Post by Bozur on Dec 12, 2005 21:45:38 GMT -5
War Crimes Case Revives Passions in a Divided Croatia
By MARLISE SIMONS
Published: December 12, 2005
PARIS, Dec. 11 - Ante Gotovina had been a parachutist in the French Foreign Legion and a fighter in Africa and Latin America. He had served prison time in France and led Croatian troops in battle against Serbia. So the police on Spain's balmy island of Tenerife, off the west coast of Africa, were ordered to take extra precautions in arresting him.
Darko Bandic/Associated Press
Tens of thousands rallied in the Croatian city of Split Sunday to protest the arrest of Ante Gotovina.
They waited for Mr. Gotovina to settle down for dinner at his hotel last Wednesday. He ordered wine, and the meal was on its way. Then, as plainclothes agents in the restaurant gave the signal, special forces troops moved in, swiftly handcuffing Mr. Gotovina and his dinner companion and leading them away.
The Spanish police video that recorded those moments had no soundtrack. But since Mr. Gotovina's arrest became known on Thursday, noisy protests have erupted in his native Croatia, where many see the retired general as a war hero. On Sunday, 40,000 people turned out to support him in the city of Split.
For the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which took custody of Mr. Gotovina on Saturday, it meant the end of a four-year wait and the capture of one of its most-wanted suspects from the Balkan wars of the 1990's. Tracking him down had involved police forces throughout Europe, as well as diplomatic arm-twisting and European and NATO threats to boycott Croatia.
While on the run, Mr. Gotovina was resourceful: he used various passports and leaned on a strong international support network. Two passports, seized by the Spanish police and made out in the name of Stjepan Senicic and of Kristijan Horvat, offer a glimpse of his life as a fugitive.
"One passport had stamps from Tahiti, Argentina, China, Chile, Russia and the Czech Republic," Interior Minister José Antonio Alonso of Spain said at a news conference on Friday. The latest stamp, the minister said, was from the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. "It was dated 25 November."
Mr. Gotovina's detention at the United Nations cellblock, at least for now, brings to a close his 30-year tumultuous career as a right-wing combatant and sometime soldier of fortune - a life of risk and adventure on the margins of the law.
Mr. Gotovina, 50, only became a media figure when he became a general in the army of the newly independent Croatia in the early 1990's, but he was known in right-wing and mercenary circles long before that. The French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique and the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported that his foreign stints included training paramilitary squads in the early 1980's during insurgent wars in Argentina and Guatemala.
He left Communist-ruled Yugoslavia at 18 and joined the French Foreign Legion, known for its training of commando-style soldiers. He was posted to Zaire, now Congo, and spent time in Chad.
After five years, he resigned, obtained French citizenship and joined the French Special Forces as a mercenary. First for the special forces and then as a private contractor, he began moving between France and Latin America, where Croatian nationalists were often associated with right-wing groups.
In France, according to French police records, Mr. Gotovina also embarked on a criminal career, which led to arrest warrants for robbery and extortion. He is believed to have served at least one two-year prison sentence.
With an arrest warrant still outstanding in France, and war breaking out in Croatia in 1991, Mr. Gotovina managed to return to Croatia, and joined its newly created army. He rose rapidly, to brigadier general, in charge of the Dalmatian coastal area around Split. In 1995, he was given the operational command of recapturing the Serb-held Krajina area, and drove out not only Serbian forces but also the civilian population. The offensive helped end the war and made him a Croatian hero.
But for him, peace did not last. In 2001, prosecutors dealing with the wars that tore up Yugoslavia indicted him. The charges included responsibility for the killing of at least 150 civilians, the burning and pillaging of more than a dozen towns and villages and the forcible expulsion of 150,000 Serbian inhabitants.
Although the indictment was secret, Mr. Gotovina was tipped off by his contacts in Croatia and promptly went underground. All moves to arrest him have stirred Croatian nationalist protests, with posters in the country proclaiming him "hero, not criminal."
Croatian officials repeatedly denied knowledge of his whereabouts. But the government's attitude changed in March, after it was bluntly told that its effort to join the European Union would remain blocked until he was in custody.
Britain helped, supplying sophisticated monitoring equipment, reported the Croatian magazine Nacional.
The monitoring paid off. Mr. Gotovina's calls to his family and others in Croatia pointed to his presence in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain. "We were in constant touch with Croatia," said Jean-Daniel Ruch, the prosecutor's political adviser. "In late September we were told Gotovina was definitely in the Canary Islands."
At a European summit meeting on Oct. 3, Carla Del Ponte, the tribunal's chief prosecutor, enigmatically announced that Croatia was now cooperating. "Of course we could not say anything more because that would have alerted Gotovina and his support network," Mr. Ruch said.
But the fugitive had left the Canary Islands before he could be arrested.
Mr. Gotovina, it now appears, traveled across Africa. José María Ceada, a police spokesman in Madrid, said they finally located their target again, this time in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, where he had checked into a hotel under a known alias.
After his arrest, the Spanish police said they found 12,000 euros (close to $14,000) in cash and a portable computer in his room, which were handed over to tribunal investigators.
On Saturday, a Spanish military plane flew Mr. Gotovina to The Hague, where he is expected to appear before judges on Monday.
"The U.S. has saved itself $5 million," an elated Mr. Ruch said in jest, referring to the reward offered by the State Department for information leading to Mr. Gotovina's capture. "I don't think anyone will be claiming it."
By MARLISE SIMONS
Published: December 12, 2005
PARIS, Dec. 11 - Ante Gotovina had been a parachutist in the French Foreign Legion and a fighter in Africa and Latin America. He had served prison time in France and led Croatian troops in battle against Serbia. So the police on Spain's balmy island of Tenerife, off the west coast of Africa, were ordered to take extra precautions in arresting him.
Darko Bandic/Associated Press
Tens of thousands rallied in the Croatian city of Split Sunday to protest the arrest of Ante Gotovina.
They waited for Mr. Gotovina to settle down for dinner at his hotel last Wednesday. He ordered wine, and the meal was on its way. Then, as plainclothes agents in the restaurant gave the signal, special forces troops moved in, swiftly handcuffing Mr. Gotovina and his dinner companion and leading them away.
The Spanish police video that recorded those moments had no soundtrack. But since Mr. Gotovina's arrest became known on Thursday, noisy protests have erupted in his native Croatia, where many see the retired general as a war hero. On Sunday, 40,000 people turned out to support him in the city of Split.
For the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which took custody of Mr. Gotovina on Saturday, it meant the end of a four-year wait and the capture of one of its most-wanted suspects from the Balkan wars of the 1990's. Tracking him down had involved police forces throughout Europe, as well as diplomatic arm-twisting and European and NATO threats to boycott Croatia.
While on the run, Mr. Gotovina was resourceful: he used various passports and leaned on a strong international support network. Two passports, seized by the Spanish police and made out in the name of Stjepan Senicic and of Kristijan Horvat, offer a glimpse of his life as a fugitive.
"One passport had stamps from Tahiti, Argentina, China, Chile, Russia and the Czech Republic," Interior Minister José Antonio Alonso of Spain said at a news conference on Friday. The latest stamp, the minister said, was from the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. "It was dated 25 November."
Mr. Gotovina's detention at the United Nations cellblock, at least for now, brings to a close his 30-year tumultuous career as a right-wing combatant and sometime soldier of fortune - a life of risk and adventure on the margins of the law.
Mr. Gotovina, 50, only became a media figure when he became a general in the army of the newly independent Croatia in the early 1990's, but he was known in right-wing and mercenary circles long before that. The French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique and the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported that his foreign stints included training paramilitary squads in the early 1980's during insurgent wars in Argentina and Guatemala.
He left Communist-ruled Yugoslavia at 18 and joined the French Foreign Legion, known for its training of commando-style soldiers. He was posted to Zaire, now Congo, and spent time in Chad.
After five years, he resigned, obtained French citizenship and joined the French Special Forces as a mercenary. First for the special forces and then as a private contractor, he began moving between France and Latin America, where Croatian nationalists were often associated with right-wing groups.
In France, according to French police records, Mr. Gotovina also embarked on a criminal career, which led to arrest warrants for robbery and extortion. He is believed to have served at least one two-year prison sentence.
With an arrest warrant still outstanding in France, and war breaking out in Croatia in 1991, Mr. Gotovina managed to return to Croatia, and joined its newly created army. He rose rapidly, to brigadier general, in charge of the Dalmatian coastal area around Split. In 1995, he was given the operational command of recapturing the Serb-held Krajina area, and drove out not only Serbian forces but also the civilian population. The offensive helped end the war and made him a Croatian hero.
But for him, peace did not last. In 2001, prosecutors dealing with the wars that tore up Yugoslavia indicted him. The charges included responsibility for the killing of at least 150 civilians, the burning and pillaging of more than a dozen towns and villages and the forcible expulsion of 150,000 Serbian inhabitants.
Although the indictment was secret, Mr. Gotovina was tipped off by his contacts in Croatia and promptly went underground. All moves to arrest him have stirred Croatian nationalist protests, with posters in the country proclaiming him "hero, not criminal."
Croatian officials repeatedly denied knowledge of his whereabouts. But the government's attitude changed in March, after it was bluntly told that its effort to join the European Union would remain blocked until he was in custody.
Britain helped, supplying sophisticated monitoring equipment, reported the Croatian magazine Nacional.
The monitoring paid off. Mr. Gotovina's calls to his family and others in Croatia pointed to his presence in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain. "We were in constant touch with Croatia," said Jean-Daniel Ruch, the prosecutor's political adviser. "In late September we were told Gotovina was definitely in the Canary Islands."
At a European summit meeting on Oct. 3, Carla Del Ponte, the tribunal's chief prosecutor, enigmatically announced that Croatia was now cooperating. "Of course we could not say anything more because that would have alerted Gotovina and his support network," Mr. Ruch said.
But the fugitive had left the Canary Islands before he could be arrested.
Mr. Gotovina, it now appears, traveled across Africa. José María Ceada, a police spokesman in Madrid, said they finally located their target again, this time in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, where he had checked into a hotel under a known alias.
After his arrest, the Spanish police said they found 12,000 euros (close to $14,000) in cash and a portable computer in his room, which were handed over to tribunal investigators.
On Saturday, a Spanish military plane flew Mr. Gotovina to The Hague, where he is expected to appear before judges on Monday.
"The U.S. has saved itself $5 million," an elated Mr. Ruch said in jest, referring to the reward offered by the State Department for information leading to Mr. Gotovina's capture. "I don't think anyone will be claiming it."