ZAGREB, Oct 26 (Hina) - Croatia's justice minister on Tuesday requested the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to include in her report on Croatia's cooperation with the Tribunal the
period of the past few months, which he stated should give the United Nations General Assembly a more accurate picture of the matter.
ZAGREB, Oct 26 (Hina) - Croatia's justice minister on Tuesday
requested the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to include in her report on Croatia's
cooperation with the Tribunal the period of the past few months,
which he stated should give the United Nations General Assembly a
more accurate picture of the matter.#L#
"In view of your upcoming address to the U.N. General Assembly, I
hope that you will take that opportunity to include the events of
the past several months with your report of the July 1998 to July
1999 time-period," Croatian Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic
said in his letter to ICTY president Gabrielle Kirk McDonald.
"I believe that in so doing, the General Assembly will receive a
more complete, and balanced, assessment of Croatia's level of
cooperation with the Tribunal," added the minister, who is also the
president of the Council for Cooperation with the Court of Justice
and the ICTY.
Separovic stressed that "much progress has been made towards
resolving the disputes between the Office of the Prosecutor and the
Republic of Croatia" in the period following the completion of the
report.
Pointing out that the report mentions the Croatian-ICTY dispute
relative to the extradition of Vinko Martinovic Stela and Mladen
Naletilic Tuta, Separovic said, "Shortly after the end date for
(McDonald's) reporting period, on 9 August 1999, Croatia
transferred Mr. Martinovic to the custody of the Tribunal.
"In addition, Croatia has committed to transferring Mr. Naletilic,
as soon as his health has stabilised and he may be transported
safely," the letter read. The justice minister pointed out Croatia
had kept the Tribunal constantly updated on Naletilic's condition,
and also "(has) opened the possibility for the Tribunal to send its
own doctors to assess his condition."
Separovic also voiced his disagreement with the claim that Croatia
"is not cooperating with the Tribunal simply because an extradition
takes longer than the Prosecutor deems appropriate."
The justice minister reminded that "Croatia received the request to
transfer Martinovic and Naletilic in December, 1998. It completed
the transfer of Martinovic within eight months, and will complete
the transfer of Naletilic as soon as his health permits."
Separovic argued the timing could be compared to other
international extradition procedures. "For example, the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) requested that
the United States transfer an indicted individual, Elizaphan
Ntakirutimana, in September, 1996. Over three years later, he still
has not been transferred," said the letter.
Minister Separovic also mentioned the case of former Chilean
dictator August Pinochet, who was arrested in Great Britain last
year. "Despite subsequent rulings from the British courts
upholding his extradition, his extradition is not likely to occur
any time soon either - despite his arrest, over a year ago."
The justice minister also reminded that "the ICTR and the ICTY are
revolutionary organisations, operating in the absence of
established legal precedent, especially with regard to primacy-
related issues."
The letter to the ICTY president also voiced concern with the fact
that the report on Croatia's cooperation with the Tribunal relied
on two particular sources of information, namely numerous press
articles, and statements given during parliamentary debates.
"Statements made during such debates should not be taken as
'official' positions of the Croatian Government, unless and until
they are adopted through the proper constitutional process," the
letter read.
Minister Separovic pointed out that "actions (...) speak louder
than words. As detailed in our (...) White Paper on Croatia's
history of cooperation with the Tribunal."
"Croatia has exhibited a very high level of cooperation, probably
more than any other state, particularly among the states of former
Yugoslavia," the minister said.
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