ZAGREB, Dec 14 (Hina) - Hina on Thursday received a transcript from President Stipe Mesic's Office which it uses to correct the item HNA9324 "MESIC: GOVT. MUSTN'T REPEAT PAST MISTAKES IN COOPERATION WITH ICTY", released on Wednesday
afternoon, in which a statement by the president was wrongly interpreted and quoted as criticism of "some ministers in the ruling six-party coalition."
ZAGREB, Dec 14 (Hina) - Hina on Thursday received a transcript from
President Stipe Mesic's Office which it uses to correct the item
HNA9324 "MESIC: GOVT. MUSTN'T REPEAT PAST MISTAKES IN COOPERATION
WITH ICTY", released on Wednesday afternoon, in which a statement
by the president was wrongly interpreted and quoted as criticism of
"some ministers in the ruling six-party coalition."#L#
Hina apologises to all users and President Mesic.
The statement was given in Palermo, Italy, where Mesic attended a
United Nations conference on combating organised crime, to
Croatian Radio journalist Zoltan Kabok.
According to the transcript, Kabok asked the president to comment
on "certain speculations which have appeared in the papers recently
on alleged indictments the Hague tribunal is filing against six
generals and two officials of the former authorities."
Mesic answered: "I think it certainly is some kind of speculation
which obviously has something else as its goal... To attack
international institutions, which is what this is about, because
opposing the Hague tribunal means opposing the international
community, the United Nations, leads Croatia into isolation again.
Those speculating this way want an isolated Croatia again, they
want to see in power those who pillaged Croatia or want to continue
with the pillage themselves.
Kabok asked: "Do you think that maybe part of the government, if not
the whole government, is not consistent in cooperating with the
Hague tribunal and implementing what has been signed?"
"I wouldn't speculate on that, but those letting the Croatian
public know that the world is against Croatia in this way, that the
Hague tribunal is against Croatia, obviously have something else in
mind and not Croatia's well-being."
Following is the item as it was released yesterday:
PALERMO, Dec 13 (Hina) - President Stipe Mesic said on Wednesday
UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague was preparing indictments
against six Croatian generals and two civilians, and called on the
government not to repeat the errors of the former one, which failed
to fully cooperate with the tribunal.#L#
Mesic spoke to reporters in Palermo, Italy, where he is attending a
United Nations conference on combating organised crime. He did not
say the names of the people in the indictments.
Speaking about the Croatian government's cooperation with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Mesic
said it was neither satisfactory nor complete.
Some ministers in the ruling six-party coalition have not distanced
themselves from the rhetoric used in the past years by the formerly
ruling Croatian Democratic Union, he said, stressing the incumbent
government must not repeat the same mistakes.
It is contrary not only to the obligations Croatia assumed but also
to its democratisation, Mesic said. "Those in the Croatian
government talking about an international conspiracy and pressures
on Croatia do not act in Croatia's favour."
(hina) ha