ZADAR'S HVIDRA & UHDDR EXPRESS BITTERNESS ABOUT BLASKIC'S VERDICT

ZADAR, March 6 (Hina) - The Association of Croatian Homeland War Volunteers (UHDDR) from Zadar County and the Croatian Homeland War Invalids from the central Adriatic town of Zadar on Monday expressed their bitterness about a verdict passed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the case of General Tihomir Blaskic. "The decision of the ICTY is an insult to us, the Homeland War Volunteers, but also to all Croatian citizens who were pro free and independent Croatia. We cannot accept the verdict which blames Croatia for the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina", the UHDDR statement read. The UHDDR stressed that conflicts between Moslems and Croats were misfortunate consequences of the Serb aggression. The statement read that all crimes committed by Serbs were silently observed by the West, and that perpetrators of the terror in Croatia were never brought before the ICTY. The UHDDR called on the Croatian Government to prove that Blaskic was innocent and to examine its relations with the ICTY. (hina) it mm