Post by MiG on Feb 27, 2008 22:40:52 GMT -5
Retired Officer: I Know Gotovina Killed No-one
The indictment accuses the generals of killing Serb civilians. Gotovina’s defence believes there is not a shred of evidence to support that.
ZAGREB, CROATIA – The prosecution of the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague had its final word. Croatian generals Ivan Cermak, Mladen Markac and Ante Gotovina are charged with being responsible for acts of persecution of Krajina Serbs, including: deportation and forceful displacement, destruction and burning down Serb houses and companies, looting of public and private Serb property, killing and other inhumane acts including the shelling of civilians and abuse; illegal attacks on civilians and civilian buildings, imposing restrictive and discriminatory laws, the discriminatory expropriation of property; illegal arrests and missing persons.
And while the prosecution believes no new facts were introduced in the amended indictment, the defence thinks otherwise. General Gotovina’s defence reacted promptly, stressing that the prosecution had presented no evidence of the killings and that he cannot be indicted for individual or command responsibility on that item of the indictment. The prosecution must prove that Gotovina knew that his subordinates would commit a crime or had to have had information warning him of the possible risks of such acts being committed, but the prosecution cannot prove that in this case, his attorneys say.
Kovacevic: the indictment is ludicrous
Croatian Party of Rights’ (HSP) Pero Kovacevic said the indictment had been generalised, so the prosecution was tidying it up, but this was a ludicrous way of the prosecution to justify itself.
- They want to charge Markac, Cermak and Gotovina with absolutely everything. Including with something that does not exist in the country’s legislature. They cannot accuse the three of something certain civilians and soldiers should be responsible for – Kovacevic stressed.
If the defence counsel are any good, they will not have a difficult job because the prosecution cannot prove the suspects ‘meddled in somebody else’s actions’, Kovacevic said.
- None of the three have anything to do with anything in this part of the investigation. They could not have performed the jobs of the military and civilian police. Had they done so, then they would have done something illegal – Kovacevic stressed.
Djapic: the situation is much more complex now
Kovacevic’s party leader Anto Djapic believes this to be a new moment and a new situation in the indictment, adding that it was clear that the prosecution would do everything to aggravate the situation for the Croatian generals.
- The first elements were bypassed – trials against the military and state top, and now that the trial is around the corner, the prosecution is doing everything to turn things upside down – Djapic said.
The Storm military operation was made out to be a planned persecution, an attack on Serb civilians and the prosecution is again asserting pressure with such theses. It is up to the defence to set things straight, he said.
- Now the situation will be far more complex. This repeated attempt to question the legitimacy of Operation Storm is not good - Djapic said.
Djapic believes that the Croatian government should react, but he would not be surprised if it does not. He hopes it is not too late for a political argument.
- This is a trial of the late president Franjo Tudjman and the late (Defence Minister) Gojko Susak through them. They were chosen just because they are available – Djapic concluded.
Government restrained
But the government was restrained about giving any statements.
- I do not want to comment until I read the whole indictment – Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ) Ivan Jarnjak commented briefly.
SDP member Ante Kotromanovic named Blago Zadro, Marko Babic, Damir Tomljenovic-Gavran and all those who many times saved those who were injured from death.Not even the vice-president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Zeljka Antunovic, was interested in commenting on the subject because, as she stressed, she did not even read about the issue.
Kotromanovic: I know Gotovina killed nobody!
Retired Croatian Army Staff Brigadier and the SDP’s Homeland War soldiers’ advisor, Ante Kotromanovic, believes this will not significantly change the indictment and that the already difficult situation would neither be aggravated or facilitated for the defence.
- But this new situation gives leeway to the prosecution. According to them, the man is guilty for everything – Kotromanovic said.
And he is the one who knows what orders Gotovina had given out, he says.
- We carried out the military operation in four days and during that time there was no murder of any Serb civilians. We had the task of liberating the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina and at the time stated by the prosecution, on August 8 and 9, the Croatian army was not even present in that area. If there was anybody there, I do not know about it, so nothing planned or organised could have occurred – he said.
He regrets that Croatia had not yet processed those people who actually committed the crimes because, as he said, these three men could not be guilty by any act they did.
- What would that mean? That General Gotovina would have come up to me and said: Go there and kill those Serbs who stayed??!? That never happened. I was a commanding officer, I know this and will always claim this – Kotromanovic said.
He stressed that the soldiers had not controlled the area and civilian institutions later did what they wanted. If a soldier did commit a crime, he should be punished in the harshest possible way, but Cermak, Markac and Gotovina are not guilty, he stressed.
The indictment accuses the generals of killing Serb civilians. Gotovina’s defence believes there is not a shred of evidence to support that.
ZAGREB, CROATIA – The prosecution of the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague had its final word. Croatian generals Ivan Cermak, Mladen Markac and Ante Gotovina are charged with being responsible for acts of persecution of Krajina Serbs, including: deportation and forceful displacement, destruction and burning down Serb houses and companies, looting of public and private Serb property, killing and other inhumane acts including the shelling of civilians and abuse; illegal attacks on civilians and civilian buildings, imposing restrictive and discriminatory laws, the discriminatory expropriation of property; illegal arrests and missing persons.
And while the prosecution believes no new facts were introduced in the amended indictment, the defence thinks otherwise. General Gotovina’s defence reacted promptly, stressing that the prosecution had presented no evidence of the killings and that he cannot be indicted for individual or command responsibility on that item of the indictment. The prosecution must prove that Gotovina knew that his subordinates would commit a crime or had to have had information warning him of the possible risks of such acts being committed, but the prosecution cannot prove that in this case, his attorneys say.
Kovacevic: the indictment is ludicrous
Croatian Party of Rights’ (HSP) Pero Kovacevic said the indictment had been generalised, so the prosecution was tidying it up, but this was a ludicrous way of the prosecution to justify itself.
- They want to charge Markac, Cermak and Gotovina with absolutely everything. Including with something that does not exist in the country’s legislature. They cannot accuse the three of something certain civilians and soldiers should be responsible for – Kovacevic stressed.
If the defence counsel are any good, they will not have a difficult job because the prosecution cannot prove the suspects ‘meddled in somebody else’s actions’, Kovacevic said.
- None of the three have anything to do with anything in this part of the investigation. They could not have performed the jobs of the military and civilian police. Had they done so, then they would have done something illegal – Kovacevic stressed.
Djapic: the situation is much more complex now
Kovacevic’s party leader Anto Djapic believes this to be a new moment and a new situation in the indictment, adding that it was clear that the prosecution would do everything to aggravate the situation for the Croatian generals.
- The first elements were bypassed – trials against the military and state top, and now that the trial is around the corner, the prosecution is doing everything to turn things upside down – Djapic said.
The Storm military operation was made out to be a planned persecution, an attack on Serb civilians and the prosecution is again asserting pressure with such theses. It is up to the defence to set things straight, he said.
- Now the situation will be far more complex. This repeated attempt to question the legitimacy of Operation Storm is not good - Djapic said.
Djapic believes that the Croatian government should react, but he would not be surprised if it does not. He hopes it is not too late for a political argument.
- This is a trial of the late president Franjo Tudjman and the late (Defence Minister) Gojko Susak through them. They were chosen just because they are available – Djapic concluded.
Government restrained
But the government was restrained about giving any statements.
- I do not want to comment until I read the whole indictment – Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ) Ivan Jarnjak commented briefly.
SDP member Ante Kotromanovic named Blago Zadro, Marko Babic, Damir Tomljenovic-Gavran and all those who many times saved those who were injured from death.Not even the vice-president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Zeljka Antunovic, was interested in commenting on the subject because, as she stressed, she did not even read about the issue.
Kotromanovic: I know Gotovina killed nobody!
Retired Croatian Army Staff Brigadier and the SDP’s Homeland War soldiers’ advisor, Ante Kotromanovic, believes this will not significantly change the indictment and that the already difficult situation would neither be aggravated or facilitated for the defence.
- But this new situation gives leeway to the prosecution. According to them, the man is guilty for everything – Kotromanovic said.
And he is the one who knows what orders Gotovina had given out, he says.
- We carried out the military operation in four days and during that time there was no murder of any Serb civilians. We had the task of liberating the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina and at the time stated by the prosecution, on August 8 and 9, the Croatian army was not even present in that area. If there was anybody there, I do not know about it, so nothing planned or organised could have occurred – he said.
He regrets that Croatia had not yet processed those people who actually committed the crimes because, as he said, these three men could not be guilty by any act they did.
- What would that mean? That General Gotovina would have come up to me and said: Go there and kill those Serbs who stayed??!? That never happened. I was a commanding officer, I know this and will always claim this – Kotromanovic said.
He stressed that the soldiers had not controlled the area and civilian institutions later did what they wanted. If a soldier did commit a crime, he should be punished in the harshest possible way, but Cermak, Markac and Gotovina are not guilty, he stressed.
Source: www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=126890