Croatia resolutely rejects allegations of obstruction of cooperation with ICTY, said Croatian Ambassador to the Netherlands Frane Krnic.
"Croatia does not have any reason not to meet the documentation prosecutor's office or the Court if the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia can find in their archives," said Krnic.
He recalled that Croatia, of 790 requests from the Prosecutor's Office had met 788 in a satisfactory way, and only 2 are only partially unresolved.
He also pointed out that since the beginning of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Croatia submitted 19,500 different documents of more than a hundred thousand pages from the Ministry of Defence, while from the Office of the President were sent 666 transcripts.
He also said that Croatia believes that some of requested documents do not exist.
Gordan Markotić, Assistant Minister of Justice in charge of cooperation with the ICTY, said that after the reques from the Prosecutor's Office on the 10th Nov. 2006. investigators provided an insight into the archive MoI and the MoD's.
According to him, in the war circumstances, the war diaries were not properly conducted and prepared, and that it is evident from the fact that some of them were discovered in the field by UN officers.
After that, the meeting was briefly closed to the public, because the Markotić talked about some confidential information about the internal investigation carried out by the Defence Ministry and the Interior Ministry.
In the open part of the hearing, Markotić said that among the other documents, there were 14 documents that were presented to the Prosecutor's Office still in 2004 and they are asking for them again.
In the hearing, prosecutor Alan Tieger accused Croatia of systematic hiding of documents that incriminate croatian national interests.
"If the Croatian side claims that some documents do not exist, logically that they will not even look for them," commented the president judge Alphos Orie.
Tiger repeated several times that the people who obstructed the cooperation in the 90-ties are still active today, citing the period of 1996. Judge Orie proposed that he "focuses on the present."
Croatia has responded to most requests for assistance from the Office of the Prosecutor. However, we continue to seek access to key documents and archives in the Gotovina case. Over the past year and a half, these specific documents have been at the centre of discussions with Croatian authorities. After several failed attempts to obtain these documents and at the request of the Office of the Prosecutor, the Trial Chamber ordered Croatia to provide a detailed report specifying the efforts undertaken to obtain the requested documents. In response to the Chamber's order, Croatia provided a report and supporting documents. Since my written report, Croatia also provided additional documents requested by my Office, thereby complying, in part, with the Tribunal's order. However, still at this date, key military documents remain unaccounted for and, in our view, further steps remain to be taken. The matter remains before the Tribunal. As the trial is in progress, it is crucial that the remaining requested key documents be made available immediately.
However, still at this date, key military documents remain unaccounted for and, in our view, further steps remain to be taken. The matter remains before the Tribunal. As the trial is in progress, it is crucial that the remaining requested key documents be made available immediately.
Ironically, that session was chaired by the Croatian Ambassador to the UN. He replied:
The President: I would now like to make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Croatia. ... For its part, Croatia remains committed, as always, to full and unequivocal cooperation with the Tribunal. Over the years, the Croatian Government has demonstrated the seriousness of its commitment by developing a close working relationship and extending its assistance to the Tribunal on a host of different issues, including by granting access to a staggering amount of sensitive documentation emanating from the highest military and police authorities. It is in our shared interest to continue cooperating in good faith and in a responsible and professional manner. I would like to stress that, in Gotovina's case alone, the Croatian Government has delivered close to 2,000 specific and sensitive police and military documents, as requested by the Office of the Prosecutor. This clearly indicates that extensive and intense cooperation does exist and will continue in the future, because the search for additional documents is still ongoing. Croatia is determined to do all in its power to meet the Prosecutor's remaining request. This is the message that has been unequivocally conveyed to the Prosecutor from the highest State authorities, and to that end the Government has, over the reporting period, undertaken a number of operational measures -- administrative, as well as investigative and judicial steps -- against certain individuals. Croatia continues to conduct administrative and criminal investigations with the aim of determining whether those documents exist and if they were unlawfully taken and, if so, of identifying the persons responsible and bringing them to justice. We note that the Prosecutor has taken into account the additional steps that Croatia has taken since the submission of his written report.
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For its part, Croatia remains committed, as always, to full and unequivocal cooperation with the Tribunal. Over the years, the Croatian Government has demonstrated the seriousness of its commitment by developing a close working relationship and extending its assistance to the Tribunal on a host of different issues, including by granting access to a staggering amount of sensitive documentation emanating from the highest military and police authorities. It is in our shared interest to continue cooperating in good faith and in a responsible and professional manner.
I would like to stress that, in Gotovina's case alone, the Croatian Government has delivered close to 2,000 specific and sensitive police and military documents, as requested by the Office of the Prosecutor. This clearly indicates that extensive and intense cooperation does exist and will continue in the future, because the search for additional documents is still ongoing.
Croatia is determined to do all in its power to meet the Prosecutor's remaining request. This is the message that has been unequivocally conveyed to the Prosecutor from the highest State authorities, and to that end the Government has, over the reporting period, undertaken a number of operational measures -- administrative, as well as investigative and judicial steps -- against certain individuals. Croatia continues to conduct administrative and criminal investigations with the aim of determining whether those documents exist and if they were unlawfully taken and, if so, of identifying the persons responsible and bringing them to justice. We note that the Prosecutor has taken into account the additional steps that Croatia has taken since the submission of his written report.
