The Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office, after the final verdicts against the Croatian generals in The Hague, will activate the cases for crimes committed in the "Storm" action and open six new cases based on the evidence it has, announced the State Prosecutor for War Crimes Vladimir Vukčević.
The Prosecutor's Office will also ask the Hague Prosecutor's Office to provide it with evidence from the case against Croatian generals Anto Gotovina and Mladen Markač, who were acquitted of crimes in "Storm" by the Hague Tribunal's second-instance verdict.
Vukčević told B92 television that the crimes committed in Kijani near Gračac, in Mali Alan on Velebit, Dvor na Una, Gospić, Petrinja and Vrginmost, in which at least 65 Serbs were killed, are being investigated.
He pointed out that the War Crimes Prosecution did not initiate those investigations because it was dissatisfied with the acquittal of Gotovina and Markač, but because the prosecution had to wait for the verdict to become final in The Hague, since that court has an advantage in initiating proceedings compared to the Serbian prosecutor's office.
"We start where we left off. We are already conducting pre-investigation procedures in six locations related to 'Storm'. We heard a number of witnesses, along with Veritas. "We also heard witnesses related to 'Bljesak'," said Vukčević.
The crimes committed in the area of Gospić during the "Storm" and after it were also the subject of the indictment against Gotovina and Markač, but no victim listed as killed or missing was included in that indictment, B92 stated.
Vukčević pointed out that the evidence presented at the first-instance trial (when Gotovina was sentenced to 24 and Markač to 18 years in prison) is relevant and can contribute to establishing the truth in the crimes committed during the "Storm", which were not considered by the Hague Tribunal.
He said that in the case of the Croatian generals at the Hague Tribunal, an omission was made, because the "artillery diaries" were not obtained, in which there were artillery reports in which the objectives of the Croatian army were stated.
Vukčević pointed out that the evidence presented at the first-instance trial (when Gotovina was sentenced to 24 and Markač to 18 years in prison) was relevant.
The prosecutor assessed that the second-instance verdict against the Croatian generals is compromising for the Hague Tribunal itself, because from the historical aspect of justice and fairness, everything the Tribunal did will fall into the water.
Vukčević said that he did not know what the verdict would be, but that he expected that a joint criminal enterprise that would tarnish Croatia as a country would "fall", however, that he thought that at least someone would be held accountable for command responsibility.
"This is how 'Storm' was given legitimacy," said Vukčević.
The cooperation with the Croatian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office has been "great" so far, but he does not know how it will continue, the prosecutor said.
On the occasion of the announcement from Serbia, Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vesna Pusić said that Serbia "can decide whatever it wants", adding that "the decision of the international court is a definitive decision and there is no further", Hina agency reported.
Defense Minister Predrag Matić stated that Croatia does not deny that during and after Operation "Storm" things happened "of which we are not proud".
"We want to process these things and - the whole world promotes the individualization of guilt, and so do we. Gotovina and Markač cannot be held accountable for something they did not commit," Matić said.
Defense Minister Ante Kotromanović said after the government session that Gotovina and Markač were legally acquitted and that they had nothing to fear, and regarding possible indictments from Serbia, he briefly said: "Let them come."
Gotovina and Markač cannot receive prison sentences
The chief prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal, Serž Bramerc, said yesterday that he was disappointed with the acquittal that the appeals panel of the court handed down to the Croatian generals last Friday.
"The prosecutor's office is disappointed with the outcome of the verdict, which annuls the verdict that was unanimously passed against Gotovina and Markač by three judges of the trial panel. "We are aware that those who experienced crimes related to Operation 'Storm' are not satisfied with the outcome and feel that their suffering has not been acknowledged," the Beta agency reported the contents of Bramerc's statement. It is also stated that "as in all cases, if the necessary conditions are met, the prosecution will consider the procedure for reviewing the verdict".
Bramerc's adviser, Frederik Svinen, said earlier yesterday for RTS that the Prosecutor's Office will not request a review of the decision of the Appellate Council. According to him, there is no next step for the Tribunal, because the final decision has been made. "When you look at any decision, the question is what can he do there. In theory, there is - a review, both sides can request a review of the decision, if new facts that were not available during the process appear, it exists as a possibility in theory, but we are not planning to do it at this moment," Svinen said.
Prosecutor Vukčević, appearing as a guest on the "Questionnaire" program on RTS, said that even in the event of a review of the proceedings, Gotovina and Markač could not be sentenced to prison terms. "If, for example, the 'artillery diaries' were found, a review would be possible, but as far as I know the rules of the Hague Tribunal, Gotovina and Markač could not be sentenced to prison terms in that case, but it could only be stated that the right was violated", Vukčević said.
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