CROATIAN AMBASSADOR SALAJ'S STATEMENT BEFORE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

THE HAGUE, Feb 19 (Hina) - In a public hearing on Wednesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), regarding a Subpoena that directed Croatia to provide evidence to the Prosecutor in the case of Tihomir Blaskic, Croatian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Branko Salaj, said that Croatia was surprised at the mode of the Tribunal's request. Ambassador Salaj explained that the Croatian Government maintained that neither International Law nor the Statute and the Rules of the Tribunal empowered the Tribunal to subpoena State Officials. Addressing Judge Gabrielle Kirk Mcdonald, Ambassador Salaj said that his appearance on Wednesday's hearing, on behalf of the Republic of Croatia, was an expression and a mark of respect to the Judge and the Tribunal as a whole, as well as of Croatia's willingness to cooperate with the Tribunal. The Government of Croatia was astonished by the mode of the 15 January 1997 subpoena, which was not based, in its opinion, on the International Law or on the Statute and the Rules of the Tribunal. They did not give a basis for rulings under which subpoenas could be issued to States and their Officials. Had the UN Security Council intended to depart from the practice of International Law to such an extent, on occasion of establishing the Tribunal, it would have expressly stated provisions on the Subpoena for the States rather than allowing the Tribunal itself to interpret them, Salaj said. The Republic of Croatia, as every other sovereign State, decided alone who would represent it. In connection with the cooperation with the ICTY, the Croatian Government, i.e. its office for the cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, represented Croatia, so that requests could be sent only to those institutions and not to individual officials personally, he added. As Croatia could not accept the Subpoena as a mode of communication between it the Tribunal, it could not consider the Tribunal's orders put in such a form, the Ambassador said. However, Croatia was aware of its obligation to cooperate with the Tribunal and it was ready to meet requests, on the grounds of Croatia's Constitutional law on the cooperation with the ICTY, the Statute and Rules of the ICTY, International Law and principles recognized by the international community, according to the Croatian Ambassador. Being aware of its commitments and despite the fact that the Prosecutor failed to attempt to obtain the requested evidence in any other acceptable way before requesting the Subpoena, Croatia had done its best to avert such a situation that was to the detriment of the Republic of Croatia as well as of the Prosecutor and the Tribunal, Ambassador Salaj said. The situation was particularly unacceptable to General Tihomir Blaskic, a man who had put himself, of his own free will, at the disposal of the Tribunal and who had been waiting for the beginning of the trial almost for a year in prison, the Ambassador added. The Republic of Croatia was prepared to offer a compromise to the Prosecutor: if the Prosecutor gave up from the Subpoena, Croatia would endeavour as soon as possible to meet his requests, Ambassador Salaj said. In this context we proposed that Croatian experts and Prosecutor's Office representatives should meet as soon as possible in order to consider possibilities of meeting the request. The Prosecutor refused the proposal, he added. Therefore we concluded that, for the purpose of improving the cooperation and the overall work of the Tribunal, the issue whether the Tribunal was empowered to subpoena sovereign States, should be brought before the UN Security Council for resolution, the Croatian Ambassador said in the end of his statement. (hina) jn mš 192344 MET feb 97