Zeljko Horvatic, president of the council for the preparation of friends of the court before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, called a press conference to comment, on the government's behalf, on the positions Del Ponte stated in Finland on September 29.
Horvatic said the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor was entitled to object to Croatia's becoming a friend of the court but should do so appropriately.
Speaking of Del Ponte's mistakes, he said she identified with the ICTY's position although she was just a party to a court case.
The second mistake was claiming that Croatia invited itself as a friend of the court, he said.
"With its September 1 decision the Croatian Government did not attempt to invite itself as amicus curiae, as the prosecutor claims, but is resorting to Rule 74 of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which says that a trial chamber may invite or grant leave to a state, organisation or person to appear before it and help the tribunal with important and relevant facts."
Horvatic said that Croatia, as a member of the UN and one of the founders of the ICTY, felt obliged, given the Prosecution's allegations of a joint criminal enterprise in three ongoing trials (Prlic, Cermak/Markac, Gotovina), to offer its help so that the truth could be established and not to state its position.
"There is no our version of the truth, we are just interested in the truth being established on the basis of relevant facts."
Horvatic also commented on Prosecution spokesman Anton Nikiforov's statement that Croatia, by requesting to be amicus curiae, was putting itself in the position in which it would not be referred some ICTY cases.
"That statement is legally completely irrelevant because the trial chamber decides on the referral of cases. Equally irrelevant is Carla Del Ponte's statement that she would oppose the granting of provisional release to the defendants in those three cases."
Horvatic recalled that the ICTY referred the Norac/Ademi case to Croatia although it had the status of amicus curiae.
He also commented on Del Ponte's statement that the ICTY established history. "By that she means the history she puts in indictments and that the governments which request to be amicus curiae cannot change that truth with their visions of the historical truth."
"The truth is not established with court decisions but it may only serve in a specific case as a foundation for the decision, be it a conviction or an acquittal," he said.