INTERPOL'S GENERAL SECRETARY SPEAKS ABOUT CRO. FUGITIVE GOTOVINA

BUDAPEST, Sept 25 (Hina) - Interpol general secretary Ronald Kenneth Noble declined to say on Tuesday how the Interpol collects data on the Hague war crimes tribunal's fugitive Croat indictee Ante Gotovina as, he said, the disclosure of specific police technique might help those hiding from the police hide even better. Noble talked to Croatian reporters covering the 70th Interpol assembly in Vienna. Asked if the Interpol might get some valuable information as to Gotovina's whereabouts anytime soon, Noble said he did not want to speak about individual cases, as this is not the Interpol's practice. The Interpol issued an international "red" arrest warrant for Gotovina in August, at the order of the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Noble said the Interpol attributed great importance to arrest warrants from The Hague. "Red" warrants are issued to provide the basis on which Interpol member-states can arrest and detain the wanted person, he added. The other reasons are forcing the fugitive to consider well before leaving his home country, and stepping up police efficiency in Interpol members in recognising and apprehending the fugitive, said Noble. The Hague Tribunal has charged Gotovina with war crimes against civilians and breaches of the law and customs of war during and after 1995's Operation Storm, which liberated Croatian territories occupied by ethnic Serb rebels. (hina) ha sb