THE HAGUE, March 10 (Hina) - Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), on Wednesday dismissed as unfounded claims presented in a Croatian National Sabor's resolution on
the work of the Tribunal and the Prosecutor's Office. Arbour welcomed though Croatia's willingness to continue cooperating with the Tribunal. Speaking at a regular news conference for ICTY reporters, Arbour said that she would question any claim that the Tribunal was inert, inefficient and politicised. Such claims are based either on a completely wrong idea of the Tribunal's work or on some other reasons, however, they are unfounded, Arbour added. She said that she was satisfied that the resolution did not question the framework for cooperation between Croatia and the Tribunal.The Chief Prosecutor added that she had not seen the whole text of the resolution yet. The Croa
THE HAGUE, March 10 (Hina) - Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
on Wednesday dismissed as unfounded claims presented in a Croatian
National Sabor's resolution on the work of the Tribunal and the
Prosecutor's Office.
Arbour welcomed though Croatia's willingness to continue
cooperating with the Tribunal.
Speaking at a regular news conference for ICTY reporters, Arbour
said that she would question any claim that the Tribunal was inert,
inefficient and politicised. Such claims are based either on a
completely wrong idea of the Tribunal's work or on some other
reasons, however, they are unfounded, Arbour added.
She said that she was satisfied that the resolution did not question
the framework for cooperation between Croatia and the Tribunal.
The Chief Prosecutor added that she had not seen the whole text of
the resolution yet.
The Croatian National Sabor's Lower House last week adopted a
resolution expressing disappointment with the ICTY's work. The
resolution urged an immediate investigation of crimes committed
against the Croat and other non-Serb peoples during the Serbian-
Montenegrin aggression on Croatia as well as a trial of their
perpetrators.
Mentioning that she would have to see the text of the resolution,
Arbour welcomed Croatia's support for ICTY's efforts to make Serbia
hand over to the Tribunal war crime indictees - especially
Sljivancanin, Mrksic and Radic, who, which everybody knew, still
lived in Belgrade.
The Prosecutor called on Croatia to persist in its requests that
those criminals be handed over.
Asked about the Tribunal's request for the handing over of Mladen
Naletilic and Vinko Martinovic, who were indicted at the end of last
year, Arbour said there was still no formal reply to the ICTY's
request.
If Croatia was committed to the idea that justice should be
administered expeditiously, a speedy transfer of the indictees
would be a step in the right direction, Arbour said adding there was
no special reason for concern about Croatia's cooperation in that
field so far.
(hina) mm rml