"Croatia coordinated with U.S.; Serbs left of own accord"

Former Croatian FM Mate Granic testified at the Hague Tribunal, and denied that Croatia had carried out ethnic cleansing of Serbs. Serbia considers the expulsion of a quarter of a million ethnic Serbs from that country during and in the wake of the 1995 military onslaught to have been ethnic cleansing. "Croatia coordinated with U.S.; Serbs left of own accord" Accused of war crimes committed during and after the operation, three former Croatian generals – Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markac and Ivan Cermak – are currently on trial at the Hague. Granic appeared as a witness for the defense to, according to news agencies, say that “It is true that a large number of Croatian citizens who were ethnic Serbs left, but that was planned and they were encouraged by their leaders." "The ones who left were those who did not accept the Croatian state and those who were afraid of revenge because they participated in crimes… The Serbian population was indoctrinated by Belgrade ever since Slobodan Milosevic came to power,” said the former foreign policy chief of the Franjo Tudjman regime. The witness also made the claim before the court that "about 140,000 Serbs left Croatia". According to him, this did not amount to ethnic cleansing "because the Croatian authorities did not intend to expel the Serbian population from Knin region nor it was the goal of Operation Storm". As proof for that, Granic stated that the government and former Croatian President Tudjman "several times invited Serbs to stay". “Their strategic interest was to keep the Serbian population that wanted to stay and that did not commit crimes,” he went on. When the presiding Judge Alphons Orie asked him whether all the Serbs had already left when the Croatian authorities "asked them to stay on August 7, 1995" Granic replied: “The majority had already left, but since the operations in the northern part had slowed down it still made sense to send such a message to the Serbs who hadn’t left yet.” He pointed out that Croatia "did not make a single strategic move without the consent of the United States,” and that Washington's "unofficial condition" was to carry out the onslaught “quickly and without endangering the lives of Serb civilians and UN soldiers". “What we agreed on with the United States on a strategic level, General Gotovina executed in the field,” the minister said and added that Gotovina “was regarded as a brilliant and disciplined general, who entrusted with the most difficult tasks”. According to Granic, the government in Zagreb “did everything to peacefully reintegrate the Knin region into Croatia", but that the task proved to be “impossible” because the leaders of the local Serbs "did not want to negotiate, and because Milosevic’s authorities in Belgrade was strengthening the Army of the Republic of Srpska Krajina". He also told the court that there had been a “significant number” of crimes against Serbs after the operation, "including murders, pillaging and burning of their property". The witness, however, claimed that those crimes were committed by “gangs and individual criminals” and "not the professional Croatian soldiers and police officers". He described Markac’s special police, who, according to the indictment, participated in the crimes, as “highly disciplined unit, highly respected, carrying out the most difficult tasks”, while their commander "had no prejudice against Serbs“. Granic continued his testimony by claiming that Croatian authorities had taken "all the necessary measures to prevent crimes in the Knin region and that they condemned them in the strongest terms". He rejected accusations that Croatian authorities prevented the return of Serbs to their homes in the region, and said that "individual return in order to reunite families was possible right after Operation Storm, while the mass return was impossible, among other things, because the refugee Serbs formed an exile government in Belgrade", and "threatened with terrorist attacks". "The mass return was enabled by a program which the Croatian government adopted in spring 1998, after a great debate on whether the time was right,” Granic said. When Judge Orie asked him if this meant that the Serb families had to wait for two and a half years before asking for permission to come back to their homes, Granic answered affirmatively. As the Gotovina trial continues, the witness is set to be cross-examined by Gotovina and Cermak’s lawyers, and the prosecutors.

"Croatia coordinated with U.S.; Serbs left of own accord"

Accused of war crimes committed during and after the operation, three former Croatian generals – Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markač and Ivan Čermak – are currently on trial at the Hague.

Granić appeared as a witness for the defense to, according to news agencies, say that “It is true that a large number of Croatian citizens who were ethnic Serbs left, but that was planned and they were encouraged by their leaders."

"The ones who left were those who did not accept the Croatian state and those who were afraid of revenge because they participated in crimes… The Serbian population was indoctrinated by Belgrade ever since Slobodan Milošević came to power,” said the former foreign policy chief of the Franjo Tuđman regime.

The witness also made the claim before the court that "about 140,000 Serbs left Croatia".

According to him, this did not amount to ethnic cleansing "because the Croatian authorities did not intend to expel the Serbian population from Knin region nor it was the goal of Operation Storm".

As proof for that, Granić stated that the government and former Croatian President Tuđman "several times invited Serbs to stay".

“Their strategic interest was to keep the Serbian population that wanted to stay and that did not commit crimes,” he went on.

When the presiding Judge Alphons Orie asked him whether all the Serbs had already left when the Croatian authorities "asked them to stay on August 7, 1995" Granić replied:

“The majority had already left, but since the operations in the northern part had slowed down it still made sense to send such a message to the Serbs who hadn’t left yet.”

He pointed out that Croatia "did not make a single strategic move without the consent of the United States,” and that Washington's "unofficial condition" was to carry out the onslaught “quickly and without endangering the lives of Serb civilians and UN soldiers".

“What we agreed on with the United States on a strategic level, General Gotovina executed in the field,” the minister said and added that Gotovina “was regarded as a brilliant and disciplined general, who entrusted with the most difficult tasks”.

According to Granić, the government in Zagreb “did everything to peacefully reintegrate the Knin region into Croatia", but that the task proved to be “impossible” because the leaders of the local Serbs "did not want to negotiate, and because Milošević’s authorities in Belgrade was strengthening the Army of the Republic of Srpska Krajina".

He also told the court that there had been a “significant number” of crimes against Serbs after the operation, "including murders, pillaging and burning of their property".

The witness, however, claimed that those crimes were committed by “gangs and individual criminals” and "not the professional Croatian soldiers and police officers".

He described Markač’s special police, who, according to the indictment, participated in the crimes, as “highly disciplined unit, highly respected, carrying out the most difficult tasks”, while their commander "had no prejudice against Serbs“.

Granić continued his testimony by claiming that Croatian authorities had taken "all the necessary measures to prevent crimes in the Knin region and that they condemned them in the strongest terms".

He rejected accusations that Croatian authorities prevented the return of Serbs to their homes in the region, and said that "individual return in order to reunite families was possible right after Operation Storm, while the mass return was impossible, among other things, because the refugee Serbs formed an exile government in Belgrade", and "threatened with terrorist attacks".

"The mass return was enabled by a program which the Croatian government adopted in spring 1998, after a great debate on whether the time was right,” Granić said.

When Judge Orie asked him if this meant that the Serb families had to wait for two and a half years before asking for permission to come back to their homes, Granić answered affirmatively.

As the Gotovina trial continues, the witness is set to be cross-examined by Gotovina and Čermak’s lawyers, and the prosecutors.