CROATIA AND YUGOSLAVIA AVOIDING OBLIGATIONS - MCDONALD

SARAJEVO, Oct 30 (Hina) - President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Gabrielle Kirk McDonald said that she would on November 1 inform the United Nations General Assembly that Croatia and FR Yugoslavia were not fulfilling their obligations towards the Tribunal. In an interview published Saturday by Sarajevo weekly "Slobodna Bosna", McDonald stressed that certain countries had no right to make unilateral decisions and set conditions for the fulfilment of their obligations towards the ICTY, which, in the case of Croatia, is an attempt to contest the authority of the ICTY to investigate crimes connected with operations "Storm" and "Flash". I will have to remind again the UN General Assembly about the failure to fulfil obligations, she said. Commenting on the case of Mladen Naletilic Tuta, McDonald said she was certain he would be extradited to the Tribunal eventually. She confirmed that she would resign from her current duty in two weeks, and that French judge Claude Jorda was a serious candidate for the office. McDonald expressed disappointment with the fact that Karadzic, Mladic and Milosevic, as well as other indictees hiding in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska, have not yet been transferred to the Tribunal. It is very hard for me to believe that all the Stabilisation Force troops cannot apprehend the indictees, McDonald said, adding that excuses such as that these would be too risky operations, were not acceptable. (hina) lml