zlatko Tomcic has said
that in contesting the indictment against Janko Bobetko, Croatia
has done nothing that is not envisaged by the statute and rules of
the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague, and that international
pressure, which he claims is contributing to a bad public climate,
should be withheld until legal proceedings are over. #L#
Tomcic said this on Wednesday at the Zagreb Fair, where he attended
the opening of the "Ambienta" international furniture and interior
decoration fair, commenting on pressures from Europe that Croatia
extradite the retired general.
Neither at home nor abroad should one rush with estimates as to
possible sanctions against Croatia over the Bobetko case, said
Tomcic.
He stated it was encouraging that the tribunal had decided to set up
a council of appeals to debate two requests the Croatian government
had forwarded in connection with the Bobetko indictment.
One should wait for the council's ruling, but the very fact that the
council has been established and that Croatia has been allowed to
appeal may be encouraging, as well as some kind of message to
Croatia to measure its steps subtly and carefully in the future,
said Tomcic.
He stated the British government's decision to postpone the
ratification of Croatia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement
with the European Union constituted pressure on Croatia which put a
damper on its attempts to systematically and lawfully defend itself
before the tribunal.
(hina) ha sb