BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Hina) - Serbian Vice-Premier Momcilo Perisic, who was tried in absentia in Croatia and sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes in Zadar in 1991, told Belgrade's daily "Glas" that "Croatia is looking for
excuses not to cooperate with Yugoslavia". In reaction to a recent statement by Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula that Croatia cannot cooperate with the Serbian government while it includes Momcilo Perisic, he said it had been said before the Serbian public several times that he had "defended the lives and honour of my soldiers". At the time Perisic was commander of an artillery headquarters in Zemunik, near Zadar, and was charged with war crimes against civilians in Zadar and the shelling of civilian buildings. "Croatia wants to calm its national public, improve its position ahead of the negotiations with Yugoslavia, curry favour with internal forces which have more power t
BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Hina) - Serbian Vice-Premier Momcilo Perisic, who
was tried in absentia in Croatia and sentenced to 20 years in prison
for war crimes in Zadar in 1991, told Belgrade's daily "Glas" that
"Croatia is looking for excuses not to cooperate with Yugoslavia".
In reaction to a recent statement by Croatian Foreign Minister
Tonino Picula that Croatia cannot cooperate with the Serbian
government while it includes Momcilo Perisic, he said it had been
said before the Serbian public several times that he had "defended
the lives and honour of my soldiers".
At the time Perisic was commander of an artillery headquarters in
Zemunik, near Zadar, and was charged with war crimes against
civilians in Zadar and the shelling of civilian buildings.
"Croatia wants to calm its national public, improve its position
ahead of the negotiations with Yugoslavia, curry favour with
internal forces which have more power than is visible, that is, with
the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)," Glas relayed his words.
In continuing the statement, Perisic, who was Yugoslav army's
chief-of-staff for four years until the end of 1998, said Croatian
President Stjepan Mesic had been a senior official in Croatia when
"the largest number of Serbs were killed".
Perisic continued he was "surprised" that Yugoslavia was not
undertaking measures "to protect its citizens," while Croatia is
seeking over 1,000 Serbs for alleged war crimes via the Interpol.
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