THE HAGUE, Jan 19 (Hina) - The most important thing for The Hague war crimes tribunal is that Croatia's new authorities acknowledge the tribunal's jurisdiction over the investigation of operations "Flash" and "Storm", a spokesman for
the tribunal's Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday. A possible proposal that Croatian courts prosecute crimes allegedly committed during the two operations will be discussed upon submission of same, spokesman Paul Risley said. One of the questions put at today's press conference at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague referred to the Prosecutor's Office's position regarding the possibility that Croatia's new authorities voice interest in prosecuting possible crimes committed during "Flash" and "Storm" in national courts. Risley said the ICTY would discuss the matter upon receiving a formal proposal, pointing out
THE HAGUE, Jan 19 (Hina) - The most important thing for The Hague war
crimes tribunal is that Croatia's new authorities acknowledge the
tribunal's jurisdiction over the investigation of operations
"Flash" and "Storm", a spokesman for the tribunal's Prosecutor's
Office said on Wednesday.
A possible proposal that Croatian courts prosecute crimes
allegedly committed during the two operations will be discussed
upon submission of same, spokesman Paul Risley said.
One of the questions put at today's press conference at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
in The Hague referred to the Prosecutor's Office's position
regarding the possibility that Croatia's new authorities voice
interest in prosecuting possible crimes committed during "Flash"
and "Storm" in national courts.
Risley said the ICTY would discuss the matter upon receiving a
formal proposal, pointing out the most important thing for the
Prosecutor's Office was that Croatia's new authorities acknowledge
ICTY jurisdiction over the operations.
Last year, Croatia refused to submit documents the ICTY requested
in connection with the two operations with which Croatia in 1995
liberated parts of its territory occupied by the Serb aggressor
since 1991. Croatia disputed in full The Hague tribunal's
jurisdiction over the operations, claiming the operations had been
of a military and police character, and not an armed conflict which
would be subject to ICTY jurisdiction.
Last August, then ICTY president Gabrielle Kirk McDonald reported
Croatia to the United Nations Security Council for non-cooperation
in the investigation of "Flash" and "Storm", and the failure to
extradite Mladen Naletilic Tuta, a Croat accused of crimes over
Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) ha mm