June 10, 1996
Croatia Arrests Bosnian Croat Accused of War Crimes
By CHRIS HEDGES
AGREB, Croatia -- Croatian police announced Sunday the arrest of a Bosnian Croat charged by the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague with the murder and mistreatment of Muslim prisoners.
Zlatko Aleksovski, one of nine Bosnian Croats indicted by the tribunal, was arrested Saturday near the coastal city of Split, according to a statement by the Croatian Ministry of Justice. It was the first arrest by the Croatian authorities of someone charged with war crimes.
Aleksovski is one of six Bosnian Croats accused by the tribunal of killing Muslims in the central Lasva valley of Bosnia three years ago. Four of the men indicted with him are living openly in Croatia, foreign diplomats say. One is under house arrest in The Hague.
The Croatian government has been reluctant to arrest Croats indicted by the tribunal, despite repeated pressure from Washington and its European neighbors. The Council of Europe, a group of 38 nations that monitors human rights and tries to foster democracy, turned down Croatia's bid for admission last week, saying the arrest of people charged with war crimes is a requirement for membership that Zagreb must meet.
The Bosnian government has arrested and extradited two of three Muslims charged by the tribunal. But the Serbian government in Belgrade has refused to permit the extradition of Serbs charged with war crimes. It has questioned the tribunal's aims and permitted Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander, who been indicted, to make public visits to Belgrade.
The Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims, now nominal allies, fought a war in 1993 and 1994 that did not end until the United States forged a Muslim-Croatian federation.
The Croatian government was deeply involved in the fighting, arming and equipping Bosnian Croat forces, and sending army troops and commanders to assist local militias. The Bosnian Croats were trying to carve out about 30 percent of Bosnia and unite it with Croatia, a goal that has been largely achieved.
Gen. Tihimor Blaskic, one of the six Bosnian Croats charged with war crimes against Muslims in the Lasva valley, was given a senior position in the Croatian army by President Franjo Tudjman days after the indictments were issued.
But Croatian officials, after an appeal by U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, persuaded Blaskic to turn himself over to the court earlier this year. He now lives under a form of house arrest in The Hague, awaiting trial.
The tribunal has also indicted Dario Kordic, who ran the Bosnian Croat political party, which espoused an "ethnically pure" state for Croats. Kordic remains a powerful figure in the Croatian region of Bosnia, known as Herzegovina, and often visits Zagreb.
Aleksovski, clearly of lesser importance, was the head of a prison camp near Vitez, according to the tribunal indictment. He went on to run a detention camp near Mostar. That camp, at one point, held thousands of Muslim prisoners, many in appalling conditions.
The statement by Croatian police Sunday did not say when Aleksovski would be turned over to the tribunal. The Justice Ministry said he would be treated in accordance with Croatia's penal code and a new law. Passed by the Croatian Parliament two months ago, the law calls on the judicial authorities to cooperate with the tribunal and permits them to extradite Croats and other suspects accused by the tribunal of war crimes.
The tribunal has indicted 58 people: 46 Serbs, 9 Croats and 3 Muslims. Six are being held in The Hague.
