RACAN: GOVERNMENT ISN'T RE-EXAMINING RELATIONS WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL

ZAGREB, Mar 10 (Hina) - Croatian Premier Ivica Racan on Friday said the government was not re-examining relations with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, but wanted to alleviate existing tension and improve co-operation with the tribunal. The premier reiterated the documents the government recently found referred exclusively to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1992- 1994 period, and said it was unacceptable that the documents were not made available to Bosnian Croat Tihomir Blaskic's defence at his Hague trial. Speaking to the press after today's session of parliament's committees for internal affairs and national security, Vladimir Seks of the Croatian Democratic Union said Croatian Intelligence Service manager Ozren Zunec confirmed at the session the documents were not spectacular. Former defence minister Pavao Miljavac said part of the documentation was already familiar. "The Hague operative group searched them, and everything of importance was made available to Blaskic's defence," he said. Speaking to the press after today's session, Premier Racan said "we are not re-examining relations with The Hague, but looking for a way to improve our relations to mutual interest." Racan explained the government, through dialogue with the tribunal, was given the suggestion to draft a platform which would integrally define its view of co-operation with the tribunal, and to say what could be done to alleviate tension and improve co- operation. The premier said Croatia was willing more than before to efficiently do its part of the job in relations with the war crimes tribunal, in keeping with the Constitutional Law on cooperation with the tribunal and the documents it signed. Racan said he was aware Croatia had more important issues to deal with, adding however that since The Hague issue was being tackled, we should do everything to avoid becoming in the next decade hostages to was not been done before. "In Croatia's interest, as well as in the interest of those accused in The Hague, we should defuse the public outcry and hullabaloo," he said. According to the premier, Croatia's problems in relations with the tribunal should be cleared through co-operation, and not through requests by marginal political groups in and outside of Croatia which he said would prefer new tensions and conflicts between Croatia and the international community, as well as new isolation for the country. "Those who implicated the Homeland War, 'Flash' and 'Storm' in this have done a grave disservice, or perhaps it is a case of deliberate confusion," he said. Speaking about the recently found documents on the Bosnian war, Racan said they were extensive and would take time to analyse. The documents will be made available to Blaskic's defence, he reiterated, adding that if the former government had done so, Croatia would have fewer problems with the war crimes tribunal, and Blaskic's standing would be better. Seks said the statement Zunec made earlier today countered Racan's claim that someone in the past government purposefully hid the documents in order to make Blaskic's position more difficult. Seks said he could not say if the documents would help Blaskic because they constitute "hundreds of unchecked files whose examination will take a long time." "Superficial statements provide no foothold for claims that somebody was hiding the documents to sacrifice Blaskic," said Seks. (hina) ha mm