ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The Hague-based International Tribunal enjoys full support of the international community, and that is why we must cooperate with it or we shall face isolation, a former Foreign Minister Mate Granic, who is
now a deputy of the Democratic Centre (DC) to the Sabor, said during Friday's parliamentary discussion on the Government's draft declaration on cooperation with the International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Last summer the ICTY's prosecutor reported Croatia to the United Nations' Security Council for its failure to cooperate. This was done owing to (Zagreb's) failure to transfer (indictee) Mladen Naletilic alias Tuta from Zagreb to The Hague and owing to refusal to produce documents referring to the (1995) "Flash" and "Storm" operations. Mate Granic said the problem of Tuta was solved, while the former Government (led by the then ruling HDZ party)
ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The Hague-based International Tribunal
enjoys full support of the international community, and that is why
we must cooperate with it or we shall face isolation, a former
Foreign Minister Mate Granic, who is now a deputy of the Democratic
Centre (DC) to the Sabor, said during Friday's parliamentary
discussion on the Government's draft declaration on cooperation
with the International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia
(ICTY).
Last summer the ICTY's prosecutor reported Croatia to the United
Nations' Security Council for its failure to cooperate. This was
done owing to (Zagreb's) failure to transfer (indictee) Mladen
Naletilic alias Tuta from Zagreb to The Hague and owing to refusal
to produce documents referring to the (1995) "Flash" and "Storm"
operations.
Mate Granic said the problem of Tuta was solved, while the former
Government (led by the then ruling HDZ party) tried to solve the
other problem by shifting the issue from the Security Council to the
Hague Tribunal Council, pledging to accept any decision of the
Tribunal.
The Hague Tribunal rejected that possibility as it was not
stipulated by rules, the former minister explained, regarding that
during Friday's debate HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) members of
the parliament gave different information.
HDZ deputies claimed that the blame should be pinned on the Tribunal
for the poor cooperation between the former Government and the
Hague Tribunal as the latter has not yet decided on the request of
the former government.
Croatia is expected now to give clear final stands, Granic said
adding that in case the Tribunal's Prosecutor again reports Croatia
to the Security Council, the Security Council is likely to take her
side. The consequence of this is isolation, he cautioned.
It is in Croatia's interest to cooperate with the Tribunal and
individualise the guilt in order to protect the legitimacy of the
Homeland War, which no country in the world has brought into
question, the DC deputy asserted.
(hina) ms