ZAGREB, April 15 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of Representatives on late Friday evening adopted a declaration on Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), by the
majority of votes and five votes against.
ZAGREB, April 15 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of
Representatives on late Friday evening adopted a declaration on
Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), by the majority of votes and five
votes against.#L#
Representatives of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) refused to
attend the voting process, because they did not want to take the
responsibility for the passing of the declaration. They left the
session immediately before the voting, because their amendment
reading that possible crimes committed during the liberation
operations of "Storm" and "Flesh" were exclusively under the
jurisdiction of the Croatian Justice Ministry and not the ICTY as
the Government proposed in the declaration.
The declaration read that Croatia believed that all perpetrators of
war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia must be penalised
regardless of their nationality, units they were active in, or
duties they had performed.
Croatia pledged that its judicial bodies would undertake all
measures in order that war criminals be discovered and
appropriately sentenced. The statement read that in Croatia's
opinion, the jurisdiction of the ICTY over war crimes committed
during and immediately after the Homeland War, was
unquestionable.
The demands of the Tribunal and attorney of the defendants will be
met, namely a copy of documents relevant to the evidence for
conducting war crimes proceedings, and which are being kept in
Croatian archives, will be forwarded, read the declaration.
The Government adopted several amendments of the HDZ, for instance
the deletion of a part of the text in subsection 3. of the preamble
which refers to the prevention of the establishment of the
collective responsibility of the entire nation. However, it did not
adopt the one which, according to HDZ representatives, was of
crucial significance for Croatia's future as well as history.
Considering the fact that in Government's opinion the jurisdiction
of the ICTY over possible individual crimes committed during
"Storm" and "Flash" is unquestionable, representatives of the HDZ
will not participate in the passing of the declaration, Ivic
Pasalis stressed.
After HDZ representatives left the session, the voting procedure
started. Seventy-seven representatives voted pro and five
representatives of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the
Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU) voted against the
passing of the declaration.
Immediately after the session, president of the HDZ parliamentary
bench Vladimir Seks told Hina that a bill on the protection of
dignity of the Homeland War would soon undergo parliamentary
proceedings. The HDZ withdrew the bill yesterday, adding they did
not wish that the bill be discussed at the same time as the
declaration.
(hina) it jn