War court clears Croatia generals

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 16 November 2012 | 18.19

16 November 2012 Last updated at 06:03 ET
Crowds holding pictures of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Author and Balkan commentator Tim Judah: "The ruling suggests that there was no conspiracy to commit war crimes"

A war crimes court in The Hague has overturned the convictions of two Croatian generals charged with atrocities against Serbs in the 1990s.

Appeals judges at tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ordered the release of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac.

In 2011 they were sentenced to 24 years and 18 years respectively over the killing of ethnic Serbs in an offensive to retake Croatia's Krajina region.

Thousands of people in Croatia's capital Zagreb cheered Friday's ruling.

In Serbia, Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajic condemned the verdict, saying the tribunal had "lost all its credibility", Serbia's Beta news agency reported.

'Final judgement'

On Friday, presiding Judge Theodor Meron said that court had entered "a verdict of acquittal" for Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac, both aged 57.

Continue reading the main story

Our general are heroes because they risked their lives to save our country and liberate the people"

End Quote Andjela Anic Croatian student

The two men were last year convicted of murder, persecution and plunder.

Judges at the time ruled that they were part of a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to "permanently and forcibly remove" the Serb civilian population from Krajina.

But on Friday, Judge Meron said there had been no such conspiracy.

The appeals judges also said the 2011 trial chamber "erred in finding that artillery attacks" ordered by Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac on Krajina towns "were unlawful".

The two former generals have always argued that they did not deliberately attacked civilians.

Court officials also said prosecutors would not appeal against the ruling, describing it as "the final judgement".

Neither defendant showed emotion in court, but their supporters in the gallery hugged each other and clapped after the verdict.

In Zagreb's main square, thousands of people - who watched the proceedings live on giant TV - burst into applause.

"Our general are heroes because they risked their lives to save our country and liberate the people," student Andjela Anic, 26, was quoted as saying by the AFP.

On Thursday, candle-lit vigils were held in Zagreb and Catholic churches around the country as war veterans and bishops asked supporters to "raise their voices against injustice".

Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac were last year convicted over the Croatian offensive in Krajina, which had been under Serbian control since the start of the war in 1991.

About 200,000 ethnic Serbs were driven from Croatia in 1995 and at least 150 were killed in a military offensive in Krajina known as Operation Storm.

The operation to retake the region was ordered by Mr Tudjman. The Croatian leader died in 1999 while being under investigation by The Hague tribunal.

The aftermath of the war is a key issue both in Croatia's domestic politics and its external relations.

The European Union has made it clear to former Yugoslav republics that they will not be considered for membership until war criminals are brought to justice.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

War court clears Croatia generals

Dengan url

https://gemukesehatan.blogspot.com/2012/11/war-court-clears-croatia-generals.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

War court clears Croatia generals

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

War court clears Croatia generals

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger