HHO ACCUSES TUDJMAN OF ATTACKS AGAINST HAGUE TRIBUNAL

ZAGREB, Dec 30 (Hina) - The Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) expressed concern on Wednesday over "increasingly strong and sharp attacks of Croatian authorities against the Hague Tribunal". The HHO warned of the perniciousness of such a position of Croatian authorities and accused President Franjo Tudjman of personally initiating a series of attacks against the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). A statement signed by the HHO President, Vjekoslav Vidovic, warned of the harmfulness of statements by top Croatian officials, reading that they were given "with an aim to raise the temperature in the pre-election year." The Committee recalled President Tudjman's speech delivered at the opening of the war school in Zagreb when he "called for the unity of the army and people" in opposing the alleged intention of the Hague Tribunal to launch proceedings against several Croatian Army generals for war crimes. The Committee maintained that the fair and lawful trial of all those suspected of war crimes at Croatian courts would remove the need for the Hague Tribunal in the region, and that Croatia might expect sanctions, like Serbia, if it declined to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal. (hina) ms/lml