BEIJING, Oct 24 (Hina) - China believes Croatia has the right to use legal instruments available in a dispute with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) regarding General Janko Bobetko's case, Croatian
parliament president Zlatko Tomcic, who is on an official visit to China, said Thursday.
BEIJING, Oct 24 (Hina) - China believes Croatia has the right to use
legal instruments available in a dispute with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) regarding
General Janko Bobetko's case, Croatian parliament president Zlatko
Tomcic, who is on an official visit to China, said Thursday. #L#
"They stated very clearly that Croatia in this case has the right to
act this way and ... has the right to defend its sovereignty,"
Tomcic said after talks with his host, the president of the All-
China People's Congress, Li Peng.
He said that China had very well understood that "by wanting to
engage in legal dispute regarding the defence of its dignity, the
Homeland War, certain operations and individuals in the case of
General Bobetko, Croatia does not wish to discontinue
(cooperation) with the Hague-based tribunal, on the contrary, it
wishes to explore available legal possibilities".
China, one of the five permanent members of the U.N Security
Council, at the time supported the establishment of the ICTY. Li
Peng said during the talks with Tomcic that his country continued to
support the tribunal's work, namely punishing persons who violated
international humanitarian law.
He added, however, that the tribunal should not be "a political
instrument of the international community".
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