BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5394

ZAGREB, July 30 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic said on Friday thatcertain documents relevant for the defence of Tihomir Blaskic had beenwithheld by those who wished to cover up the existence of a parallelchain of command and to save those who were part of that chain. The Minister of the Family, War Veterans'Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity, Jadranka Kosor, said onFriday she was very glad that the Hague war crimes tribunal hadreduced the prison sentence of General Tihomir Blaskic from 45 to nineyears on appeal. The verdict delivered by the ICTY AppealsChamber in the Blaskic case is of great importance, not only for thefuture work of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal but also for thedevelopment of international law with regard to commandresponsibility, law professor Ivo Josipovic told Hina on Friday. The news that the ICTY Appeals Chamberreduced Tihomir Blaskic's jail sentence on Friday hit the front pagesof all newspape