ZAGREB, May 22 (Hina) - The Croatian Interior Ministry is investigating the involvement of possible new suspects in the killing of a number of Muslim civilians in the central Bosnian village of Ahmici seven years ago, an official at
the Interior Ministry said on Monday. "Following information that there are other possible suspects connected with the Ahmici crime, the Interior Ministry has for some time been taking certain measures on gathering operational material," the head of the Ministry's public relations department, Slavko Rako, said in a written statement. 'Jutarnji list' daily last week reported that there was a report by the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS) proving that some participants in the Ahmici crime were living in Croatia under new identities and that the former authorities had allegedly enabled them to do so. The Interior Ministry would not give more detailed
ZAGREB, May 22 (Hina) - The Croatian Interior Ministry is
investigating the involvement of possible new suspects in the
killing of a number of Muslim civilians in the central Bosnian
village of Ahmici seven years ago, an official at the Interior
Ministry said on Monday.
"Following information that there are other possible suspects
connected with the Ahmici crime, the Interior Ministry has for some
time been taking certain measures on gathering operational
material," the head of the Ministry's public relations department,
Slavko Rako, said in a written statement.
'Jutarnji list' daily last week reported that there was a report by
the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS) proving that some
participants in the Ahmici crime were living in Croatia under new
identities and that the former authorities had allegedly enabled
them to do so.
The Interior Ministry would not give more detailed information on a
possible investigation against those persons, who, during the
trial of the former commander of the Operative Zone Central Bosnia,
General Tihomir Blaskic, before the Hague Tribunal, were mentioned
as possible participants in the Ahmici massacre.
During the Croat-Muslim conflict in central Bosnia in 1993, Croat
forces on April 16, 1993 attacked the village of Ahmici, killing
more than one hundred Muslim civilians. General Blaskic was found
guilty for what was said to be the gravest crime in central Bosnia.
Another five Bosnian Croats were sentenced in another trial,
"Kupreskic and others", for participating in the expulsion of
Muslims from Ahmici.
During the trial of Blaskic, an issue which came up was the role in
the Ahmici crime of the commander of the fourth military police
battalion, Pasko Ljubicic, an assistant for the Security and
Intelligence Service (SIS), Ante Sliskovic, and a member of the
Croatian Defence Council (HVO), Miroslav Bralo Cicko.
Information on whether arrest warrants have been issued for those
persons could not be obtained at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), although Blaskic had
been requested during his trial to among several dozen persons,
shown on a video recording, identify only one - Ante Sliskovic.
Paul Risley, spokesman for the ICTY Prosecution, said the current
work of the Prosecution could not be commented on and declined to
say what Hague investigators were currently investigating in
Zagreb.
(hina) jn rml