SAKIC CASE: SCHEFFERS DOCUMENTATION FOUND IRRELEVANT

( Editorial: --> 8041 ) ZAGREB, Oct 13 (Hina) - A documentation of 515 pages, which was brought to Croatia by the United States Ambassador David Scheffer, is completely irrelevant because it contains no concrete evidence against Dinko Sakic (former commander of the Jasenovac concentration camp). The documentation's historic relevance is also questionable, Sakic's attorney Ivan Kern said after he examined the documentation. According to Kern, this is a very comprehensive documentation of 10 to 15 pages, including reports by four gerdarmerie regiments to the HQ of the Independent State of Croatia gendarmerie (NDH, 1941-1945) and the HQ's reports to the head of the State. The documentation also contains detailed description of the political situation and a review of actions by the Croatian Army and the Partisans. The other half of the documentation is made of various memorandums by police authorities on deportations to the concentration camp. The largest group of documents, almost one third, refers to the area of Banja Luka (north-west Bosnia-Herzegovina). "The documentation contains police reports and memorandums but nothing relevant to the case except that a group of 15 was sent to the camp. It lists their names and the reasons why they were sent to the Jasenovac and Stara Gradiska camps- mainly for supporting the Resistance Movement. Most commonly those were people from the Banja Luka area, Jews, Serbs, etc. All the documents refer to 1942 and also include several post cards sent by the deportees", Kern said. Kern believes that the documents most likely came from an archive. "We don't know for certain from which one, for no marks have been found on the photocopies", Kern added. "The impression is the United States do not know who is being tried and on what charges, but they believe that every document from the NDH is significant. According to that logic they are sending documents they found, believing that they are helping in clearing the political situations, but that is not the subject of the investigation", said Kern adding that different people had interpreted the trial differently. (hina) it/mr 131940 MET oct 98