Ivo Pukanić A few days ago, I called up my friends Ivan and Marjana Cermak. I wanted to tell them that the baked lamb and potatoes I ate at their restaurant on the Dobra River on my way to the sea was the best I had ever eaten. For the first time since leaving the Hague detention centre, Cermak was away from his house in Zagorje. I learned that the Hague gave them a two month “holiday”, allowing them to leave their place of permanent residence and travel with their families to the sea. Of course, to a place reported to and approved by the Tribunal. Yesterday, I read that the Bosnian Croats had also received a “vacation” and that they would be spending time with their families on the Adriatic coast. I automatically thought of Ante Gotovina, sitting in his cell in Scheveningen. He too could now be with his wife Dunja and son Ante in his hometown of Pakostane. Now all he’s left with is a lot of time to think about which one of his attorneys or “friends” had disinformed him of his status.

Had President Mesic’s initiative in 2003 been respected, and General Gotovina allowed to voluntarily return to Croatia and turn himself into the Tribunal, today he would not only be on vacation with his family, he would also be a free man. However, the past cannot be corrected. We need to look to the future and see how to best help the Croatian generals indicted by the Tribunal. And they can best be helped with a professional trial in the case against Generals Mirko Norac and Rahim Ademi. When I saw professional, I do not mean that they should be convicted or acquitted, but instead that the entire trial process before the Croatian court should unfold at the highest criteria of the Hague Tribunal. The entire Croatian judiciary will be under the microscope, with both the Tribunal and the international community following the case closely. The trust that Mladen Bajic and his team gained during Operation Gotovina must not be eroded, as this would harm both Norac and Ademi.

In as much, I do not mean only the institutions of the court, but also all those who believe in the innocence of Norac and Ademi and believe that they should not have to come before the court. Such people could think to demonstrate against the trial and to try to cause unrest. This would be both stupid and counterproductive for Norac and Ademi. And not only them. Namely, the very position that the indicted Croats who voluntarily turned themselves in to the Tribunal should be allowed to spend a two month vacation with their families on the Adriatic Sea say enough on its own. This was a very humane gesture by the Tribunal and a symbol of benevolence to all those who came to the Tribunal voluntarily. This is also a clear sign of trust by the Hague and the international community towards Croatia as a law abiding state.

In the spirit of these events and under the assumption that their trial will be professional, the question poses itself—if the Croatian courts are prepared to take on the trial of Norac and Ademi, then why wouldn’t it be ready for the trial against Cermak, Markac and Gotovina?

If Croatia is on the threshold of entering the European Union and if the functioning of the law abiding state is that final and most important step, then I see no reason why the trial for the three remaining men not be held before the County Court in Zagreb. If Croatia is not prepared to give its generals a fair trial, then it is not ready nor deserving of entry into the EU. Such an outcome, as the only real option, is also realistic due to the situation in the Tribunal that is overbooked with cases and its exit strategy that states that all first-instance trials must be wrapped up to the end of 2008. It is difficult to expect that any cases will be handed over to Serbia or BiH, though it is logical that Croatian cases be handed over to Croatia, to ease the burden of the Tribunal. This would be good for everyone. For Croatia to prove to the international community that it is ready for Europe, for the generals to be in their home country and for the Tribunal to abide by its exit strategy. It would also serve as a good example to other countries in the region as a clear message that it pays off to have a functioning law abiding state.

email to:Ivo Pukanic