Croatia Refuses to Extradite General To ICTY

The ICTY indictment accuses Gen. Bobetko, chief of staff of the Croatian army from November 1992 to July 1994, of commanding troops who committed war crimes during the ?Medak Pocket? operation in 1993, during which a Croatian army attack allegedly resulted in the deaths of 100 Serbs, including 29 civilians. The office of the prosecutor (OTP) confirmed its expectation that Crosatia should immediately arrest Gen. Bobetko, since the ICTY had sent Croatia a confirmed indictment and the arrest warrant for Bobetko. The OTP contradicted media reports about the possibility of the Constitutional Court of Croatia challenging the indictment. Croatia?s only possibility was to arrest and transfer Mr. Bobetko without undue delay, as required under international law. Croatia?s refusal to surrender Bobetko focuses attention on the problems of difficulties of enforcement mechanisms for the ICTY. In the case of Serbia?s refusal to surrender Milosevic and other persons, the international community threatened to isolate Serbia and block reconstruction loans. In December 1999, the death of president Franjo Tudjman, who had refused to cooperate with the ICTY, brought hope and promises that Croatia would cooperate. However, Mr. Racan?s politically weak position after a political crisis in July that has reduced the Croatian Government ?s parliamentary majority and makes the Racan Administration vulnerable to collapse if it surrenders Tudjman.