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DATE=3/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CROATIA / WAR CRIMES (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260425
BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU
DATELINE=THE HAGUE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  A former Bosnian Croat paramilitary leader has 
been flown to the U-N war crimes tribunal where he is 
wanted on charges of leading an ethnic cleansing 
campaign against Muslims in the southern Bosnian city 
of Mostar.  Lauren Comiteau in The Hague reports the 
move is being hailed as a sign of cooperation between 
Croatia's new government and the tribunal.
TEXT:  The extradition of the suspect -- Mladen 
Naletilic, also known as Tuta -- ends months of legal 
wrangling between the tribunal and Croatian government 
officials in Zagreb. 
Although Mr. Naletilic was indicted more than one year 
ago, the government of the late Croatian President 
Franjo Tudjman refused to hand him over.  That was one 
reason the tribunal reported Croatia to the U-N 
Security Council for failing to cooperate with the 
court. 
Croatia eventually agreed to the extradition, but 
delayed the transfer because of Tuta's poor health.  
Last month, tribunal doctors found Mr. Naletilic fit 
to travel. 
Tribunal spokesmen say the flight to The Hague went 
smoothly, and Tuta is now at the prison hospital 
undergoing medical tests. 
At the tribunal, Mr. Naletilic joins his co-accused -- 
Vinko Martinovic, or Stela -- who also is charged with 
the murder, persecution, and torture of Muslims in 
Mostar in 1993 and 1994.  
Prosecutors had demanded the extradition of Tuta all 
the more strenuously since Stela was handed over last 
August.  Stela has pleaded  not  guilty to all the 
charges, and prosecutors want the two men tried 
together. 
Tribunal spokesman Jim Landale is calling the 
extradition of Mr. Naletilic a "good sign."  The new 
Croatian government has pledged to cooperate fully 
with the tribunal.  
But officials say there is still  no  sign that 
Croatia is ready to hand over documents the court is 
seeking regarding the so-called "Operation Storm."  
That was the 1995 Croatian military offensive which 
took back Serb-held land in Croatia and led to the 
expulsion of at least 200-thousand Serbs.  (Signed)
NEB/LC/JWH/KL
21-Mar-2000 10:04 AM EDT (21-Mar-2000 1504 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.