The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Tuesday published the final submission by the Prosecution in the case "Gotovina, Cermak and Markac" in which the prosecutor's office asked the trial chamber to find the three Croatian generals guilty of war crimes committed during and in the aftermath of the 1995 Operation Storm and sentence them to between 17 and 27 years in prison.
"The Prosecution recommend that the Chamber sentence Gotovina to 27 years' imprisonment, Markac to 23 years' imprisonment and Cermak to 17 years," reads the submission filed on 16 July and marked classified.
"Each accused committed grievous offences on a discriminatory basis against the Serb population of the Krajina with far-reaching consequences. Their crimes were extensive and ongoing: crimes of violence including murder were committed; there was systematic plunder and wanton destruction of Serb property; close to 90,000 Serbs were forcibly displaced with the clear intention that they never return; deliberate steps were taken to ensure their permanent displacement; and, in an effort to ensure they never returned, the international community was repeatedly deceived."
"Each accused played an active and substantial role in expelling the Serb population from the Krajina," the prosecutors said, adding that they had proved that the three generals shared the common criminal purpose and contributed to its execution.
Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were participants from its inception, engaging in the planning and implementation of the shelling attacks directed at civilians, the prosecutors said, adding that they used their direct subordinates to commit crimes during and in the aftermath of Storm.
General Ivan Cermak, through entering the criminal enterprise after the commencement of the shelling attacks, performed a central role in facilitating the continued commission of crimes and fulfilling the common purpose, the prosecution stated.
The prosecutors are confident they have proven that all three accused failed to uphold the laws and customs of war.
"They failed in that duty and issued orders which constituted criminal acts, and in some instances concealed criminal conduct of which they were indisputably aware," the prosecutors said.
"All three willingly participated in the crimes charged, with Gotovina and Markac demonstrating enthusiasm in their implementation of the joint criminal enterprise."
The submission describes in detail how the prosecution sees the role of other members of the so-called joint criminal enterprise. After Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Defence Minister Gojko Susak, both deceased, the prosecution identifies the then Interior Minister Ivan Jarnjak as the most responsible person, followed by the then Reconstruction Minister Jure Radic.
