THE HAGUE, July 28 (Hina) - The Croat Community Herzeg-Bosnia (HR HB) was established in light of imminent aggression of the then Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Yugoslavia's attempts to destroy the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
and it was not set up as an instrument for accomplishing plans of the Republic of Croatia to annex parts of its neighbouring state, said General Tihomir Blaskic's defence attorney, Anto Nobilo, on Wednesday at the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
THE HAGUE, July 28 (Hina) - The Croat Community Herzeg-Bosnia (HR
HB) was established in light of imminent aggression of the then
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Yugoslavia's attempts to destroy
the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it was not set up as an
instrument for accomplishing plans of the Republic of Croatia to
annex parts of its neighbouring state, said General Tihomir
Blaskic's defence attorney, Anto Nobilo, on Wednesday at the
International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY). #L#
Croats decided to take such a step being faced with a pacifist
policy of Bosnian Moslems whose leader Alija Izetbegovic commented
on an attack against the Croat village of Ravno in southern Bosnia-
Herzegovina with words "This is not our war!", Nobilo said in his
closing speech as the defence attorney of Blaskic, a former
commander of the Croat Defence Council (HVO) Central Bosnian
Operative Zone, during the two-year-long trial at the ICTY.
In the past few days, the prosecution claimed that the HZ HB had been
set up in order to conduct a plan for cleaning ethnically areas
populated by Bosnian Croats which might be subsequently annexed to
Croatia and that Blaskic had a task to carry out this plan in the
Lasva River valley, central Bosnia.
Tihomir Blaskic is not acquainted with any plan on the division of
Bosnia, neither did he act in that direction, his defence counsel
said.
Responding to the prosecution's claims that the General Janko
Bobetko's commanding over the Croatian Army's (HV) troops in Bosnia
confirmed that Croatia had been involved into the internal affairs
of Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as that it had been international
conflict, Nobilo said Croatia's forces under Bobetko's command in
Bosnia in 1992 had prevented an attempt of JNA to cut a line for
provisions and stifle central Bosnia and Sarajevo.
Presented documents show undoubtedly that Croatia's Army (HV)
entered Bosnia in order to defend the south of Croatia and defend
Bosnia from JNA attacks, Nobilo said adding that those had been
times when there had been no organised forces of Bosnia's Croats and
Moslems who should be capable of defending the country.
In respect of Bobetko's issuing orders to the Bosnian Croat Defence
Council (HVO), he did the same in the case of the (Moslem-dominated)
Territorial Defence, Blaskic's attorney told the ICTY.
The defendant's attorneys will continue with their closing speech
by the end of this week.
(hina) ms