ARBOUR CALLS FOR YUGOSLAVIA TO EXTRADITE WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS

( Editorial: --> 6245 ) THE HAGUE, July 7 (Hina) - The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has told Contact Group member country members, prior to their meeting, of her office's standpoint that Yugoslavia must extradite defendants charged with crimes committed in Vukovar. Louise Arbour also testified to the determination of the Prosecutor's Office to monitor violations of international humanitarian law in Kosovo. Arbour again called on Yugoslavia to fulfil its international obligations and extradite three former Yugoslav Army officers charged with organising the mass executions of prisoners from Vukovar hospital in eastern Croatia in 1991. Veselin Sljivancanin, Mile Mrksic and Miroslav Radic are on the same bill of indictment as was Slavko Dokmanovic, former mayor of Vukovar, who committed suicide on June 28 while in ICTY custody. The court procedure was suspended the following day and the court council declared that it would not be passing a sentence against Dokmanovic. Arbour remarked that she wished to make clear that the suspension of the procedure against Dokmanovic in no way affected charges brought up by the ICTY against the other three officers. After the unfortunate death of Slavko Dokmanovic it is more important than ever to bring the other three charged officers to justice, stressed Arbour, who repeatedly requested from Yugoslavia to extradite the defendants residing on its territory to the Hague tribunal. Regarding investigation of international humanitarian law violations in Kosovo, the Chief Prosecutor believes that the nature and scope of conflict in this part of Yugoslavia indicates the existence of armed conflict as defined by international law. In line with this, Arbour intends to bring charges for crimes against humanity, i.e. war crimes, if it is determined that they were committed. She warned that superior officers were criminally responsible according to international law if they knew or could have known that their subordinates would commit or had committed criminal acts, and yet were not prevented or punished. Arbour added that the ICTY had received further funding for Kosovo investigations, which would enable the long-term activity of investigators in the region. (Hina) jfk jn /mbr 072228 MET jul 98