DATE=2/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CROATIA / TRIBUNAL RELATIONS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259044
BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU
DATELINE=THE HAGUE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Croatia's new President-elect, Stipe Mesic, has
promised to integrate his country with the rest of the
European Community, saying he will push to become part
of the European Union and NATO. But one thing Mr.
Mesic will have to do to gain acceptance is improve
his country's cooperation with the Yugoslav War Crimes
Tribunal in The Hague. It is a relationship that his
predecessor, Franjo Tudjman, brought to new lows in
the months before his death (eds: in December 1999).
But as Lauren Comiteau reports from The Hague, many
people inside the Tribunal think he can succeed.
TEXT: Croatian President-elect Stipe Mesic is
defining himself as much by who he is as by who he is
not: namely the late President Franjo Tudjman.
Unlike the often stiff and formal Mr. Tudjman, Mr.
Mesic is casual and accessible. Whereas Mr. Tudjman
was autocratic and nationalistic, Mr. Mesic says he
will be democratic and European. And while Mr. Tudjman
increasingly refused to cooperate with the War Crimes
Tribunal, President-elect Mesic not only says he
agrees with the Tribunal's work, but he has personally
supported it in the past - as a witness.
//ACT COURT ANNOUNCEMENT, FADE UNDER///
All rise. The international criminal court is now in
session...
///END ACT///
Two years ago, Stipe Mesic became the only high-
ranking Croat to testify for the prosecution. He did
so in two Tribunal cases, one of them against a
Bosnian Croat general. He now says he wants once again
to tell what he knows - this time against Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic, who has been indicted
for war crimes.
Deputy Prosecutor, Graham Blewitt, says he is looking
forward to working with Mr. Mesic.
///ACT BLEWITT///
He was very cooperative. And at that time, he
indicated he was prepared to do anything he could to
cooperate with the Tribunal and to assist our work
because he believed that it was essential in bringing
long-term peace to the region. So, the fact that he is
now the President of Croatia, and because of our
previous relationship with him, we find that extremely
encouraging. I think our relationship with Croatia
will do a complete 180 degree turn now.
///END ACT///
Which is exactly what observers say is needed if
Croatia wants to become a part of the international
community.
Last year, the Tribunal reported Croatia to the United
Nations Security Council for failing to cooperate in
the prosecutor's investigation of Operation Storm.
That was the name given to the 1995 Croatian military
offensive that took back Serb-held land in Croatia and
led to the expulsion of at least 200 thousand Serbs.
Croatia refused to hand over any documents relating to
the operation, saying it was an internal matter that
the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to investigate.
How far President-elect Mesic is willing - or able -
to go to help prosecutors remains to be seen,
especially in a country that largely views the
operation as a justifiable military action. But to
some Croatian nationals now working at the Tribunal,
the fact that this former witness is now president-
elect is a stunning sign of how quickly things are
changing at home.
Tribunal interpreters Vladimir Loyen and Nenad Popovic
say a Croatian term -- Haski Svjdok -- which means
"Hague witness" may be losing the negative
connotations it had when the Croatian media used it
against the new president-elect.
///ACT LOYEN AND POPOVIC///
LOYEN: So that's why we feel weird, because two months
ago we were bordering on being enemies of the state
and now we may even be heading for the heroes of the
state.
POPOVIC (overlaps): Yeah, we have become with him,
with Haski Svjdok becoming the president we're also
like heroes and the avant guards of the new Croatian
outlook.
///END ACT///
Prosecutors have yet to meet with President-elect
Mesic and test how that new Croatian outlook
translates into cooperation. They say they will give
the new government time to settle in and become
familiar with the issues before doing so. But by
April, they say they expect some very productive high-
level meetings. (Signed)
NEB/LC/GE/PLM
11-Feb-2000 05:46 AM EDT (11-Feb-2000 1046 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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