The Croatian government on Thursday called upon the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice to take all the necessary steps within their authority and within the existing rules on cooperation with the Hague tribunal to take charge of the trial of Goran Hadzic for war crimes and other serious crimes committed in Croatia and to ensure that he served two prison sentences that had been imposed on him in his absence by Croatian courts.
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that Hadzic's victims had been waiting too long for his arrest and that many of them had not lived to see the day when Hadzic would face justice.
"Hadzic was one of the most ardent implementers of Milosevic's aggressive policy of Serbian territorial expansion. People from eastern Croatia and many others can best testify about it," Kosor said.
The government said in its decision that there were already two guilty verdicts against Hadzic, handed down by the county courts in Sibenik and Osijek, and that an indictment had been issued against him for war crimes and other serious crimes committed in Croatia.
Goran Hadzic is a Croatian citizen, Kosor said, citing data from the Ministry of Administration.
