ZAGREB, Aug 30 (Hina) - The Croatian Interior Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday saying it had been requested by The Hague war crimes tribunal in April 1998 to protect Milan Levar, but that due to reasons being investigated, the
request never reached the local police which was to protect Levar.
ZAGREB, Aug 30 (Hina) - The Croatian Interior Ministry issued a
statement on Wednesday saying it had been requested by The Hague war
crimes tribunal in April 1998 to protect Milan Levar, but that due
to reasons being investigated, the request never reached the local
police which was to protect Levar.#L#
Levar, killed in an explosion this Monday, had testified before the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The
Hague about crimes Croatia had allegedly committed in 1991 against
Serb civilians in the central Croatian town of Gospic.
ICTY said in a statement issued today its Prosecutor's Office had
written to the Croatian government on 1 April 1998 requesting
protection for Levar, a potential witness for the tribunal, and
that on 15 April 1998, the Croatian government had responded by
expressing willingness to assume the responsibility.
In today's statement, the Croatian Interior Ministry said:
"It has been established by checking that on 15 April 1998, the
Cabinet of then Interior Minister Ivan Penic received a note from
the Office of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for
Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague,
containing a request by the International Criminal Tribunal in The
Hague demanding protection for Milan Levar and his family.
"The note requested that the Interior Ministry, in line with its
jurisdiction and authority, provide protection to said persons and
their families.
"Additional checking has established that the note was forwarded to
then assistant interior ministers for police and crime police Josko
Moric and Zeljko Sacic, who forwarded it into procedure within
their sectors. The note and the request, however, were not
forwarded into procedure to the Lika-Senj County Police
Department," the statement said.
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Slavko Rako, Interior
Minister Sime Lucin has ordered the establishment of all
circumstances in connection with the note and the request, as well
as why the request by the government's office for cooperation with
The Hague tribunal was not complied with.
Rako said the interior minister demanded maximum commitment on the
part of all Interior Ministry members involved in the criminal
investigation, in order to find those responsible for Levar's death
as soon as possible.
(hina) ha jn