ZAGREB, Dec 2 (Hina)- A document on which an article in Monday's issue of the "Jutarnji list" daily was based, entitled "Defence Ministry Report on Crimes in Medak Pocket", was a draft and because the document was marked confidential,
an investigation has been launched to see who was responsible for releasing the report to the public, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
ZAGREB, Dec 2 (Hina)- A document on which an article in Monday's
issue of the "Jutarnji list" daily was based, entitled "Defence
Ministry Report on Crimes in Medak Pocket", was a draft and because
the document was marked confidential, an investigation has been
launched to see who was responsible for releasing the report to the
public, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday. #L#
The material was a draft containing an analytical evaluation of the
relevant Defence Ministry sections and was delivered to the
appropriate institutions in Croatia, the statement said.
"Considering that this is a document marked State Secret in the
Defence Ministry, an investigation has been launched which should
indicate any possible responsibility by those who released the
document to the public," the statement said.
Deputy Defence Minister Zlatko Gareljic told "Radio 101" on Monday
that the document was an analytical evaluation, therefore
something that is not a formally-legally verified or a concluded
story. Gareljic did not point the finger at the media but at those
who released the document to the media.
In its article "Defence Ministry Report on the Crimes in Medak
Pocket" the daily notes that the editors of the paper received a
document several weeks ago that contained details of an analysis of
events in the Medak Pocket as well as a reconstruction of the line of
command in the Croatian Armed Forces during the Medak Pocket
operation.
The paper also notes that the document was marked State Secret and
that it was written early 2001 after Croatian intelligence services
found out that the Hague prosecution was collecting data about the
events in the Medak Pocket in Lika in September 1993 when a large
number of Serb civilians were killed.
The paper also claims that late last month, one of the former heads
of the military security services confirmed the authenticity of the
document.
(Hina) sp it sb