Asked about the meeting with del Ponte in The Hague, the justice minister's assistant for cooperation with the UN court and other international courts said the meeting had been scheduled beforehand, but added that it did touch on the amended indictment and the negative reactions it was met with in Croatia.
Muljacic said del Ponte expressed a certain understanding for Croatia's disapproval but asked that it be submitted in writing.
In the meantime, the Trial Chamber in charge of the case has given the defence until May 20 to reply to the Prosecution's proposal to amend the Cermak-Markac indictment.
Following the Trial Chamber's March 8 order to elaborate the indictment, notably with regard to the identification of participants in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at the permanent removal of Serbs from Croatia's Knin area during 1995's Operation Storm, the Prosecution's draft amended indictment included among the participants of said enterprise virtually the entire 1995 state and military leadership in Croatia, as well as party and local officials. This draft met with strong disapproval in the Croatian public.
"(On Thursday morning) we sent to The Hague our opposition to the Prosecution's draft, asking the tribunal not to accept the indictment but treat it as a proposal given that the Prosecution overstepped the tribunal's order. We also asked explanations concerning the position of the defence and the deadline for a reply," Markac's attorney Goran Mikulicic told Hina over the phone. He added the defence received a reply from the Trial Chamber that very afternoon, which he said was not often the case.
He said that in its reply the Trial Chamber accepted the argument that the indictment which elicited such reactions in Croatia was not the final indictment but a proposal that had yet to be considered. He added the defence was given until May 20 to put their objections in writing.
In case the Trial Chamber accepts the amended indictment, the defence will have 30 days to appeal it.
Mikulicic said the Prosecution had gone too far with the draft amended indictment, adding that del Ponte "intertwined it with political rhetoric which has no place in a legal document".
"Not only did the Prosecution not help in elaborating the truth, but additionally confused the whole story. The defence can't communicate with that because we don't know what to defend ourselves from nor what kind of investigation to undertake, which is contrary to the (tribunal's) Statute," he said.
"Political rhetoric is inappropriate for court proceedings and has no place in the indictment, which should be a well-defined legal document which correctly determines the scope and degree of the accused's guilt," Mikulicic said, adding the amended indictment recalled indictments from the socialist era.
Cermak's attorney Cedo Prodanovic said the Trial Chamber's prompt reaction was not surprising given that the tribunal usually reacted quickly to requests for deadlines by which replies to proposals could be submitted. He added it was important that the Trial Chamber accepted the argument that the Prosecution had exceeded the chamber's elaboration order.
Asked to comment on his earlier statement that the amended indictment contained two new counts, Prodanovic said that two counts from the existing indictment had been rephrased.
The Hague tribunal indicted Cermak and Markac on 24 February 2004 for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war committed against Serb civilians in the wider Knin area during and after the summer 1995 Operation Storm. Cermak commanded the Knin military area after Storm, while Markac was the commander of the Interior Ministry special police during the operation.
The two voluntarily surrendered on 11 March 2004 and pleaded not guilty. They were released pending trial on December 3.