Croatian General Ante Gotovina has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in Operation Storm in 1995, by judges at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

By Geraldine Coughlan in the The Hague

There were cries of anger from supporters in the public gallery when the Dutch judge, Alphons Orie, sentenced former Generals Ante Gotovina to 24 years imprisonment and Mladen Markac to 18 years. The ICTY judges found that both men participated in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE), which included the former Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman. They said that Gotovina and Markac contributed to the objective of the JCE, which was to remove ethnic Serbs from Krajina and re-populate the area with Croats.

In Operation Storm, the Croatian offensive against the self-proclaimed rebel Serb republic of Krajina, hundreds of Serb civilians were killed and nearly 200,000 fled their homes. Croatia had maintained that the exodus was part of an organised evacuation by the Serb authorities.

Criminal responsibility
Standing straight, arms by their sides, the two Generals heard the judge list the crimes for which they have been convicted: murder, persecution, deportation, destruction, inhumane acts and cruel treatment.

The two men were found guilty of being criminally responsible for crimes committed by forces under their command and failing to punish them. The judges said they abused their power by failing to prevent further crimes against vulnerable victims. During their trial, which lasted three years, Gotovina and Markac maintained their innocence. Their defence lawyers called for acquittals, arguing the generals took all necessary measures to prevent crimes.

Acquitted
There were also cries of relief in the public gallery when former General Ivan Cermak was found not guilty of being part of a JCE. Judge Orie said he had helped organise relief activities such as public soup kitchens, hospitals and the restoration of public services, as liaison officer for the international community and the media. He said there was no evidence to support the prosecution's allegations that Cermak was responsible for crimes against Serbs. As the courtroom emptied, Ivan Cermak, aged 61, gratefully shook hands with his lawyers, while his two former colleagues on either side were led away by UN guards.

Unacceptable
The Croatian government has been quick to slam the ruling, calling it "unacceptable". "The council of judges established today that the Croatian state leadership acted in a joint criminal enterprise against international law and UN conventions ... For the government of Croatia this is unacceptable," said Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.