STATEMENTS GIVEN BEFORE DEPARTURE OF CRO INDICTEES FOR THE HAGUE

SPLIT, Oct 6 (Hina) - Ten Bosnian Croat war crimes suspects left Split airport for The Hague shortly after 10 o'clock on Monday morning by Dutch airforce plane. These ten who surrendered voluntarily are: Dario Kordic, Pero Skopljak, Zoran Kupreskic, Mirjan Kupreskic, Vladimir Santic, Drago Josipovic, Marinko Katava, Dragan Papic, Ivan Santic and Mario Cerkez. At the airport, they were seen off by their lawyers, Bosnian Croat-Moslem Federation's President Vladimir Soljic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's advisor for domestic policy, Ivic Pasalic, the Croatian intelligence service head Miroslav Tudjman and others. Present at the departure was the U.S. President's special envoy for implementation of the Dayton agreement, Robert Gelbard. Before the departure, Dario Kordic told reporters that this group "of Croat indictees from central Bosnia is leaving for the Hague voluntarily," and emphasised that they were travelling there with the clear conscience before God and the entire Croatian people. Kordic added that they would prove their innocence in the interest of the Croatian people and State that was exposed to huge pressure from the international community. "We as citizens of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatian citizens, have surrendered voluntarily to Croatian authorities, believing that President Tudjman and the Croatian Government will be a guarantee for fair and quick proceedings before the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. We shall endure everything just as we have done so far and come back with our heads high," he added. Soljic said that the Federation would assume the obligation to care for families of these indictees during the trial and added that it was on them to prove their innocence and to face the truth and justice. Ivic Pasalic said that Croatian President Tudjman and the Government had urged on the U.S. Administration and the Hague Tribunal to give guarantees that court proceedings would start within three to five months and be quick and fair. A role and assistance of Croatian authorities was motivated by a wish for preserving the personal dignity of the indictees and by a wish for protection of general Croatian interests in the Republic of Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina through the consistent implementation of the Washington and Dayton agreement, Pasalic told reporters. The U.S. President's envoy, Robert Gelbard, described the surrender of the ten Bosnian Croat war crimes suspects as a significant step forward in the implementation of the Dayton peace accords. Those who surrendered today (on Monday) would be assured of a fair trial and due process. Their readiness to turn themselves in voluntarily and hear their indictments in The Hague certainly set an example that must be followed by other indictees, he said. Only two months ago, here in Split, Tudjman committed himself to doing everything he could in order to ensure the surrender of Croatian indictees. This produced concrete results. We were looking forward to further close cooperation with Croatia, Gelbard said. The American stressed that both the United States and Croatia were interested in full and successful implementation of the Washington and Dayton peace agreement in Bosnia and of the Erdut agreement on peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube river area, and announced that his country would closely cooperate with President Tudjman and the Croatian Government in following months for this purpose as well. Regarding the issue of war criminals, Belgrade and Pale had failed so far to do anything in this respect, he said and added that it was in contradiction to Monday's event. Gelbard added that it was unacceptable that Serb indictees, including Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Milan Martic and Veselin Sljivancanin as key suspects, were still at large. The U.S. diplomat promised that such situation could no longer be tolerated. This step forward is the result of the combination of the political will of the Croatian Government, the U.S. Administration and convincing threats to arrest (suspects). Indictees still at large who did not want to turn themselves in, must know that the Unites States would be persistent in and open for all possibilities of bringing them (indictees) before the Hague Tribunal, he added. (hina) jn mš 061233 MET oct 97