ZAGREB, Aug 2 (Hina) - "If it is true that I am suspected, I am ready to go to the Hague Tribunal," said the Croatian Armed Forces' chief-of-staff, General Petar Stipetic, on Wednesday after the Croatian weekly "Globus" reported that
an investigation against this Croatian general was being conducted. After his meeting with a Chinese military delegation on Wednesday, Stipetic said he had carried out his task in a honourable and fair manner and taken all measures the purpose of which was to prevent violation of the international rules and conventions. "There were no crimes in the Croatian Army, except from perhaps situations in the fighting where they could not be averted," Stipetic said adding that speculations on launching a probe against him were a consequence of political ploys in the country. Croatia's Deputy Defence Minister Zlatko Gareljic described the speculations about the instigated
ZAGREB, Aug 2 (Hina) - "If it is true that I am suspected, I am ready
to go to the Hague Tribunal," said the Croatian Armed Forces' chief-
of-staff, General Petar Stipetic, on Wednesday after the Croatian
weekly "Globus" reported that an investigation against this
Croatian general was being conducted.
After his meeting with a Chinese military delegation on Wednesday,
Stipetic said he had carried out his task in a honourable and fair
manner and taken all measures the purpose of which was to prevent
violation of the international rules and conventions.
"There were no crimes in the Croatian Army, except from perhaps
situations in the fighting where they could not be averted,"
Stipetic said adding that speculations on launching a probe against
him were a consequence of political ploys in the country.
Croatia's Deputy Defence Minister Zlatko Gareljic described the
speculations about the instigated investigation against Stipetic
as one thing which "the incumbent authorities have inherited from
the past, since some things which happened in the Croatian Army
should have been earlier processed."
Gareljic declined to comment on the article of 'Globus' as he has
not yet seen it. He, however, told reporters that he highly
appreciated Stipetic's seriousness and professionalism.
The Government's office in charge of cooperation with the Hague-
based International War Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) said it did not possess any information on the Tribunal's
probe against Stipetic. In addition, the Croatian Government did
not have any comment on the case.
A spokesman for the ICTY Prosecution, Paul Risley, told Hina that it
was the practice of the Prosecutor's Office not to comment on
ongoing investigations.
The latest issue of 'Globus' contains the article which reads that
the Hague Tribunal is carrying out the investigation against Gen.
Stipetic.
According to the weekly, Stipetic can be linked with investigations
as he was the commander of the 1995 military operations in the
former UN Sector North which covered Croatian areas of Kordun and
Banovina.
The weekly cited the data recently made public by the Croatian
Helsinki Committee (HHO) that asserted that during the 1995 "Storm"
liberating action and in the wake of it, 267 Serb civilians were
killed or went missing in the aforementioned area. The figure is not
final.
'Globus' claimed that during her recent visit to Zagreb ICTY Chief
Prosecutor Carla del Ponte told the Croatian leadership that
Stipetic could possibly be added to a list of generals about whom
her prosecution had been conducting investigations for a few
months.
(hina) ms