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Europe Union Upsets Croatia With Demands
by Nicholas Wood
New York Times
February 28, 2005

ZAGREB, Croatia, Feb. 27 - Croatia's new foreign minister says the European Union has made impossible demands in requiring that a war crimes suspect be turned over to the international tribunal at The Hague as a condition for starting negotiations on membership.

The foreign minister, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, said late last week that the requirement that her government arrest Gen. Ante Gotovina before talks start on March 17 had effectively put Croatia's application in "deadlock."

She contends that there is no evidence the general is in Croatia, although the tribunal says he is. Requiring the arrest of the general, "would really be in a deadlock situation and a very dangerous one, because he is not in Croatia," she said. "What is it then possible for Croatia to do?"

Western diplomats said her remarks were unlikely to help. "There is still a perception that they are not doing everything they can," a Western official said. "They have to address that first."

Since coming to power in December 2003, Croatia's conservative-led coalition government has done more than any of its former Yugoslav neighbors to pursue war crimes suspects sought by The Hague tribunal. Nine former members of the security forces have been handed over to the court in the last year.

Until recently the government had stopped short of publicly calling for General Gotovina's arrest, wary of losing support from nationalists who regard him as a national hero. Instead it had called for suspects indicted by the tribunal to surrender.

In the last month, the government has adopted a more deliberate tone. President Stipe Mesic and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader made a joint televised address calling for the general's arrest. The police were ordered to report any information that could lead to his arrest. The general's assets are to be frozen this week.

Diplomats and commentators here say there is little doubt the government wants to deliver the former general to The Hague, but they say it is acting too late.

"When the water comes up to here, they do something," said Bruno Lopandic, the diplomatic correspondent for the daily Vjesnik, raising his hand to his mouth.