THE HAGUE, July 28 (Hina) - The International War Crimes Tribunal's (ICTY) Chief Prosecutor, Louise Arbour, filed her request with the ICTY President, Gabrielle McDonald to report Croatia to the UN Security Council for failing to
cooperate with the Prosecution's Office.
THE HAGUE, July 28 (Hina) - The International War Crimes Tribunal's
(ICTY) Chief Prosecutor, Louise Arbour, filed her request with the
ICTY President, Gabrielle McDonald to report Croatia to the UN
Security Council for failing to cooperate with the Prosecution's
Office. #L#
Croatia has fallen behind with respect to its cooperation with the
Prosecution's Office and the Chief Prosecutor has called on the
Tribunal's President to establish that all circumstances show that
Republic of Croatia has obviously failed to meet its international
commitments, Arbour read her letter on Wednesday at a regular news
conference.
According to Arbour's letter to McDonald, Croatia's lack of
cooperation leads to serious obstructions to the Prosecutor's
ability to conduct investigations and bring to justice people which
should be tried by international bodies.
Arbour visited Croatia's capital last week where she met Justice
and Foreign Ministers, Zvonimir Separovic and Mate Granic
respectively, whom she conveyed her great concern at Croatia's
insufficient cooperation with the Hague-based Tribunal in recent
months.
Croatia has been asked to extradite Vinko Martinovic alias Stela
and Mladen Naletilic alias Tuta, accused by the Hague Court last
year of having committed crimes at the beginning of the nineties in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Zagreb has been also requested to produce
documents relevant for an investigation in the liberation
operation called "Storm" and in the "Pakracka Poljana (Field)" and
"Medzacki Pocket".
Croatia's failure to cooperate has already slowed down probes which
the Chief Prosecutor is carrying out, and if Croatia continues to
fail to cooperate this might jeopardise certain investigations and
result in the defeat of international justice, Arbour warned in the
letter.
The Chief Prosecutor said that during her meeting with Croatia's
Ambassador to The Hague, Jasko Muljacic, on Tuesday, she had
reiterated that only the full compliance with the Prosecutor's
demands can stop her initiative filed with McDonlad.
This is the first time that Croatia can be brought before the
Security Council due to its failure to cooperate.
Asked about the prosecutor's closing speech in the trial of Bosnian
Croat General Tihomir Blaskic in which Croatia's incumbent
President is accused of inspiring nationalistic ideology, by his
writing and political aspirations, which led to crimes in Central
Bosnia, Arbour said no new evidence had been introduced but what the
prosecutor did was to sum up evidence, which according to the
Prosecution, confirm that international conflict occurred in
central Bosnia.
(hina) ms