Croatia outraged at sentencing of "hero" generals

By Boris Babic Apr 15, 2011, 12:39 GMT

Two women react emotionally after hering the war crimes verdicts against Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, which was broadcast on a large screen in Ban Jelacic square, Zagreb 15 April 2011. Gotovina was sentenced to 24 years in jail for war crimes, Markac got 18 years jail while Cermak was cleared of all charges by the judges in The Hague. They were convicted of atrocities against Serbs during a 1995 campaign of lethnic cleansing. EPA/ANTONIO BAT

Zagreb/Belgrade - Croats reacted Friday with shock, disbelief and outrage to the guilty verdict that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) handed down to two Croatian generals accused of war crimes against Serbs 19 years ago.

'This is a verdict against Croatia, against all of us,' said Branko Borovic, a veteran of the 1991-95 war in which Croatia fought for independence from Yugoslavia.

The ICTY on Friday sentenced generals Ante Gotovina and Milan Markac, both 55 years old, to respective prison terms of 24 and 18 years, respectively.

They were found guilty of taking part in a joint criminal enterprise that aimed to drive ethnic Serbs from Croatia.

The tribunal acquitted another Croatian general, Ivan Cermak, 61, of all charges.

All three men are regarded as heroes by a large number of Croats.

Among the several thousands who gathered in central Zagreb, many openly cried or cursed during the sentencing, aired live on video screens.

In Zadar, a Gotovina supporter shattered a storefront window and badly cut himself in protest, the Nacional magazine said on its website. The man was taken to a hospital for emergency treatment.

Gotovina and Markac were convicted for a campaign of terror that they orchestrated with the then-top Croatian politicians, including the late 'father of the nation,' president Franjo Tudjman.

Gotovina and Markac participated in an action in which hundreds of civilians were killed, thousands abused and more than 150,000 driven from their homes. The events occurred during and after the Croatian military offensive in August 1995, which broke an insurgency by ethnic Serbs.

The ICTY acknowledged that the crimes occurred in the heat of conflict and that all sides committed atrocities. But it determined that this did not absolve the generals of responsibility.

Many Croats saw the verdict as a slander on their fight against the Serb insurgents, who held as much as a third of the country's territory and often terrorized the Croat population.

One man commented on the 24sata website: 'So what do Croatian defenders tell their children now? That they were not fighting for their country but took part of a joint criminal enterprise?'

Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that branding Croatia as a part of a joint criminal enterprise was 'unacceptable' and that Zagreb will seek to overturn it in an appeal.

'We are unafraid and are proud of our victory,' she said.

President Ivo Josipovic, of the opposition Social Democratic Party, said he was shocked by the verdict, adding that he expected it to be overturned on appeal.

The verdict is a blow to Kosor's conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). The party was in power in 2005, when Croatia helped international police track down Gotovina and arrest him in Spain.

Kosor is already facing pressure of regular protests over growing economic hardship and widespread corruption a year ahead of elections. Now she must also dispel accusations from veterans' organizations that the state did nothing for its heroes.

Immediately after the sentencing, a crowd of protesters marched to the HDZ seat, chanting and jeering, 'The war only begins now.' There were no immediate reports of violence or arrests.

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