ADDRESS OF CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER

DR. IVO SANADER

IN CROATIAN PARLIAMENT

Zagreb, 18 May 2005

Members of Parliament,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have come to clarify with you and the general public in Croatia some questions of the current international status of Croatia,  primarily with regard to our relations with the ICTY and the European Union

-          I would like to start by openly saying that the Government is aware of the fact that our public is concerned, and even alarmed

-          The beginning of our negotiations with the European Union is being tied to our cooperation with the ICTY in a manner which is raising doubts in citizens and renewing political discussions

-          I want to speak about this clearly and directly, because it is time for a clear and open talk

-          What needs to be said right away, though, is that there is no reason for any dramatic response

-          Croatia is a stable and strong state which has overcome all the difficulties and tests thrown its way so far

-          We have entered a period in which decisions will be made that will be of importance for the future international position of Croatia

-          We have entered a period in which such decisions will affect our social life, the way Croatia will look and live tomorrow, and the future of the generations to come

-          Confirming the date for the beginning of negotiations with the Union is thus more than just a political signal or a diplomatic wink for the beginning of the Interstate Conference

-          It will be the final step in reaching the general strategic goal: the creation of independent Croatian state, rounding off the project that started 15 years ago

-         It is rewarding to know that notwithstanding the current anticipation and contradictions, most Croatian people and citizens of our country clearly support this historical linkage of the liberation and putting Croatia on the map of the new Europe

-          It is also rewarding to know that on its path to the European Union, Croatia has made significant progress.

-          No country has in slightly more than a year come all the way from a positive avis as a country of stable and developed market economy to the status of a membership candidate, to determining the date for the beginning of negotiations, to adopting the Framework for Negotiations and, currently, to the final preparations in both the institutions of the Union and Croatia for the beginning of the process of negotiations.

-          Self-evident truths, such as this one, sometimes need to be repeated to make clear what progress has been achieved, and what difficult road has been travelled

-          The end of this road – the beginning of negotiations – is now waiting for its final confirmation: at the last meeting of the Ministerial Council, EU Member States could not agree on the confirmation of the beginning date for negotiations

-          The key disputed issue are the differences among the Member States concerning our full cooperation with the ICTY

-          This high institution, as well as our entire public, is very well aware of the clear, unambiguous policy of my Government that has been confirmed several times in this year or so: full cooperation with the ICTY is our own legal obligation pursuant to the Constitutional Act, an international obligation pursuant to our membership of the United Nations and an elementary responsibility of a state, as well as part of our following the recommendations from the positive avis on our prospective membership of the EU and continuing to strengthen the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership we have already met

-          This policy has determined all the moves made by my Government and myself to date

-          This policy has been accepted by Croatian public

-          This policy has been accepted in this high institution – notwithstanding some differences, there is no realistic political option in Croatia today which would oppose cooperation with the ICTY in all cases, including the last and only remaining case of General Gotovina

-          This policy has been recognised internationally – without such a policy we could not have achieved the precedent I mentioned earlier: to become a candidate for EU membership in just a year and, consequently, secure a completely new, stronger international position for the country

-          But, here in Croatian Parliament, I also want to say: this policy has been launched first and foremost for the benefit of Croatia

-           Neither membership of the EU nor cooperation with the ICTY are or can be, for me and my Government, the purpose in themselves or a dictate, nor are they just a pretext for the reforms and the progress we strive at to the benefit of our country and its citizens

-          Stable democracy – as has been confirmed these days in the local elections – together with political stability, social tolerance, respect for human and minority rights, inclusion of minorities into political life – all these are prerequisites to introducing European values  and standards into our everyday life

-          All this is required for us to definitely leave state-forging, transition and post-war period behind and enter the zone of European security and European values

Ladies and gentlemen,

-          The key to all is the RULE OF LAW

-          All that I am talking about and that Government is endeavouring – this huge effort to continue comprehensive reforms to prepare the country for joining the family of developed European states soon – all this is based on the key premise: RULE OF LAW

-          The economy, investments, position of citizens, security of the society, reforms in all spheres, all this is based on the RULE OF LAW

-          I am speaking about the rule of law because it is precisely the rule of law that makes the key difference between a stable and secure, civilised and regulated society and societies characterised by disregard for law, dominance of customary and inherited rights over the institutions of a system and state, the rule of disorder over order

-          I am speaking about the rule of law, and I repeat: nobody can be outside the law

-          I am speaking about the rule of law to come to the focus point: our current cooperation with ICTY

-          I would first like to say that it was exactly by respecting the institute of the rule of law that we have secured full cooperation with the ICTY to date

-          This has been confirmed, with all other things, in the case of indictments against Generals Čermak and Markač, which have again become topical recently

-          It is owing to the respect of the rule of law i.e. of the due process of law in which we shall, I am convinced, prove the truth about these two indictments and the Homeland War  - that Generals Čermak and Markač are in Croatia today

-          To me, this is a clear confirmation of both our cooperation with the ICTY and our relation of mutual trust with the Prosecutor

-          Consequently, and because of the fact that the Chief Prosecutor, Mrs. Del Ponte herself, in both cases when the EU was deciding on the status of Croatia last year – issuing the Avis and granting the candidate status – positively evaluated our cooperation, I can see no basis or reason for the recent proposal of the Prosecutor's Office to expand the indictment against the two generals.

-          As you know, this proposal mentions „joint criminal enterprise organised for the purpose of ethnic cleansing of  the occupied territory of the Republic of Croatia“, in which according to the proposal, together with President Tuđman, practically the whole political and military leadership of the country as well as many known and unknown local, party and other officials, allegedly participated

-          I must say that the mere quote of the proposal in this highest institution of the Croatian state causes disbelief and embitterness.

-          Lades and gentlemen, Croatia is firmly committed to continue to fully cooperate with the ICTY, but I want to put it clearly here that the Government considers such political qualifications absolutely unacceptable and rejects them

-          Such broadly based allegations from the proposal overstretch the principle of collective responsibility, which is clearly in contravention of the mandate to establish and punish individual responsibility

-          The Republic of Croatia was a victim of Greater-Serbian aggression and attempted for four years to solve the problem of the occupation of its territory through negotiations, calling on the occupying forces to leave sovereign Croatian territory. In the aggression and occupation, Serbia and Montenegro, the former Yugoslav People's Army and the Serb insurgents in Croatia were involved.

-           Simultaneously with negotiations, Croatia was creating its armed force, which in the brilliant military and police operations Flash and Storm in 1995 liberated central areas of Croatia, while the occupied area of Croatian Danube region was returned through diplomatic efforts on 15. January 1998.

-          And last but not least: to say that the Storm was a criminal enterprise  intended to ethnically cleanse Croatia is to directly contravene all the relevant documents of the United Nations, the body which established the ICTY and the body to which the ICTY reports. For instance, it means to contravene resolution 49/43 from 1994 by which the UN General Assembly additionally clearly determined the occupied areas as part of the territory of the Republic of Croatia and indicated to the threat of the occupation to the sovereignty and integrity of the country

-          It follows a logical conclusion that any sovereign country a part of whose state territory is occupied has the legitimate right, and even duty,  to liberate its territory and drive away the occupying forces. This is what Croatia did. Nothing more, and nothing less. I repeat – we are proud of that.

-          Consequently, the Operation Storm was not a criminal enterprise for the purpose of ethnic cleansing of anybody from Croatia, but quite the opposite – a magnificent and brilliant effort of a nation that showed, through the resolve of its state leadership and the courage of its fighters that it is capable of winning a war that had been imposed on it. The Storm was a liberating, legitimate and just operation. Croatia will prove that wherever necessary, including the ICTY. If anyone did anything dishonourable or committed an atrocity – they should be held responsible for that individually.

-          It applies here as well that the more absurd the indictment, the easier it is to dismiss it.

-          With regard to the importance of this question, I would like to inform that the Government of the Republic of Croatia has through the Ministry of Justice already responded, that the legal and political analyses of this proposal have been prepared, that our objections have already been forwarded to the ICTY, and that Croatia will make use of the institute of the amicus curiae

-          This also confirm our cooperation with the Tribunal

-          I would like to add the following: Cooperation is essential for the sake of historical truth, because cooperation means helping the Tribunal in establishing the real facts and indicating inaccuracies and errors, intentional or unintentional, to the Tribunal during the proceedings

-          This is exactly what we shall do, and it shows that cooperation with the Tribunal has no alternative

-          It is the only way to deflect the worst threat that non-clarified issues from the Independence War  (non-clarified because we did not participate in their clarification) linger on to permanently loom over the freedom and independence we attained

-          The history of Croatia has, regrettably, been too much marked by such carefully fabricated and politically maintained manipulations and unclarities which, as time passes, become a sort of permanent indictment

-          We cannot allow the attempt to equate the legitimate war of defence with the planned aggression whose objective was precisely to ethnically cleanse Croatian territory of Croatians and other ethnic groups

-          Do we need to remind again that even in the United Nations Protected Areas, during international protection, thousands of Croatians were driven away from those areas as part of the planned ethnic cleansing, and that more than 600 Croatians, Hungarians and other non-Serbs were murdered?

-          I do not want to speculate or make political conclusions about the motives and intentions of the attempts of such political qualifications of our recent history

-          I do not want to speculate about attempts at a revision of historical facts from that period

-          We shall write our history ourselves, and it shall be written in Croatia

-          I believe that the ICTY will respect the facts, the truth and international law

-          All this clearly shows how costly and detrimental in the long run may any decision be to evade the rule of law, to decline cooperation with the Tribunal and try to impose renegadism as acceptable or even heroic behaviour

-          The price of it is paid by Croatia

-          I am obliged to say this clearly and openly for the thousands and thousands of our people who rose to defend our country, for the defenders known and unknown

-          They are our true war heroes

-          Now we have to face the inherited obscurities of that period in order to resolve each individual case before the ICTY and thus protect the Independence War and make sure that the future generations remember the truth about the most glorious time in our history, to be able to proceed on the basis of that truth, with an open heart and clean hands – without an imposed guilt and unfounded slander, to the new Europe

-          The Action Plan adopted by the Government, which I personally presented to the representatives of the EU Task Force, is meant to do just that

-          The Government will continue to fully cooperate with the ICTY to present the truth as previously mentioned, and to resolve the last remaining case of General Gotovina

-          Simultaneously, the Action Plan is part of our firm intention to fully introduce the rule of law as the basic principle of a regulated and civilised society desired and expected by the entire public

-         The Government intends to continue to meet such expectations of the public, and they remain the most important measure of our accountability and efficiency

-          We, this generation of politicans in Croatia, simply have no right to miss this historical opportunity to lead Croatia into the European Union and to round off and complete the project that was begun with the declaration of independence and the victory in the Independence War

-           I believe that on behalf of the vast majority of us I may say that Croatia lives and shares common values with other freedom-loving nations of             Europe, and that it must not miss the opportunity to create the common European future together with others. This European future contains             Croatian future as well.