ARBOUR'S STATEMENTS "EXTREMELY INAPPROPRIATE" - DEPUTY PREMIER

ZAGREB, Jan 11 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Premier Ljerka Mintas-Hodak on Monday assessed as "extremely inappropriate" the statements in which the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia chief prosecutor expressed dissatisfaction with the cooperation of Croatian authorities with The Hague-based tribunal. "I believe the latest statements by the chief prosecutor are, to put it mildly, extremely inappropriate. She mixes the role of the prosecutor's office and the international tribunal, equating the two roles, thereby actually discrediting the tribunal's role, which should be an unbiased assessor, whereas the prosecutor's office is one side in the proceedings," Mintas-Hodak told Croatian Television's prime time news. ICTY's chief prosecutor Louise Arbour recently voiced her dissatisfaction with the cooperation Croatian authorities had with the tribunal to domestic and foreign media on several occasions. Arbour had also asserted that Croatian citizens would be able to recognise the Croatian authorities' cynicism about the cooperation. According to Mintas-Hodak, Croatia "has and will cooperate with The Hague tribunal on the basis of standards established in both its Constitution and the constitutional law, assessing meanwhile the protection of its own national interest." "What I think isn't good is the escalation of (such) statements in public. I think the whole mechanism of questions regarding The Hague tribunal has been overly politicised and that it should not recur as a form of pressure on Croatia, given some current circumstances or events (in Croatia)," Mintas-Hodak concluded. (hina) ha