ZAGREB, Sept 25 (Hina) - The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Ivo Sanader, has expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the party's proposal for amending the constitutional law on cooperation with the Hague-based war
crimes tribunal was not included in the agenda of the current parliamentary session. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, he added that in case of the Hague indictment against general Janko Bobetko the government was in many aspects doing exactly what the HDZ was requesting.
ZAGREB, Sept 25 (Hina) - The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), Ivo Sanader, has expressed dissatisfaction with the fact
that the party's proposal for amending the constitutional law on
cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes tribunal was not
included in the agenda of the current parliamentary session.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, he added that in case of
the Hague indictment against general Janko Bobetko the government
was in many aspects doing exactly what the HDZ was requesting. #L#
The HDZ suggests that the issue be regulated with a law, which would
also refer to indictments against generals Ante Gotovina and Rahim
Ademi. Instead of this, Sanader claims, a parliamentary session was
called on the indictment about which there is a high degree of
public consensus in favour of rejecting it.
The party demands that changes to the constitutional law on
cooperation with the Hague tribunal define if the Croatian
judiciary has the power to determine the authenticity and
justifiability of the tribunal's indictment.
Sanader said that the proposed changes were the same as those
that already existed in the US, French and Italian legislation and
that they were not contrary to the Hague tribunal.
Since the government lacks the strength to do this, the HDZ proposes
that Croatian citizens state their opinion on the proposed changes
to the constitutional law in a referendum, Sanader said.
Sanader claims that his party, unlike Racan and the Social
Democrats, is not trying to score cheap political points on the
Bobetko case, but wants to protect the Homeland War, its values and
participants. Sanader also supported claims by some media that
Racan and the SDP were obviously preparing a strategy for an early
election.
The HDZ is ready for elections and electoral victory, the HDZ leader
said.
Croatia can make several moves with regard to the Bobetko
indictment, including initiating a debate before the Hague panel of
judges or the UN Security Council or challenging the indictment
before the International Court of Justice, he said.
Asked why the party proposal did not receive parliamentary backing
if, as he claimed, a consensus on the matter had been reached at a
meeting at Zagreb's Panorama hotel, Sanader said he would not
speculate about that.
He also would not comment on statements by President Stjepan Mesic
regarding the Bobetko indictment, saying only that the President's
and the party's stands on the matter were obviously diametrically
opposed.
(hina) rml sb