CROATIA: PROTESTORS OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT BUILDING скачать в хорошем качестве

CROATIA: PROTESTORS OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT BUILDING

(15 Feb 2001) Serbo-Croat/Nat Thousands of war veterans jammed the square in front of the government building on Thursday to protest the prosecution of a former army officer suspected of war crimes. But the turnout was lower than expected, following indications that fugitive Major General Mirko Norac might surrender. About 4-thousand people came to the St. Marco square in the capital of Zagreb - a fraction of nearly 100- thousand that demonstrated in the southern coastal city of Split last Sunday. Most of the protesters were drive in to the capital by bus from other parts of Croatia. Supporters of Norac, who is sought on suspicion of killing at least a dozen Serb civilians during the country's 1991 war for independence, seem to have split, following signs earlier this week that he could surrender and face trial. The rally, which included dozens of extreme nationalists who raised their hands for the Nazi salute and carried symbols of Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi puppet state, shouted support for Norac, but also called on the government to step down. Norac's supporters, including the former ruling party of late President Franjo Tudjman, turned clearly anti-government, marking the first serious challenge to the barely one-year-old pro-Western government. Critics have accused the party, the Croatian Democratic Union, of exploiting the strong feelings, ignited by the government's uncompromising stand on war crimes prosecution, as a way of returning to power. Meanwhile, Norac, 33, remained at large, seven days after an arrest warrant was issued against him. In an interview published on Wednesday, he vowed to surrender, but only if the government guarantees that he won't be arrested during the trial or extradited to the U-N war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands. Prime Minister Ivica Racan rejected these conditions. President Stipe Mesic, who had earlier said that Norac asked to meet him, told reporters Thursday he still was waiting for Norac to show up. Many Croats have difficulties in accepting that their compatriots also committed crimes in the 1991 war, which erupted when the country's Serbs took up arms to rebel against Croatia's independence from the former Yugoslavia. They also believe Norac was instrumental in defending the central Croatian city of Gospic from a Serb onslaught in the 1991 war. SOUNDBITE: (Croatian) "This government made us promises, but has not fulfilled them yet. We made Croatia, and we have gained nothing from this. I have no company, I do not fit into Croatian society. I am isolated and we have no support". SUPER CAPTION: Zvonko Jacic, War Veteran SOUNDBITE: (Croatia) "We fought for Croatia! SUPER CAPTION: Tomislav Mercet, Nationalist SOUNDBITE: (Croatia) "No one has the right to send us to the Hague!!!" SUPER CAPTION: Tomislav Mercet, Nationalist SOUNDBITE: (Croatian) "Norac is a Croatian problem, not a problem in the Hague." SUPER CAPTION: Zlatko Kramaric, President of Liberal Party and M-P Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...