06 April 2004

U.S. Welcomes Surrender of Six Bosnian Croat War Crimes Indictees
April 6: Acknowledges role of Croatian government in the transfer

The United States welcomes the voluntary surrender of six Bosnian Croat indictees to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, and appreciates the role of the Croatian government efforts in facilitating the transfer.

Following is the U.S. statement:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 6, 2004

Statement by Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

SIX BOSNIAN CROAT INDICTEES SURRENDER TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR YUGOSLAVIA

The United States welcomes the voluntary surrender of six Bosnian Croats indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The six, accused of involvement in ethnic cleansing against Muslim populations in Bosnia during the 1990's, voluntarily traveled to The Hague on April 5. They are in custody and will be arraigned on April 6.

We commend the six indictees for their decision to face the charges against them in an open court of law. We also acknowledge the role of the Croatian government in facilitating this transfer, and welcome the Croatian government's efforts to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, as demonstrated by this action. We continue to call on all at-large indictees to turn themselves in, and on all states in the region to cooperate fully with the Tribunal, including through the arrest and transfer of fugitive war crimes indictees Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, and Ante Gotovina.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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