ZAGREB, Feb 4 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's House of Representatives on Thursday begun a discussion on Croatia's relations with The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The discussion was
initiated by the benches of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP). Besides introductory speeches by HDZ and HSP bench presidents, the MPs will hear a government report on the matter. HDZ bench president Vladimir Seks said in his introduction that Croatia had in good faith adopted the Constitutional Law and cooperation with The Hague tribunal. What it got in return was bias, slowness, politicisation, and selectivity, he said. Seks warned about the considerable degree of politicisation of the chief prosecutor's office and the tribunal on the example of the indictment against Mladen Naletilic and Vinko Martinovi
ZAGREB, Feb 4 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's House of
Representatives on Thursday begun a discussion on Croatia's
relations with The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia.
The discussion was initiated by the benches of the ruling Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP).
Besides introductory speeches by HDZ and HSP bench presidents, the
MPs will hear a government report on the matter.
HDZ bench president Vladimir Seks said in his introduction that
Croatia had in good faith adopted the Constitutional Law and
cooperation with The Hague tribunal. What it got in return was bias,
slowness, politicisation, and selectivity, he said.
Seks warned about the considerable degree of politicisation of the
chief prosecutor's office and the tribunal on the example of the
indictment against Mladen Naletilic and Vinko Martinovic.
"That indictment, and there are others like it, try to define
Croatia as an occupying force, a country which made an aggression on
another state, Bosnia-Herzegovina," Seks said.
He also commented on the tribunal's investigations into Croatian
Army activities after "Flash" and "Storm", two operations which in
1995 liberated the majority of Croatia's territory under Serbian
occupation from 1991 until then.
The investigation, he said, opened the possibility to accuse
Croatian generals and top state officials.
"That is an attempt to set preliminaries for the criminalisation of
the Homeland War," Seks said, pointing out such modus operandi on
The Hague tribunal's part must resolutely be opposed.
The ruling HDZ parliamentary bench president suggested parliament
should adopt a resolution on cooperation with The Hague tribunal.
Cooperation should not be discontinued, the Constitutional Law
should not be either rescinded or suspended, he said, pointing out
the tribunal and chief prosecutor should instead be requested to
change their style and behaviour.
"We must find a way to change The Hague tribunal's and chief
prosecutor's attitude and the way of seeking the punishment of war
crimes," Seks concluded.
Representatives of six opposition parties view these accusations
as very serious and consider them the official standpoint of the
ruling party.
Drazen Budisa of the Croatian Social Liberal Party requested that
the opposition's six representatives be submitted with indictments
against Croatian citizens, the correspondence of the government's
office for cooperation with The Hague tribunal, and documents on
the tribunal's investigations in Bosnia.
"These arbitrary and far-reaching conclusions require
argumentation," said Vladimir Gotovac of the Liberal Party.
He warned Croatia should discontinue cooperation with the tribunal
should Seks' claims that the tribunal wished to criminalise the
Homeland War prove correct.
Seks explained his claims referred to the prosecutor's office, not
to the tribunal. He added his address contained his judgements, and
that he had referred only to the tribunal's statute and rules of
procedure available to the public and to the indictments available
on the internet.
It was agreed to submit these documents to opposition
representatives.
(hina) ha jn