CRO OFFICIAL STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF HANDING-OVER WAR CRIMINALS TO ICTY

ICTY STRASBOURG, 26 June (Hina) - Zarko Domljan, Parliament Vice Premier and head of Croatia's parliamentary delegation in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, stressed the importance of handing-over war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, in particular the former Bosnian Serb civil and army leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. #L# "As long as persons indicted for war crimes have political influence, as is the case with Karadzic and Mladic, it will be not only difficult but almost impossible to make progress in the implementation of the Dayton agreement," Domljan said during a Parliamentary Assembly discussion on the implementation of Bosnia peace agreements in Strasbourg on Thursday. Domljan also stressed the importance of the functioning of joint political structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and added that the Council of Europe should provide stronger support. 'However, the Serb representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina are using every opportunity to hamper the work of joint institutions,' Domljan said. Another precondition for the functioning of the Bosnian state is the reconciliation of nations and common people, many of whom were 'innocent victims of manipulations and political propaganda,' Domljan said. (hina) rm jn 261921 MET jun 97