Croatia hid Operation Storm logs, journalist claims

BELGRADE Croatia hid so-called artillery logs from the Hague Tribunal during the time of PM Ivo Sanader and President Stjepan Mesic, claims a Croatian journalist. Zagreb journalist and publicist Domagoj Margetic told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on Thursday evening that the Croatian Democratic Alliance (HDZ) had been in power at the time and that Mesic and Sanader “agreed to claim that those documents did not exist in Croatian Defense Ministry’s archives”. Croatia hid Operation Storm logs, journalist claims He noted that “it was a lie”, adding that he had spoken to a witness who submitted a 60-page testimony to the Hague Tribunal which clearly showed who had taken the artillery logs and how. Margetic did not want to reveal the name of the witness for security reasons but explained that his testimony clearly showed who had given the order to hide the documents. “The logs contain very detailed information about hiding of (General Ante) Gotovina, meaning that he was hidden by Croatian intelligence service and up until when he was hiding in Croatia while Sanader and Mesic knew about it,” he said. Margetic added that the artillery logs contained information “about the use of technical devices, how many grenades were fired and where they landed, in which region, how many devices each commander used” that could provide insight into the Operation Storm. He said that the acquittal of Croat Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac of charges for crimes against Serb civilians during and after the Operation Storm was “a sorrowful verdict”. The Croatian journalist said that it was a bad thing that victims were always a subject of a political trade in the prosecution of war crimes in these parts, adding that it was the case with crimes against Serb civilians in Mrkonjic Grad. In a live broadcast, Margetic showed a paper he said he had received from the Republic of Srpska (RS) institutions and accused RS President Milorad Dodik of banning the authorities from persecuting the crime due to his “deals” with current Croatian Defense Minister Ante Kotromanovic. “Dodik ordered that the Mrkonjic Grad case be hidden and not taken to court for the sake of his political calculations with Kotromanovic,” he said and stressed that all war crimes cases needed to be tried without “political calculations”. Veritas Documentation and Information Center President Savo Strbac said that the artillery logs “could be the only chance to renew the process against Gotovina and Markac”. Tanjug

Croatia hid Operation Storm logs, journalist claims

He noted that “it was a lie”, adding that he had spoken to a witness who submitted a 60-page testimony to the Hague Tribunal which clearly showed who had taken the artillery logs and how.

Margetić did not want to reveal the name of the witness for security reasons but explained that his testimony clearly showed who had given the order to hide the documents.

“The logs contain very detailed information about hiding of (General Ante) Gotovina, meaning that he was hidden by Croatian intelligence service and up until when he was hiding in Croatia while Sanader and Mesić knew about it,” he said.

Margetić added that the artillery logs contained information “about the use of technical devices, how many grenades were fired and where they landed, in which region, how many devices each commander used” that could provide insight into the Operation Storm.

He said that the acquittal of Croat Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač of charges for crimes against Serb civilians during and after the Operation Storm was “a sorrowful verdict”. The Croatian journalist said that it was a bad thing that victims were always a subject of a political trade in the prosecution of war crimes in these parts, adding that it was the case with crimes against Serb civilians in Mrkonjić Grad.

In a live broadcast, Margetić showed a paper he said he had received from the Republic of Srpska (RS) institutions and accused RS President Milorad Dodik of banning the authorities from persecuting the crime due to his “deals” with current Croatian Defense Minister Ante Kotromanović.

“Dodik ordered that the Mrkonjić Grad case be hidden and not taken to court for the sake of his political calculations with Kotromanović,” he said and stressed that all war crimes cases needed to be tried without “political calculations”.

Veritas Documentation and Information Center President Savo Štrbac said that the artillery logs “could be the only chance to renew the process against Gotovina and Markač”.