ZAGREB, Sept 2 (Hina) - The Croatian Government on Thursday adopted a report on Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), called the White Book. The document will clearly indicate
that it was wrong to denounce Croatia for not cooperating with the Tribunal, Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic said in Zagreb.
ZAGREB, Sept 2 (Hina) - The Croatian Government on Thursday adopted
a report on Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), called the White Book.
The document will clearly indicate that it was wrong to denounce
Croatia for not cooperating with the Tribunal, Justice Minister
Zvonimir Separovic said in Zagreb. #L#
The White Book is a response to last week's report on Croatia's non-
cooperation with the ICTY, submitted to the U.N. Security Council
by ICTY President Gabrielle Kirk McDonald.
Separovic today informed the Government he had received a decision
by the Zagreb County Court approving the extradition of Mladen
Naletilic Tuta to the ICTY.
The White Book comprises two primary sections. The first explains
Croatia's various activities in the discovery and punishment of war
crimes, the Constitutional Law on Croatia's cooperation with the
Hague Tribunal, and a chronology of cooperation with the ICTY.
The second section includes articles about the most grievous
crimes, information about exhumed victims, an overlook of crimes
committed during the "Flash" and "Storm" Croatian military and
police operations, information about grievous crimes committed
during the Homeland War, a chronology of the work of the Office for
the Cooperation with the ICTY, Commission for Imprisoned and
Missing Persons etc.
The White Book, Separovic said, proves without a doubt that we have
been cooperating with the Hague Tribunal as of day one, even before
its founding, and that we have been providing information to the
U.N., the Expert Commission and the International Committee of the
Red Cross from the beginning.
Separovic said the White Book contained thousands of documents and
reports, more than 3,000 statements by witnesses, and data on
exhumed persons. A total of 1,908 persons were exhumed from 120 mass
graves, whereas another 1,095 were exhumed from individual graves.
The total number of exhumed and identified victims amounts to
3,003. This is part of a total number of 15,000 victims, mainly
civilians, he added.
The White Book is a powerful document showing that Croatia
cooperated thoroughly, seriously and in good faith, Croatian
Foreign Minister Mate Granic said.
He announced the book would be forwarded to the U.N. Security
Council, the Contact Group and the international community.
Granic stressed Croatia would continue to seriously cooperate with
the Tribunal but protecting its basic interests and principles.
Speaking about the Government letter to the Security Council,
Granic said it had been accepted well.
Our arguments are that we have cooperated thoroughly, that
proceedings are underway concerning Naletilic's extradition and
that the Government will implement the court's decisions.
It is correct that there is disagreement between Croatia and the
Hague Tribunal. It cannot be resolved by political, but rather by
legal means, and so we ask that the Security Council return the
issue into the ICTY's regular procedure, Granic said.
Separovic warned today's Government session about the conduct of
some of the media, especially about the publishing of confidential
documents in 'Nacional' weekly. Those documents have become the
trump card of the ICTY President's report to the Security Council.
The report includes a copy of the Nacional article which published a
document on the tactics to be applied by the Croatian Government,
Separovic said, describing this as "an act of subversion by
'Nacional' against the Government". This has caused a lot of damage
to Croatia, he added.
Separovic explained his previous statement made in Siroki Brijeg
(Bosnia-Herzegovina), reiterating Croatia would not hand over its
generals and adding that Mladen Naletilic Tuta was not a general.
Deputy Defence Minister Kresimir Cosic said Croatia wanted to
believe the Hague Tribunal was objective and impartial. However,
methods applied by the ICTY point to the fact that the year 1991 was
being forgotten, and that Vukovar, where the JNA and Serbian forces
had committed the most grievous violations of the international
humanitarian law, was being forgotten, as well as the year 1992. In
this way a false perception of events is being created, the whole
picture is being forgotten, accidentally or intentionally - this
does not matter, Cosic said.
He added crimes against Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina were also
being forgotten, perpetrators were not being prosecuted and the
responsibility of Bosniaks-Muslims was being diminished.
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