Global Policy Forum

By Nicholas Wood

Croatia's hopes for shedding its image as a nation still blemished by the Balkan Wars of the 1990s were set back Tuesday as a United Nations report criticized it for failing to arrest a leading war crimes suspect. In a briefing to the UN Security Council in New York, Carla Del Ponte, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, raised doubts about the seriousness of Croatia's efforts to arrest Ante Gotovina, a former Croatian Army general and one of the court's top three suspects still at large.

Though not as strong as had been feared by some Croatian government officials, the criticism was seen as potentially raising questions about Croatia's prospects of EU membership. Full cooperation with the tribunal, which is based in The Hague, is one of the main conditions that must be fulfilled before negotiations with the EU can begin. The Croatian government is hoping a date can be set for next spring, with a view to joining the EU in 2007.

In April, Del Ponte had praised Croatia for handing over eight other war crimes suspects and implementing new measures to help track down the former army commander. But in her report to the Security Council she said: "Doubts may be raised concerning the efficiency of these measures, or even their seriousness, as they have not produced any concrete results so far, not even relating to his whereabouts inside or outside of Croatia.

"On the other hand, there are strong indications that Gotovina, whose public image of a national hero is not denied by anyone, has enjoyed and continues to benefit from a well-organized support network, including within state structures."

Gotovina is wanted by the court for his involvement in the expulsion of Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia in 1995, as well as for his alleged failure to prevent war crimes from being committed by soldiers under his command. Del Ponte urged the international community to keep up the pressure on Croatia to hand over Gotovina. "Should international pressure recede in this case, this will be perceived as a signal that the international community may not be interested anymore in having the most senior leaders responsible for the most serious crimes" appear before the tribunal in The Hague, she said, including Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime leader, and his military commander, Ratko Mladic.

Western diplomats in Zagreb said that the report suggested a genuine willingness by the government to cooperate, but that its criticisms could make it harder for EU members to agree on a date for entry negotiations. The 25 countries are to consider Croatia's application at the next European Council meeting, in Holland in mid-December. A unanimous decision is required for a date to be set.

Germany is expected to support Croatia at the meeting, but Britain and the Netherlands are among several countries eager to uphold the authority of the tribunal. Speaking ahead of the announcement, Lionel Veer, the Dutch ambassador to Croatia, said, "If the report is negative, it will be difficult to have unanimity." The report was seen as a blow for the leading party in government, the Croatian Democratic Union, which, since being elected in November 2003, has argued that the handing over of suspects to The Hague is a necessary price to pay for membership in the EU and NATO.

But many Croatians regard the former members of the police and army indicted by the tribunal as heroes for defending their country against Serbia in the wars that raged from 1991 to 1995.