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Croat general to surrender

Croat demo file
Demonstrations have been held in Croatia against co-operating with The Hague  


ZAGREB, Croatia (CNN) -- One of the two senior soldiers wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal will surrender to The Hague, Croatia has announced.

General Rahim Ademi, an ethnic Albanian, has been indicted on for his actions during a military campaign in a predominantly Serb region of Croatia.

Co-operating with the war crimes tribunal has been a political hot potato for Croatia's government with many people feeling that the soldiers who fought in the country's war for independence from Yugoslavia are war heroes rather than war criminals.

A local court has issued an arrest warrant for the other, who is still unnamed, the government added.

Croatian government spokesperson Aleksandra Kolaric confirmed that Ademi arrived at the offices of the government to ask if his name was on the official list of indicted war crimes suspects.

"The government presented the content of the indictment to Ademi, and suspended the handover procedure to allow him to surrender voluntarily. General Ademi said he would make himself available to the Hague tribunal in the next 10 days," Kolaric added.

Ademi has stated publicly that his war conduct had been without blemish and that he wanted to defend himself in court.

His lawyer Cedo Prodanovic maintains his client's innocence and says that his intention to voluntarily surrender shows that he wants to co-operate with the Hague.

The war crimes indictment stems from the 1995 Operation Storm, which restored the Serb rebel enclave of Knin to government control.

More than 150,000 inhabitants of the Serb-majority region in Croatia fled the offensive and human rights groups say that hundreds who did not were murdered in the chaotic aftermath.

Many Croats consider the men who fought against Serb rebels in the war that broke out after Croatia split from Yugoslavia in 1991 to be heroes, and few are prepared to accept that some might be guilty of atrocities.

Wimbledon tennis champion Goran Ivanisevic and 10 other Croatian sports stars have urged their government to ditch plans to handover military generals wanted by a U.N. court.

In an open letter, carried by state news agency Hina, the 11, including six members of the national soccer team, said: "Croatia was the victim (in the war) and its soldiers and generals were heroes."

The Croatian government's decision to comply with the extradition demands threatened to bring down the government and brought warnings of resistance by nationalist leaders. In a move to bolster his position, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan has called for a parliamentary vote of confidence in his Cabinet, which will probably be held Sunday.

A "no" vote would bring down the government and lead to new parliamentary elections.






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• Croatian Government
• U.N War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

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