ZAGREB, July 23 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic on Friday forwarded a letter to The Hague tribunal president Gabriella Kirk-McDonald, chief prosecutor Louise Arbour, and the president of the United Nations
Security Council, Hasmy Agam.
ZAGREB, July 23 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister Zvonimir
Separovic on Friday forwarded a letter to The Hague tribunal
president Gabriella Kirk-McDonald, chief prosecutor Louise
Arbour, and the president of the United Nations Security Council,
Hasmy Agam.#L#
According to a statement from Separovic's Cabinet, the letter
points out Croatia has and will continue to cooperate with The Hague
tribunal, and that it will surrender Mladen Naletilic Tuta and
Vinko Martinovic Stela once criminal proceedings conducted against
them in Zagreb are over.
In Stela's case, this could happen very soon, the statement said.
Separovic, who is also the president of the Council for Relations
with the International Court of Justice and the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, further says in the
letter Croatia is willing to submit all requested documents to The
Hague tribunal, except those referring to the protection of
Croatia's national security.
The letter says Croatia has been disappointed with the
prosecution's unbalanced policy, and therefore demands that the
prosecution process the following cases:
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, not only for war crimes
committed in Kosovo, but also for war crimes and the genocide
committed in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH); JNA (former
Yugoslav federal army) generals Blagoje Adzic, Veljko Kadijevic,
Dusan Loncar, Momcilo Perisic, Atif Dudakovic, and Sead Delic, for
war crimes committed in Croatia in 1991; general Ratko Mladic, for
crimes committed in Skabrnja, Zadar, and elsewhere in Croatia; Mile
Martic, not only for the shelling of Zagreb in 1995, but for the
entire criminal activity; and general Pavle Strugar and Bozidar
Vucurevic, for war crimes committed in the Dubrovnik area between
1991 and 1995.
Croatia, the justice minister's letter further says, rightfully
expects Bosnian Muslims will be accused of war crimes committed
against Croats in BH, and suggests that at least some of the Croats
who voluntarily surrendered to the tribunal be released on bail.
According to the statement from Separovic's Cabinet, Croatia by
writing to the UN Security Council wishes to remind this body, which
established The Hague tribunal, of the right of a national state to
try its citizens, and of its right to keep secrets of national
interest and give the true account of the Flash and Storm military-
police operations.
With these two actions, Croatia in 1995 liberated the parts of its
territory occupied by the Serb aggressor since 1991
The letter to Kirk-McDonald in particular points to the role of the
tribunal which, the statement said, has to decide in instances of
disagreement regarding views on legal issues, in this case
different ones put forward by Croatia and the tribunal's chief
prosecutor.
(hina) ha