Florence Artman, the former spokesperson of the chief Hague prosecutor Carla del Ponte, stated that the major Western powers did not want the Hague Court to impose long-term prison sentences on Croatian generals Anta Gotovina and Mladen Markac.
"Some superpowers wanted Gotovina to be released," Artman told Slovenian POP TV.
"There are many who believe that countries that participate in wars on their territory should not be held accountable when it comes to war crimes. Croatia had the right to defend its independence and integrity, but the criminal initiative aimed at the ethnic cleansing of Serbs existed," she pointed out.
The former spokesperson of the Hague Prosecutor's Office says that the court panel did not prove the joint criminal enterprise exclusively with the records from Brion, but The Hague also has other evidence, above all the legal decisions that were passed after 1995, which prohibited the return of Serb refugees.
"This testifies that there was an intention to ethnically cleanse the liberated territory," says Artman.
And the former chief prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal, Karla Del Ponte, stated that the sentence against Croatian generals Anta Gotovina and Mladen Markač corresponds to the "terrible crimes that were committed" and expressed the hope that the verdict on the appeal period will be confirmed, Zagreb's "Večernji list" reported.
"I'm satisfied, it's justice for the victims," said Del Ponte, commenting on the verdict.
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