THE HAGUE, July 26 (Hina) - Tihomir Blaskic was an instrument for carrying out a Croatian nationalistic policy in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the roots of which lie in the political ideas of Croatia's incumbent President, said Prosecutor
Gregory Kehoe to the Hague-based Tribunal in his closing speech, thus accusing Croatia of having been involved into the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
THE HAGUE, July 26 (Hina) - Tihomir Blaskic was an instrument for
carrying out a Croatian nationalistic policy in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, the roots of which lie in the political ideas of
Croatia's incumbent President, said Prosecutor Gregory Kehoe to
the Hague-based Tribunal in his closing speech, thus accusing
Croatia of having been involved into the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
#L#
Starting points of the ethnically exclusive Croatian policy lie in
the writing of the incumbent Croatian President and not in 1990,
1991 or 1992 but as early as 1981 when Franjo Tudjman had shown
aspirations toward parts of Bosnia for the first time, Kehoe said at
the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY) on Monday.
The policy devised in chambers of power in Zagreb and conducted by
the establishment of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosna (HZ
HB), left behind hundreds of victims, dead and alive, Kehoe told the
Tribunal's judges.
The trial of General Tihomir Blaskic, a former commander of the
Croatian Defence Council (HVO) Central Bosnia Operative Zone
entered its last week on Monday, after it took over two years.
After Prosecution's closing speech, Defence attorneys, Anto Nobilo
and Rusell Hayman are to sum up their arguments about Blaskic's
innocence, in the second half of this week.
Prosecutors spent much of this day to establish a role of Croatian
President Franjo Tudjman in political events in Bosnia as well as
to prove Croatia's involvement in the war in Bosnia to support a
statement that there had been international conflict in central
Bosnia. This is a condition for sustaining charges against Blaskic
for his alleged violation of the Geneva conventions.
Borderlines of Banovina to which Tudjman referred, Kehoe said,
showed that he was interested into central Bosnia.
Tudjman did not only speak about annexing a part of Bosnia but he
also acted in that direction, Kehoe added citing allegations about
the 1991 negotiations between Milosevic and Tudjman in 1991 on
Bosnia's division.
The current member of the British Parliament, Paddy Ashdown,
testified about Croatia's President views on Bosnia a few years
later in 1995.
Did he forget his aspirations during the war in central Bosnia?,
Certainly, he didn't, claimed the U.S. lawyers.
In order to annex parts of Bosnia to Croatia, Herzeg-Bosnia was
established, moderate politicians like Stjepan Kljuic were removed
while men like Mate Boban or Dario Kordic were installed to create a
ethnically cleansed area and annex it to Croatia eventually, Kehoe
added.
Blaskic was a tool ... he was a glove of the hand which was
conducting such objectives, Kehoe said adding that Blaskic was
chosen as the political leadership had believed he would carry out
their platform, the American claimed.
He knew very well what was the programme in central Bosnia and in
Bosnia as a whole, Kehoe told judges, blaming Blaskic with having
said a lie under oath when he had denied he had known about it.
The American also accused Croatia of the hypocritical policy -
while it recognised Bosnia as a county, on the other hand, it
interfered into Bosnia's internal development.
One of good examples was the appointment of Croatian Army (HV)
officers, Milivoj Petkovic, Slobodan Praljak and Ante Roso as the
chief-of-staff of the HVO headquarters, and their return to the
Croatian Army (HV) after they had done job.
The ICTY Prosecution charged Blaskic with crimes against humanity,
breaches of the war law and customs and violations of the Geneva
Convention during the Croat-Moslem conflict in central Bosnia from
May 1992 to January 1994. This Bosnian Croat general is accused of
planning, committing and participation in crimes as well as of his
failure as a commander to prevent crimes, launch investigations
into committed crimes and punish perpetrators.
The trial chamber consisting of Claude Jorda, Mohamed Shahabuddeen
and Almiro Rodrigues should make a ruling by the end of this year
whether Blaskic was guilty or innocent.
The trial of Blaskic commenced on 24 June 1997.
(hina) ms