My thanks again to Mike Baresic for the following item, which has been circulated in Croatian, but this is an English version Brian Vjesnik December 20, 2001 Why Doesn't the Hague Tribunal allow Croats Pre-Trial Release? By Marko Baresic Zagreb-Even though they can sometimes be deceptive, statistics most often reveal the criteria under which certain institutions operate. With a very simple comparison of facts about individuals whom the ICTY has granted pre-trial release, one arrives at some very perplexing conclusions. Specifically, the tribunal has thus far allowed Serbs and Bosniaks to defend themselves while on pre-trial release, but not a single Croat. Is this merely a coincidence or are these facts the result of some unwritten (unwritten because it would clearly be ethnic discrimination), but nevertheless very real practice? In order to avoid speculation, here's what the facts are. The Hague tribunal allowed pre-trial release for Biljana Plavsic, the former president of Republika Srpska and a close associate of Radovan Karadzic. She voluntarily surrendered and is now in Belgrade until the beginning of her trial. The Serbian government gave guarantees that she would return to the Hague and now, instead of a Hague cell, she can choose whether to spend the winter holidays in Kopaonik or someplace else. Also on pre-trial release is Pavle Strugar, an officer of the former JNA who in 1991 led the assault on Dubrovnik. He was released on almost an express basis, to the chagrin of the people of Dubrovnik who cannot forget that time when forces under Strugar's command pillaged the outskirts of Dubrovnik, and the town itself and its citizens were exposed to death and destruction. Logic suggests that the same will occur with Miodrag Jokic, and admiral in the former JNA who, as Strugar's deputy, actively assisted in the Serbian-MonteNegrin aggression on southern Croatia. A few days ago Bosniaks under indictment for crimes in central Bosnia also found themselves free men. Enver Hadzihasanovic, Mehmed Alagic, Amir Kubura and Sefer Halilovic were received as heroes upon their return to Sarajevo, and their government is considering whether, despite the fact that they are under indictment, they should return to the positions they held prior to their departure for the Hague. Thus, negotiations are underway for Halilovic (who is connected to crimes against Croats in Grabovica and Uzdol, and who is passing responsibility on to Alija Izetbegovic) to return to his ministerial portfolio, and Kubura to return as an officer in the BiH Army. In principle, there should be no objection to this because everyone is innocent until proven guilty. What is objectionable is that this principle does not appear to apply to Croats. The possibility of pre-trial release for Croats has in advance been eliminated by the Hague court, which did not allow pre-trial release for not only for Blaskic or Kordic, but not for any Croat whatsoever. Not even for those Croats who voluntarily surrendered to the Tribunal. And those who voluntarily surrendered include Blaskic, Kordic, Ademi, Ljubicic, and many others. General Blaskic is now in his sixth year of custody in the Hague, and he still does not have a final judgment. Kordic and the group of Croats from central Bosnia who voluntary surrendered at the Split airport in 1998 under assurances from Robert Gelbard that they would receive a quick and just trial, also were denied pre-trial release. The Kupreskic brothers, who were recently acquitted by the Tribunal after four years as prisoners, were also not allowed pre-trial detention. At the time, they asked the Bosnian government to provide the Tribunal with assurances that they would return, but it refused. In contrast, the new BiH government quickly gave assurances of the return of accused Bosniaks. Furthermore, how do you explain that an officer of the Croatian Army, General Rahim Ademi, voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY well before Strugar, Hadzihasanovic, Halilovic and Kubura, and that they have since been released but Ademi has not? Does this perhaps mean that the assurances of the Croatian government on Ademi's behalf (that he would return) are worth less than the assurances of the Serbian government or the government of the BiH Federation for Serbs and Bosniaks? If that is the case, then Ivica Racan and Goran Granic should be deeply concerned, because that fact would speak volumes about their (lack of) credibility and respect among Hague officials. No, as in all likelihood it has nothing to do with that, the question becomes what exactly is going on here. The attempt to connect Ademi's pre-trial release to the Gotovina case totally lacks in credibility. If Ademi's freedom hinges on Gotovina's decision to voluntarily arrive in the Hague, and if this type of contingency were to become official ICTY policy, then the guarantees of the Serbian government for Biljana Plavsic and Pavle Strugar would be worthless, because that government harbors Mladic, Sljivancanin, Mrksic, Radic, and refuses to extradite them. Moreover, the President of Serbia (Milutinovic) is himself a Hague indictee. In all likelihood what is going on here is something completely different. What is happening is that the Hague tribunal appears to be applying a double standard in which it grants pretrial release to some Serbs and Bosniaks who have voluntarily surrendered, while a Croat, meaning a member of the Croatian Army or the HVO (even an ethnic Albanian like Ademi) who has voluntarily surrendered cannot receive pre-trial release, if we judge by the practice to date of the Tribunal. Should we then be shocked by the results of Croatian public opinion polls which reveal a deep lack of trust of the Hague Tribunal, and that the principle criticism is that the tribunal does not act on the basis of rules of procedure and evidence, but rather on political and other non-legal criteria? Unfortunately, the statistics above regarding accused who are allowed pre-trial release and those who are not confirm that the results of these Croatian public opinion polls are not without a basis in fact. Brian Gallagher distributed by CROWN - www.croatianworld.net - CroWorldNet@aol.com Notice: This e-mail and the attachments are confidential information.If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail and the attachments is strictly prohibited and violators will be held to the fullest possible extent of any applicable laws governing electronic Privacy. 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