HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSSES BILL ON COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL

TRIBUNAL ZAGREB, April 18 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of Representatives on Thursday began a discussion on the final bill on cooperation between Croatia and The Hague War Crimes Tribunal. Minister of Justice Miroslav Separovic was the first to speak about the bill. He was followed by Foreign Minister Mate Granic and representatives of all parliamentary benches who presented their views on the bill. Separovic said that, by passing the bill, Croatia would comply with international legal obligations, thus avoiding severe and serious consequences any state, Croatia included, would face in case those obligations were not met. He added that in relation to the first reading, the final bill included several proposals by the Committeees for legislation, judiciary and some parliament representatives. Foreign Minister Granic said that the cooperation with The Hague War Crimes Tribunal was Croatia's principal international obligation, provided for in the Security Council resolutions and the Dayton and Paris agreements. He stressed that a failure to pass the bill would have immediate and serious consequences for Croatia, not only concerning its admission to the Council of Europe and other European institutions, but also concerning its cooperation with the European Union and the PHARE programme. The failure to adopt the bill would also stop all financial and strategic cooperation with the United States and other international factors. + "The only rational thing to do is to accept cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, pass the bill with all proposals that improve it and do not interfere with the foundations of The Hague War Crimes Tribunal's Constitution. The passing of the bill will certainly contribute to Croatia's stability and respectability", Granic said. (hian) ha mm + 181418 MET apr 96