"The policy of cooperation with the Hague tribunal has proved to be correct. Only good relations between Croatia and the ICTY can bring about concrete results. Now we can say that all the people who appeared before the tribunal have returned home," Skare Ozbolt said.
The minister also stressed the contribution of the Prosecution, which supported the request for provisional release filed by the defence in October after it had been turned down twice.
"Several precedents have occurred in the Markac and Cermak case, and one that is of particular importance is that the Prosecution practically joined in the defence request," she said, adding that this was the result of the generals' consent to an additional interview with prosecutors.
"The Appeals Chamber has standardised its practice, rendering the same decision as in September when it released six Bosnian Croats," Skare Ozbolt said.
Asked if the Government could be expected to take tougher action before the EU summit in mid-December in order to track down Croatian general Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by the tribunal, she said: "The Government is doing its utmost to find him."
"All necessary steps are being taken to locate his whereabouts. (...) Making statements to the effect that he is in Croatia only clouds the facts," Skare-Ozbolt said, indirectly appealing to Gotovina to surrender.
"If the Hague tribunal calls someone for an interview, then this person should respond. It is not about guilt or innocence, that is discussed later. Everyone must respond to a court summons," the minister said.
Skare-Ozbolt concluded by saying that "at the moment the Hague tribunal is the only place where it can be proved what happened here" during the 1991-1995 war.
Skare-Ozbolt was in Brussels on Thursday attending a meeting of justice ministers from EU member states and countries covered by the Stabilisation and Association Process, which focused on the prevention of organised crime and border control.