ZAGREB, Aug 26 (Hina) - The Croatian Government issued a statement following Thursday's session regarding a report made by the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Gabrielle Kirk McDonald,
to the UN Security Council about Croatia.
ZAGREB, Aug 26 (Hina) - The Croatian Government issued a statement
following Thursday's session regarding a report made by the
president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, to the UN Security
Council about Croatia.#L#
Following a thorough discussion, the Government concluded the
following:
"1. The criticism about Croatia's non-cooperation with the
international criminal court is not founded on facts. We recall
that since the beginning of the Serb aggression, Croatia has
advocated the establishment of such a tribunal, that it had
cooperated before, especially subsequent to the passing of the Law
on cooperation with the ICTY, in the deferral of all indicted Croats
in The Hague, to the recent extradition of Vinko Martinovic, in
submitting documents, information, reports, hearings, findings of
various commissions and so forth. The cooperation was realised
through the coordination of the Justice Ministry's office for
cooperation with the ICTY, the interior and foreign ministries and
other Croatian state bodies.
2. Mladen Naletilic, indicted for grievous criminal acts by
Croatian court, is currently undergoing a hearing before the Zagreb
County Court which should establish whether there are conditions
for his extradition. In his letter dated August 18, 1999, forwarded
to the ICTY chief prosecutor's office with a notification to the
Tribunal's president, the Croatian Justice Minister confirmed the
commitment and readiness to extradite Naletilic if the court
establishes there were conditions for extradition, in line with the
Constitutional Law on cooperation with the ICTY. Therefore, the
issue is about the completion of legal proceedings which have now
been stalled due to Naletilic's serious health conditions
established by forensic doctors.
3. Regarding the criticism about the failure to cooperate in the
investigation into "Flash" and "Storm" operations, the Croatian
Government expresses a firm conviction that the justification of
these military and police operations which had foundations in law
and were realised legally, in line with the international law,
cannot be filed under the same category, and the Croatian
Government holds The Hague Tribunal has no jurisdiction over them.
These operations were also crucial for liberating a part of Bosnia-
Herzegovina from Serb occupation and created preconditions which
enabled the signing of the Dayton Agreement. In the legal sense, the
Trial Chamber, in regulated proceedings, is responsible for
reaching the conclusion whether the ICTY had jurisdiction over
certain events which happened during or after the above mentioned
operations, not the prosecutor or the president of the Tribunal.
4. By the end of the month Croatia will publish and make available a
white book about its cooperation with the ICTY, which will show that
the criticism about the failure to cooperate has no grounds.
Furthermore, evidence will be provided about criminal proceedings
that were held or are being held against perpetrators of criminal
acts immediately subsequent to the "Flash" and "Storm" operations.
Croatia will also file criminal charges against the main culprits
for crimes committed by the Yugoslav People's Army and paramilitary
formations against Croatia from 1991 and 1995, not only for crimes
committed in Vukovar, but also for those committed in Skabrnja,
Lovinac, Saborsko, Vocin, Hrvatska Kostajnica and other locations
of mass crime.
5. In appearing before all relevant international bodies and
government, the Croatian Government will argue its stances,
explain its position and request understanding and support. We
firmly believe that legal arguments exclusively will have a key
role in this.
The Croatian Government cannot completely dismiss suspicions that
this is about political pressure in connection with the forthcoming
elections.
The Croatian Government believes that the international community,
as well as the UN Security Council, will show understanding for the
factual situation and that the Croatian Government's arguments,
which we will submit, will fully confirm its cooperation so far, as
well as its readiness to continue the cooperation," the Croatian
Government's Public and Media Relations Office said in a
statement.
President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, on Wednesday filed a report to
the UN Security Council, at the request of the ICTY chief
prosecutor, Louise Arbour, about Croatia's refusal to cooperate in
an investigation about the Flash and Storm military operations and
for the failure to extradite Mladen Naletilic Tuta, indicted last
year for crimes in the Mostar region during Croat-Moslem conflicts
in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Pursuant to McDonald's letter, the UN Security Council has several
options, starting from the most lenient -- a verbal public
statement made by the Council chairman, a presidential statement
which is adopted by consensus, to a resolution issuing binding
orders for Croatia, such as sanctions.
This is the first time Croatia has been reported to the Security
Council for non-cooperation.
(hina) lml