NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Hina) - A report which the International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) President, forwarded to the UN General Assembly and Security Council on Friday neither covers topical issues nor it is
balanced, assessed Croatia's Ambassador to the UN, Ivan Simonovic.
NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Hina) - A report which the International War
Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) President, forwarded
to the UN General Assembly and Security Council on Friday neither
covers topical issues nor it is balanced, assessed Croatia's
Ambassador to the UN, Ivan Simonovic.#L#
It is obvious that the report fails to record the arrival of Vinko
Martinovic in The Hague and to mention the Croatian judiciary's
decision that Mladen Naletilic will be extradited, Simonovic
explained.
Instead, the report deals with only difficulties in the cooperation
with Croatia and it criticises Croatian officials and the National
Sabor in the way contrary to good manners and which goes beyond the
mandate of the ICTY, the Croatian diplomat added.
He assessed that during the reporting period there had been
positive steps in the work of the Hague-based Tribunal. He referred
to the issuing of some indictments and apprehension of certain war
crimes suspects who allegedly committed crimes against Bosnian
Croats. Simonovic particularly pointed out the indictment which
the Tribunal issued against Slobodan Milosevic.
"A possibility of extending (Milosevic's) indictments to cover
crimes committed in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina shows the
Tribunal's readiness to establish the legal liability but also
political and historical responsibility for a sequence of tragic
events in the south-east of Europe," Croatian Ambassador said.
It is pity that the report has not more objectively described the
real state of affairs in the relations between Croatia and the ICTY,
he added.
Simonovic believes that the speech of the ICTY President Gabrielle
Kirk McDonnald at the UN General Assembly, announced for November
8, will be a chance for Croatia to "systematically present its
objections to the (annual) report concerning the Tribunal's work
and cooperation with it, in general."
"It is clear and indisputable that Croatia must cooperate with the
Tribunal," Simonovic said.
Objections which can be raised to the Tribunal's work are not aimed
at contesting the ICTY but they are made rather to assist the ICTY in
order that the Tribunal can perform its task more successfully, the
Croatian diplomat said adding that it is evident that more weight
would be given to Croatia's objections, if more credibly the
country co-operates with the Tribunal on unquestionable issues.
(hina) ms