ZAGREB, Sept 27 (Hina) - During its session on Wednesday the central headquarters for the protection of the dignity of the Homeland War voiced satisfaction with the work and successes of all headquarters, and decided to be active
permanently and resolutely as long as there is need to protect the values of the Homeland War and the Croatian State, the headquarters' president, Lieutenant Mirko Condic, told reporters after the session held on the premises of the Sabor. This body expresses full support to the efforts taken by the headquarters in Lika-Senj County to ensure fair procedure for Croatian warriors detained in the Rijeka prison, Condic said. This referred to people arrested in the mid-September in Gospic on suspicion that they committed war crimes against Serb civilians in that central town in 1991. Lieutenant Condic said the central headquarters asked that their indictments be
ZAGREB, Sept 27 (Hina) - During its session on Wednesday the central
headquarters for the protection of the dignity of the Homeland War
voiced satisfaction with the work and successes of all
headquarters, and decided to be active permanently and resolutely
as long as there is need to protect the values of the Homeland War
and the Croatian State, the headquarters' president, Lieutenant
Mirko Condic, told reporters after the session held on the premises
of the Sabor.
This body expresses full support to the efforts taken by the
headquarters in Lika-Senj County to ensure fair procedure for
Croatian warriors detained in the Rijeka prison, Condic said.
This referred to people arrested in the mid-September in Gospic on
suspicion that they committed war crimes against Serb civilians in
that central town in 1991.
Lieutenant Condic said the central headquarters asked that their
indictments be made public and that they should be released until
trial.
The headquarters insisted that the Government immediately revoke a
decree which prevents investigations against Serb returnees, stop
trials against the Croatian people as well as rescind provisions of
the law on the amnesty of Serb criminals.
If the Government does not do so, then we ask that the equal
provisions of the amnesty act be applied for suspects from the
Croatian Army, Condic added.
He said the headquarters also asked the national parliament to
immediately initiate a discussion on amendments to the law on the
cooperation with the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal
for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Today Condic talked with Sabor Speaker Zlatko Tomcic about those
requests, and the parliament's head promised him to convene a
meeting of the parliamentary benches' leaders for tomorrow to
discuss the addition of those items to the Sabor's agenda.
Asked whether he thought that all problems of war veterans arose on
3 January (the date of the parliamentary ballot when new
authorities were elected), Condic said it was not true and prior to
that period there had been problems.
The headquarters on Wednesday forwarded an open letter to the
Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) director, Mirko Galic,
protesting against the manner in which the Television, during the
flagship information programme 'Dnevnik', recently tried to change
and "correct in favour of the Government the Bishops' Conference's
statement."
Asked by reporters why veterans had not forwarded such letters
while the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was in power, Condic
responded they had sent them but they had never been made public.
This morning the central headquarters' members being chained
protested in front of the Sabor in sympathy for protesters in Gospic
who hold rallies every day being in fetters.
(hina) jn ms