SARAJEVO, March 3 (Hina) - Vice President of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Federation, Ivo Andric-Luzanski, on Friday said he was shocked at the verdict and sentence imposed on Bosnian Croat General Tihomir Blaskic by the International War
Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). "If a man for whom I am deeply sure that he has never committed any war crime, has been jailed for 45 years, the question raises itself for which purposes and aims the Hague-based Tribunal was set up," Luzanski told Hina's Sarajevo corespondent on Friday. The Federal Vice President stressed he did not doubt that crimes had been committed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that all three parties (Croat, Moslem and Serb) had committed them, but real culprits were being still at large. He recalled that Blaskic had surrendered to the ICTY voluntarily as a Croatian citizen and general of the Croatian Army. "Whether this s
SARAJEVO, March 3 (Hina) - Vice President of Bosnia-Herzegovina's
Federation, Ivo Andric-Luzanski, on Friday said he was shocked at
the verdict and sentence imposed on Bosnian Croat General Tihomir
Blaskic by the International War Crimes Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"If a man for whom I am deeply sure that he has never committed any
war crime, has been jailed for 45 years, the question raises itself
for which purposes and aims the Hague-based Tribunal was set up,"
Luzanski told Hina's Sarajevo corespondent on Friday.
The Federal Vice President stressed he did not doubt that crimes had
been committed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that all
three parties (Croat, Moslem and Serb) had committed them, but real
culprits were being still at large.
He recalled that Blaskic had surrendered to the ICTY voluntarily as
a Croatian citizen and general of the Croatian Army.
"Whether this sentence will affect the cooperation with the Hague
Tribunal is on the Croatian authorities to decide," Luzanski
added.
He believed that Blaskic's defence attorneys would definitely
appealed against "this astonishingly severe sentence", and voiced
hope that all segments of Blaskic's involvement in the Bosnian war
would be truly considered as this would certainly lead to decrease
of the prison sentence.
Croat officials in Central Bosnian Canton (within the Croat-Moslem
Federation) were outraged by the sentence.
"I couldn't have dreamt of it. The sentence is unjust. I am outraged
and I need time to find measures for all aspects," the Canton's Vice
President Branko Golub said.
(hina) jn ms