KRPINA: LOUISE ARBOUR'S STATEMENT NOT OBJECTIVE

( Editorial: --> 6455 ) ZAGREB, May 25 (Hina) - A statement by Louise Arbour, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), on Croatia's lack of cooperation is not objective and is not based on facts, Drago Krpina, spokesman for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) told a press conference on Monday. In her statement (given yesterday at a congress of the international organisation of lawyers in Vienna) Arbour not only put Croatia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina on the same level but accused Croatia of a lack of readiness to help the Tribunal in apprehending suspects, Krpina said. Only Croatia adopted a law on cooperation with the ICTY, Krpina said, recalling also the voluntary surrender of Bosnian Croats. It is only Croats who cooperate with the ICTY, he said, adding that there had been no indictment against Muslims for crimes committed against Bosnian Croats. Another three criminals from Vukovar - Sljivancanin, Radic and Mrksic - live freely in Belgrade, which is below every moral standard, Krpina said. Speaking about the pressure the international community was exerting on Croatia and, in that context, about Arbour's statement, Krpina stressed that the European Union, together with the United States, was trying to introduce the so-called regional approach in solving problems in the area of former Yugoslavia. According to the model, Krpina maintains, the EU believes that a certain degree of inter-state relations should be established between the new states (joint customs, trade) and then the EU would negotiate with them as one group about their rapprochement. This approach does not suit Croatia because Croatia wants to regulate its relations with other states on a bilateral level, Krpina concluded. (hina) rm/mrb 251724 MET may 98