WASHINGTON, March 9 (Hina) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should advise Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader that full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal is a precondition for the start of negotiations about
Croatia's membership in the European Union, the US organisation for the protection of human rights Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, March 9 (Hina) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should
advise Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader that full cooperation with
the Hague war crimes tribunal is a precondition for the start of
negotiations about Croatia's membership in the European Union, the US
organisation for the protection of human rights Human Rights Watch
(HRW) said in a statement on Tuesday.#L#
Sanader will meet Schroeder on Wednesday during a visit to Berlin the
purpose of which is to win Germany's support for Croatia's EU
membership.
In a letter to the German chancellor, the HRW called on Schroeder to
correct his statement made during his last visit to Croatia in October
2003 that the beginning of talks on Croatia's EU membership should not
be made conditional on the hand-over of Hague tribunal indictee Ante
Gotovina.
As a traditionally strong ally of Croatia, Germany is in a
particularly favourable position to encourage Croatia to fulfil its
obligations regarding human rights, said Lotte Leicht, director of the
HRW's office in Brussels.
This time, Schroeder should say clearly to his Croatian counterpart
that Croatia's efforts to join the EU depend on its cooperation with
the Hague tribunal, Leicht said.
The European Commission is considering Croatia's application for
membership and it is not likely to give a positive opinion on the
application if Croatia does not transfer Gotovina to The Hague or
prove beyond doubt that he is out of the government's reach.
Schroeder should also encourage Sanader to step up the return of Serb
refugees and support the prosecution of war crimes by domestic courts,
Leicht said.
(Hina) rml sb