ARCHBISHOP BOZANIC COMMENTS ON BLASKIC'S SENTENCE

ZAGREB, March 6 (Hina) - Commenting on the sentence passed on Tihomir Blaskic, the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, said Croatia must not allow humiliation nor should it go into reverse toward frustrating isolation. We would like now to help a further process so that truth, reasons and evidence on the opinion which prevails in our public about Mr.Blaskic be clarified before the Tribunal. We pray to God for the conscience of judges who represent the international community, to enable them to understand all circumstances of the tragic war and try everybody justly, regardless of their religion, nationality or political orientation, and having in mind victims who interpret their situation in the best way, Bozanic said. Last Friday the International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) imposed the sentence of 45 years in prison for Blaskic, explaining he was responsible individually and as a commander for some crimes in central Bosnia in 1993. Blaskic's defence on Monday announced that it would appeal the Tribunal's verdict and find possibly new evidence in Blaskic's favour. During the same day the Croatian Government made it known that it had found documents which the former authorities of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) did not give to the defence, asserting that those papers could bring the current verdict in question. (hina) jn ms