ZAGREB, Aug 17 (Hina) - Croatian parliament speaker Zlatko Tomcic said on Thursday the Stipetic affair could have serious repercussions if it were established that The Hague war crimes tribunal had changed its policy towards Croatia
and was no longer willing to abide by rules Croatia had accepted in a constitutional law and declaration on cooperation with the tribunal. If that were the case, we would have to re-examine our relations with The Hague tribunal, Tomcic told reporters.
ZAGREB, Aug 17 (Hina) - Croatian parliament speaker Zlatko Tomcic
said on Thursday the Stipetic affair could have serious
repercussions if it were established that The Hague war crimes
tribunal had changed its policy towards Croatia and was no longer
willing to abide by rules Croatia had accepted in a constitutional
law and declaration on cooperation with the tribunal.
If that were the case, we would have to re-examine our relations
with The Hague tribunal, Tomcic told reporters.#L#
Two weeks ago, the weekly Globus stated The Hague-based
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was
investigating the role of the Croatian army's incumbent chief-of-
staff, General Petar Stipetic, as part of investigations into
crimes committed during the liberation of Croatia's Serb-occupied
territory in 1995. The statement elicited numerous reactions.
An entire series of contradictory statements followed when Drazen
Budisa, the president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party, said
that Prime Minister Ivica Racan had told him Stipetic's name had
been mentioned during talks Croatia's senior officials held with
ICTY's chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in Zagreb.
Tomcic said today either Budisa was right or President Stipe Mesic
and Prime Minister Racan, who claim Stipetic was not mentioned
during those talks.
According to the parliament speaker, this entirely unnecessary
scandal unfortunately overshadows Stipetic, who Tomcic says has
performed his high duties honourably during last decade's Homeland
War as well as now, and does not deserve to have his name dragged in
the media in this manner.
Tomcic said he was going to convene a meeting once the president of
the republic and the prime minister returned from vacation to
ultimately clarify, in a calm, tolerant atmosphere, whether
Stipetic or other Croatian generals had been mentioned during the
Del Ponte talks and, most important of all, if those talks indicated
a possible change in The Hague tribunal's policy towards Croatia.
The general public should then be told what is going on, the
parliament speaker said.
Tomcic is confident this affair will have only brief repercussions
on the ruling six-party coalition. We are responsible people and I
believe we shall find a model to make those who made a mistake admit
to it, and that major consequences will be avoided, he said.
(hina) ha jn