ZAGREB, 10 Oct (Hina) - "We want to send a strong, unambiguous message saying that the Croatian government, in line with its report and program on the establishment of trust, will persevere in implementing all signed documents with
the sole aim of achieving the completion of the UNTAES mandate by 15 January 1998," the head of the Government communications office Neven Jurica told a press conference in Zagreb on Friday.
ZAGREB, 10 Oct (Hina) - "We want to send a strong, unambiguous
message saying that the Croatian government, in line with its report
and program on the establishment of trust, will persevere in
implementing all signed documents with the sole aim of achieving the
completion of the UNTAES mandate by 15 January 1998," the head of
the Government communications office Neven Jurica told a press
conference in Zagreb on Friday. #L#
Jurica commented on the U.N. Secretary General's report on the
situation in the Croatian Danube river region and UNTAES, as well as
on the voluntary surrender of ten Croat war crimes indictees to The
Hague.
Annan's report did not pay enough attention to the
achievements in the process of peaceful reintegration, Jurica said.
He expressed surprise that the report 'brings into connection
the peaceful reintegration of the Danube river region with a regular
Croatian Television broadcast'. Such an association was
inappropriate, Jurica said, adding the broadcast was documenting the
Homeland War with facts, which was in no connection whatsoever with
the peaceful reintegration.
Speaking about the voluntary surrender of the so-called Vitez
group to The Hague, Jurica said that the Croatian government highly
appreciated the group's decision to, following guarantees on speedy
and fair trial gained through Croatia's mediation, surrender of
their own accord to the Hague Tribunal.
Recalling the negative experience from the treatment of
general Tihomir Blaskic, who had waited more than 16 months for his
trial to begin, Jurica said that Croatia had supported justified
requests of the Vitez group to have a speedy and fair trial.
Croatia's successful mediation in the voluntary surrender of
the Vitez group was in line with the Dayton agreement, Jurica said
it was also a further confirmation of the strengthening of Croatia's
credibility in international relations.
"We strongly believe that the international community will
take care of correcting the impression that it is mainly Croats who
are being tried in The Hague", and that it would make efforts with
the aim of bringing before the Tribunal war criminals responsible
for mass killings in Vukovar, the shelling of Zagreb and other
crimes committed during the great-Serbian aggression against Croatia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Jurica said he believed that the international community would
also make efforts to bring before justice Bosniaks who committed
crimes against Croats.
He added he hoped that during the trial of the Vitez group,
which was indicted for war crimes in the Lasva river valley, central
Bosnia, 'one would not lose sight of who actually attacked the Lasva
river valley, in which Croats have lived for centuries as a
constituent people'.
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101739 MET oct 97