ZAGREB, Oct 28 (Hina) - In an interview with Croatian Radio on Monday, President Stjepan Mesic elaborated on his statement of Saturday that he believed that General Ante Gotovina, who has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal at
The Hague, was in Croatia.
ZAGREB, Oct 28 (Hina) - In an interview with Croatian Radio on
Monday, President Stjepan Mesic elaborated on his statement of
Saturday that he believed that General Ante Gotovina, who has been
indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague, was in Croatia.
#L#
"I don't have any major piece of evidence," said Mesic, adding that
there had been some indications that Gotovina was in Croatia but
that he did not know his whereabouts at present.
"If (competent) services are working on it, I assume they should
know where he is. If today you know where someone is, this doesn't
mean that you will know it in ten days' time as well," said Mesic,
answering questions if he had any substantial evidence to back his
claims.
The President said on Saturday he believed "that General Gotovina
is in Croatia, and not in some other country, because that country
would have extradited him".
Talking to Family Radio on Friday, Prime Minister Ivica Racan
refuted some media reports on his recent talks with Hague tribunal
chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte about Gotovina. Racan said
Gotovina had been mentioned but that Del Ponte did not say she knew
he was in Croatia.
Asked if General Janko Bobetko, another ICTY indictee, would be
served with the indictment, given that "self-styled protectors"
were stationed in front of his house, Mesic said "those protectors
would mean nothing if one was to serve him with the indictment in the
house".
"What do these protectors represent? They mustn't stop a person
from performing their official duty. Since Bobetko's whereabouts
are known, he may be handed the indictment, or it may be stuck on his
door. How the court acts in such matters is not unknown," Mesic
said, adding that the 83-year-old Bobetko should be hospitalised.
"How would the state function if citizens did not respect the law
and if laws were applied selectively? We wouldn't have a state in
that case, so why did we fight for it?" Mesic said.
(hina) ha sb