ATTORNEY: NORAC TRIAL - IMPORTANT TEST FOR CROATIA

BELGRADE, Feb 24 (Hina) - Zagreb attorney Ante Nobilo said in Belgrade on Saturday the trial of retired Croatian general and war crimes suspect Mirko Norac would be 'an important test' for the Croatian judiciary. Nobilo participated in a panel discussion, held under the title "Civilian Control of Police" and organised by the German social- democrat foundation 'Friedrich Ebert Stiftung' and Belgrade's weekly 'Vreme'. Addressing reporters during a break, Nobilo said Croatia would either 'fail or pass' on the Norac case. "I hope the Croatian judiciary will pass that test and then routinely continue to process other war crimes suspects," he said. Speaking at the meeting, the Zagreb attorney advocated the processing of war crimes suspects by national judiciaries. "Whether the new Croatian and Serbian authorities have made actual progress will be judged by whether and how much their national courts are able to process war criminals," Nobilo said. The reason the Hague war crimes tribunal was established was because the national courts were not able to prosecute war criminals, he added. Asked about Slobodan Milosevic, Nobilo said he believed "there are no conditions at the moment" for Milosevic to be tried in Serbia because that would cause polarisation or perhaps even stall democratic processes. Milosevic should be sent to The Hague as should some of his main associates, he said. One should, however, attempt to process all other cases in Serbia and that would be the compromise with The Hague, Nobilo said. (hina) rml