HAGUE: Croatia's wartime army chief, Gen Janko Bobetko, has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal, the Croatian government said yesterday.
The Hague-based tribunal on Wednesday asked the Croatian government to help "organise talks between representatives of the (tribunal's) prosecution and Gen Janko Bobetko, in the capacity of a defendant," the government said in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Mr Goran Granic, who is in charge of co-operation between Zagreb and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), has personally informed Gen Bobetko about the tribunal's request, it added.
The government said it has offered to Gen Bobetko all necessary help, due to his "role and contribution" during the 1991-95 Serbo-Croatian conflict.
The government said it had no additional documents regarding Gen Bobetko's status, adding that it would not make "any comment until the situation is clarified". Gen Bobetko (83) was the Croatian army chief of staff from November 1992 to July 1995, when Serb separatists fought the Zagreb government.
The local press reported earlier this week that Gen Bobetko was to be indicted by the tribunal in connection with the 1993 killings of ethnic Serb civilians.
According to the Nacional weekly, Gen Bobetko was indicted for his role in the killings of 38 ethnic Serb civilians in September 1993 during a Croatian army offensive to win back rebel-held territory in central Croatia.
During the Croatian withdrawal from the area - which was known as the Medak pocket - at least 38 Serb civilians were killed and several Serb-populated villages were burned down.
However, Nacional said Gen Bobetko's age and health could complicate proceedings, while Gen Bobetko himself has said he would rather die than turn himself in to the tribunal.
"I will not go to The Hague, even if it costs my life," the retired general told the Globus weekly. "They will have to take me from my house dead."
Gen Bobetko has described himself as the main organiser behind the offensive to take back the Medak pocket.