"We did not know about the issuing of the (fake) passport to General Gotovina, but during my term in office authorities found out what had been done with several thousand passports in Mostar (namely in the Croatian consulate) and probably somewhere else, when war crimes indictees, who were wanted by the Hague tribunal, were hiding thanks to their changed identity, which was enabled by people in the police and secret services," Racan said while attending the central ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Women's Forum within the SDP in Zagreb on Saturday.
Reporters asked Racan whether he had any information which the Croatian media reported over the last two days claiming that in July 2001, the Zagreb police gave Gotovina a fake passport which enabled him to flee Croatia after the ICTY tribunal unsealed an indictment against him. The Interior Ministry on Friday confirmed that the police and intelligence were now investigating such reports.
Racan went on to say this might have happened since parts of the state apparatus had been in 1990s "harnessed to keep the truth secret even from their own people and consequently from Europe".
He urged the continuation of efforts aimed at the settlement of the situation in the state apparatus so as to prevent recurrence of such cases of abuse of office which could affect the country's credibility.
What only helps Croatia is to reveal rather than cover up the truth, no matter what it looks like, the leader of the strongest opposition party said.
Asked by reporters whether the fake passport case was the proof that Gotovina was not in Croatia, Racan said that he stuck to the statement that "there is no data that Gotovina is in Croatia and that Croatia is checking any possible lead in that direction".
Racan was Croatia's premier from the start of 2000 until the end of 2003.