MESIC ON NORMALISATION OF CRO-YU RELATIONS FOR SERBIAN MEDIA

BELGRADE, Nov 12 (Hina) - Normalising relations between Belgrade and Zagreb must be preceded by bringing to justice all those who committed war crimes, resolving the issue of succession to the former Yugoslav federation and enabling the return of refugees, Croatian President Stipe Mesic said. "Individualising guilt is the most important thing. This war was unnecessary and irrational, but it included victims and crimes and crimes must be answered for. Individualising guilt will enable putting an end to collective guilt," Mesic said in an interview with the Serbian radio-television on Sunday. The Croatian president said war crimes suspects should be tried before The Hague-based war crimes tribunal but he also answered affirmatively when asked whether war crimes suspects could be tried in Croatia and Serbia. "It would be best if the domestic judiciary would make efforts to try war crimes. However, if that is not done, the Hague tribunal is the only one to help. There are a lot of people who think that trying war criminals means trying a nation but this is not true. One must cooperate with the Hague tribunal, because we cannot try war crimes and cooperate with the tribunal while thousands of criminals live freely in Serbia," Mesic said. "Those who killed 300 wounded in Vukovar, who killed the wounded at Ovcara, and one of them is teaching at a military academy in Belgrade - Serbia and the Serbian people do not deserve that, and those people must be handed over to The Hague, together with the chief instigator Slobodan Milosevic," Mesic said. The issue of refugees is a "common issue" between Yugoslavia and Croatia, refugees are war victims, not the ones who are responsible for it, he said. "The return of Serbs to Croatia enables us to demonstrate the maturity of Croatian democracy but it also helps Serbia show that expanding borders is not worthwhile." Asked about the status of Croatia's southern-most peninsula of Prevlaka, Mesic said it was not a "territorial issue" and one should not make a problem out of it. "We have solved that problem with Montenegro and that would mean that we have solved it with Yugoslavia as well. Prevlaka is not a territorial issue. It is known that the area has always belonged to Konavle and Dubrovnik. It is a security issue and the Montenegrin leadership has agreed with that. If it is a security issue, a tourist paradise should be made on both sides of the border, tourists will be coming and we will be cooperating. Why set up barbed-wire fences if we can (develop) tourism, which will benefit both sides," Mesic said. Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica will be received at the Zagreb summit, to gather EU and Balkan leaders, in a most normal manner and with pleasure, Mesic said, adding Kostunica had made "the first step toward changes in Serbia," and was expected to make new messages. Croatia wants "democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia, not barbed-wire on its border," Mesic said. Asked when he would visit Belgrade, Mesic said he believed his visit would occur in the "foreseeable time," adding the time of the visit would depend on Serbia's and Yugoslavia's pace in getting rid of Slobodan Milosevic's policy. (hina) rm