CRO PARLIAMENT DEBATES BILL ON COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL

ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament lower house on Friday discussed a constitutional bill on cooperation with an international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The bill was presented by Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic and the discussion also involved Foreign Minister Mate Granic. Separovic said that Croatia, as a UN member state, was bound by all UN Security Council resolutions and decisions, including Resolution 827 which approved the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal. He added that the international community urged Croatia to regulate by law a number of issues, from communication with the Tribunal to the handover of suspects. Separovic said that the bill was constitutional because by agreeing to hand over its citizens, Croatia would transfer a part of its sovereignty to the Tribunal, because the Constitution explicitly forbids the extradition of a Croatian citizen to another country. Vice Vukojevic of the Legislation Committee proposed that the debate be postponed until the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal was amended. Vukojevic moved that the government ask the UN Security Council and the International Tribunal to change provisions of the Statute so that the Tribunal could pass only those sentences which were determined by laws of the countries on the territory of which crimes had been committed. Granic rejected the proposal for the debate on the bill to be put off, arguing that such a move could have negative consequences. Croatia was bound by a number of documents to cooperate with the Tribunal, Granic said, adding that Croatia was dissatisfied with the Tribunal's work and the number of persons it had indicted so far. Croatia would take an active part in efforts to raise the quality of the Tribunal's work, he said, warning that any resistance to the passage of the bill would be regarded as obstruction. In this respect, it could be expected that pressure would be exerted on the Croatian government and the President of the Republic, Granic stressed. The pressure would be direct and it would result in the barring of Croatia from European integration processes, breaking off cooperation and possibly in the imposition of economic sanctions, he added. Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) backed Granic's stance, saying that Parliament must adopt the constitutional bill regardless of pressure from the international community. Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) leader Ante Djapic said that war criminals should be punished but that the bill was humiliating because it encroached on Croatian sovereignty. Mate Arlovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that there were no constitutional grounds to pass the bill because Parliament had not approved UN Security Council Resolution 827 or the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal. Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas Hodak recalled that Parliament could not approve UN resolutions. Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) member Vladimir Primorac said that his party supported the bill in principle because justice must be done. He added that he fully supported Granic's view of the matter. Vladimir Seks of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that Croatia must shoulder responsibility, discuss the bill and bring it into accord with its constitutional norms. (hina) vm mm 011721 MET mar 96