CROATIA: PROTEST AGAINST WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION скачать в хорошем качестве

CROATIA: PROTEST AGAINST WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION

(11 Feb 2001) Croat/Nat Over 30-thousand Croatians gathered on Sunday to protest the investigation of a former general on suspicion of war crimes. In the town of Split on the Adriatic coast, demonstrators waved Croatian flags and chanted anti-government slogans. The rally was the latest signpost in the growing confrontation between the barely one year old pro-democracy coalition government and its nationalistic predecessor, the Croatian Democratic Union, or H-D-Z party, which ruled for a decade. People were bused in from across Croatia, and leaders of the H-D-Z party and former generals addressed the crowd. Last week an investigation opened against Mirko Norac in connection with the 1991 massacre of Serb civilians in the central city of Gospic. The former general is still at large and has not been formally charged. But the investigation has fueled protests by the veterans of Croatia's 1991 war for independence and their supporters. Under the late nationalist president, Franju Tudjman, Croatians were exclusively represented as victims in the Serb-Croat war of 1991. Many people resent the new government's attempts to shed light on possible atrocities committed against Serbs. Many feel the old-guard Croatian Democratic Union is exploiting this, as well as the growing frustration with the stagnant living standards since the new government took over, in an attempt to revive its popularity. Some 30-thousand people - uniformed war veterans, pensioners, young people and a scattering of nuns and priests - gathered at the main square in Split. Protesters repeated the popular view - that Croats were generally the victims of the 1991 war that erupted when minority Serbs in Croatia took up arms to rebel against the country's independence from Yugoslavia. The prosecution has charged that as a local area commander, Norac was responsible for the deaths of Serb civilians in the town of Gospic, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Zagreb. The 33-year-old Norac is viewed by many as a war hero. Some protesters held pictures of Norac and banners declaring: "We all are Mirko Norac." Police stayed away in an apparent attempt to avoid provoking the crowd. The government has suggested that Norac was being prevented from giving himself up by those interested in fueling tensions. President Stipe Mesic said on Saturday the protests were aimed at destabilizing democracy and once again isolating the country from the West. One of the most honoured Croatian commanders, who goes only by the name Miljanko, says he is protesting because he believes the present coalition government is not good for his country. SOUNDBITE: (Croat) "This (the present government) is not good for Croatian people. So it seems that we will have to build a new Croatia, a better Croatia, which will be better for all of us, for the interest of all people, not just the interest of some individuals." SUPERCAPTION: Miljanko, former Croatian commander 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...