ZAGREB, Feb 10 (Hina) - War veterans associations from Varazdin County strongly object to the arrests and prosecution of Croatian generals, officers and all honourable veterans who took part in the early 1990s war of independence from
the ex-Yugoslavia. The arrests and prosecution devalue the Homeland Defence War, they said in a statement on Saturday. "That represents a condemnation of 14,000 Croatian soldiers who were killed, 30,000... who were wounded, 1,600 soldiers and civilians who went missing... and 50,000 Croatian citizens who are still displaced," read the statement. A rally protesting against an arrest warrant issued this week for retired general Mirko Norac for war crimes will be staged in the northern town of Varazdin on Feb. 11. A Croatian Railways association of veterans and disabled veterans today released a letter saying the veterans' goal was not to subvert but preserve the Croatian state. The lett
ZAGREB, Feb 10 (Hina) - War veterans associations from Varazdin
County strongly object to the arrests and prosecution of Croatian
generals, officers and all honourable veterans who took part in the
early 1990s war of independence from the ex-Yugoslavia.
The arrests and prosecution devalue the Homeland Defence War, they
said in a statement on Saturday.
"That represents a condemnation of 14,000 Croatian soldiers who
were killed, 30,000... who were wounded, 1,600 soldiers and
civilians who went missing... and 50,000 Croatian citizens who are
still displaced," read the statement.
A rally protesting against an arrest warrant issued this week for
retired general Mirko Norac for war crimes will be staged in the
northern town of Varazdin on Feb. 11.
A Croatian Railways association of veterans and disabled veterans
today released a letter saying the veterans' goal was not to subvert
but preserve the Croatian state. The letter says that all veterans
are "suspected" and that they all feel like Norac.
Veterans from Krapina-Zagorje County also voiced their full
support to headquarters for the protection of the dignity of the
Homeland Defence War owing to increasingly frequent attacks on
fallen Croatian heroes, the criminalisation of the Homeland War and
all who fought and sacrificed their lives for, or in any other way
played a role in the creation of free and independent Croatia.
"We support the peaceful protests around Croatia in an attempt to
attract the attention of the Croatian government and the judiciary,
which we believe is an extension of the incumbent governing
structure," they said in a statement, announcing a protest in the
northern town of Krapina for Sunday.
Branches of the Croatian Democratic Union party in the southern
towns of Makarska and Brela also voiced their support to protests
against the Norac warrant.
The president of HVIDR-a, an association of disabled war veterans,
Marinko Liovic, told a news conference today the prime minister was
lying when he said that groups organising the protests knew general
Norac's whereabouts.
Liovic also slammed the head of the parliamentary bench of the
Social Democratic Party, the strongest in the ruling coalition,
Mato Arlovic, who said yesterday that the groups organising the
protests were preparing to subvert the legal authority and carry
out a coup d'etat.
Denying that he was in possession of information as to the fate and
whereabouts of Norac, Liovic said the general certainly was not on
the run.
"In recent months, Norac was followed by secret services," said
Ivica Perkovic, chairman of HVIDR-a's Head Committee. He added the
silence surrounding Norac was making veterans uncertain.
HVIDR-a announced a series of protests for tomorrow in all the
bigger towns.
(hina) ha sb