View source for Ante Gotovina

{{Short description|Croatian retired general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Ante Gotovina
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1955|10|12|df=y}}
| death_date    = 
| birth_place   = [[Tkon]], [[Socialist Republic of Croatia|PR Croatia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]
| death_place   = 
| placeofburial = 
| placeofburial_label = 
| image         = Ante-Gotovina-05082015-roberta-f.jpg
| caption       = Gotovina in 2015, at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of [[Operation Storm]].
| nickname      = Andrija Grabovac
| allegiance    = {{plainlist |
* {{flag|France}} <small>(1973–1978)</small>
* {{flag|Croatia}} <small>(1991–2000)</small>}}
| branch        = {{plainlist |
* [[French Army]]
* [[Croatian Defence Council]]
* [[Croatian Army]]}}
| serviceyears  = 1973–2000
| rank          = {{plainlist |
* [[Ranks in the French Army#Militaires du rang - Enlisted|Caporal-chef]] <small>(in French Army)</small>
* [[Lieutenant General]] <small>(in Croatian Army)</small>
 }}
| commands      = {{plainlist |
* [[Croatian Defence Council|HVO]] [[Livno]]
* [[Split (city)|Split]] military district
* [[Croatian Army|HV]] Inspectorate
 }}
| unit          = {{plainlist |
* {{flag icon|France}} [[2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment]]
* {{flag icon|France}} [[Commando Parachute Group]]
* {{flag icon|Croatia}} [[1st Guards Brigade (Croatia)|1st Guards Brigade]]
 }}
| battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[Shaba II]]
** [[Battle of Kolwezi]]
* [[Yugoslav Wars]]
** [[Croatian War of Independence]] 
*** [[Operation Maslenica]]
*** [[Operation Winter '94]]
*** [[Operation Summer '95]]
*** [[Operation Storm]]
** [[Bosnian War]] 
*** [[Operation Mistral 2]]
*** [[Operation Southern Move]]
 {{tree list/end}}
| awards        = {{plainlist |
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of a Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IV.png}} [[Grand Order of King Petar Krešimir IV]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of Duke Domagoj.png}} [[Order of Duke Domagoj]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski.png}} [[Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of Ban Jelačić.png}} [[Order of Ban Jelačić]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of Ante Starčević.png}} [[Order of Ante Starčević]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Cross.png}} [[Order of the Croatian Cross]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Trefoil.png}} [[Order of the Croatian Trefoil]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Wattle.png}} [[Order of the Croatian Interlace]]
* {{flagicon image|Ribbon of a Commemorative Medal of the Homeland's Gratitude.png}} [[Homeland's Gratitude Medal]]}}
}}

'''Ante Gotovina''' (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired [[Croatian military ranks|lieutenant general]] and former [[France|French]] [[French Foreign Legion#Soldats du rang (Ordinary Legionnaires)|senior corporal]] who served in the [[Croatian War for Independence]].{{sfn|Ivanković|2001}} He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 [[Operation Storm]]. In 2001, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) indicted him on [[war crime]]s and [[crimes against humanity]] charges in connection with that operation and its aftermath.<ref name="icty">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/case/gotovina/4|title=The Cases: Gotovina et al. (IT-06-90)|publisher=ICTY|access-date=15 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110427065925/http://www.icty.org/case/gotovina/4|archive-date=27 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> After spending four years in hiding, he was captured in the [[Canary Islands]] in December 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/08/thursday/index.html?iref=allsearch |title=Top Croatian war crimes fugitive apprehended in Spain |date=8 December 2005 |publisher=CNN |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=9 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109200155/http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/08/thursday/index.html?iref=allsearch |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 April 2011, Gotovina was found guilty on 8 of the 9 counts of the indictment and sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment. On 16 November 2012, Gotovina's convictions were overturned by an appeals panel at the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) and he was released from custody.<ref name="ABC News">{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/tribunal-overturns-convictions-croat-generals-085736798.html |agency=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Yahoo News]] |title=Tribunal Overturns Convictions of Croat Generals |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=20 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120023322/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/tribunal-overturns-convictions-croat-generals-17735745 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/croatia-celebrates-after-gotovina-and-markac-convictions-overturned/story-e6frg6so-1226518625797 |title=Croatia celebrates after Gotovina and Markac convictions overturned |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=17 November 2012 |work=The Australian |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117073553/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/croatia-celebrates-after-gotovina-and-markac-convictions-overturned/story-e6frg6so-1226518625797 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-16/un-court-frees-croatian-war-generals-after-overturning-verdicts |title=Freed Croatian War Generals Return Home to Hero's Welcome |author=Kuzmanovic, Jasmina |date=16 November 2012 |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116182115/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-16/un-court-frees-croatian-war-generals-after-overturning-verdicts |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ante Gotovina was born in [[Tkon]] on the island of [[Pašman]]. His father Milan tried to move with his mother to [[Italy]], but was caught by the Yugoslav border police. His mother was released while his father spent time in prison. When Gotovina was nearly four, his mother was killed saving him from an explosion at a construction site. Subsequently, his father went to work in [[Zagreb]], while Gotovina and his siblings went to live with their maternal grandfather Šime in [[Pakoštane]].{{sfn|Ivanković|2001|p=2}} Around Easter of 1971, Gotovina and his friend Srećko tried to escape by sailing away.{{sfn|Ivanković|2001|p=1}} Rough seas caused by a storm forced them back and they soon returned to Pakoštane. Gotovina kept his escape attempt from his family and continued to attend school for electrical engineering in [[Zadar]].{{sfn|Ivanković|2001|pp=4–5}}

==French Foreign Legion==
At the age of sixteen, Gotovina left home to become a sailor. In 1973, before turning eighteen, he joined the [[French Foreign Legion]] under the [[pseudonym]] of '''Andrija Grabovac''' and became a member of the [[2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment]] (2e REP) after qualifying at the Training School in [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] before joining the elite ''[[Commando Parachute Group|Commandos de Recherche et d'Action en Profondeur]]'' (CRAP) now renamed as ''Parachute Commando Group'' (GCP). It was there he met Dominique Erulin, brother of the Colonel [[Philippe Erulin]], who became his friend and partner in future missions.<ref name="interview">{{cite web|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20050228/temedana01.asp |title=MITTERRANDOVI ŽANDARI MONTIRALI SU OPTUŽNICU PROTIV GOTOVINE |language=hr |date=28 February 2005 |work=Slobodna Dalmacija |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=17 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017094719/http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20050228/temedana01.asp |url-status=live}}</ref> In the next few years, he participated in Foreign Legion operations in [[Djibouti]], the [[Battle of Kolwezi]] in [[Zaire]], and missions in the [[Ivory Coast]], becoming Colonel Erulin's driver. After five years of service, he left the Legion with the rank of ''[[Ranks in the French Army#Militaires du rang - Enlisted|caporal-chef]]''; he obtained French citizenship in 1979.{{sfn|Ivanković|2001}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/dossiers/gotovina |title=TPI : le général croate fugitif Ante Gotovina est un citoyen français |language=fr |date=1 March 2005 |work=Le Monde diplomatique |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=24 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824235946/http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/dossiers/gotovina/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Life in France ==
He subsequently worked for a variety of French private security companies during the 1980s, among them KO International Company, a filial or [[subsidiary]] of VHP Security, known as a cover for the ''[[Service d'Action Civique]]'' (SAC), and was at this time responsible for the security of far-right politician [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]].<ref name="RFI">{{cite web|url=http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/072/article_40330.asp |title=Le général croate Gotovina arrêté en Espagne |date=8 December 2005 |publisher=Radio France Internationale |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=13 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213180842/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/072/article_40330.asp |url-status=live |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Hum">{{cite news|url=https://www.humanite.fr/node/108421|title=Le chauffeur de l'homme de la Question|newspaper=[[L'Humanité]]|date=10 December 2005|language=fr|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> In 1981, together with Dominique Erulin, he helped editor [[Jean-Pierre Mouchard]] (a close friend of [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]) organize a commando operation to free his press in [[La Seyne-sur-Mer]], occupied by [[Confédération Générale du Travail|CGT]] trade-union strikers.<ref name="RFI"/><ref name="Hum"/>

According to French police records, he became involved in criminal activities, which led to arrest warrants being issued for [[robbery]] and [[extortion]]; it has been reported that he served at least one two-year prison sentence, though this has been denied by his attorneys.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/international/europe/12croat.html?_r=0 |title=War Crimes Case Revives Passions in a Divided Croatia |author=Simons, Marlise |date=12 December 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=30 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130184831/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/international/europe/12croat.html?_r=1& |url-status=live}}</ref>

Towards the end of the decade, he moved to South America, where he provided training to a number of right-wing [[paramilitary]] organizations, notably in [[Argentina]] and [[Guatemala]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/world/europe/12iht-croatia.html |title=Trail ends for asoldier of fortune |author=Simons, Marlise |date=12 December 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=30 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230002728/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/world/europe/12iht-croatia.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref> He met his first wife Ximena Dalel in [[Colombia]], and they had a daughter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2005/l/sezioni/esteri/gotovina/profilgot/profilgot.html |title=Gotovina, da eroe nazionalea criminale di guerra latitante |language=it |date=4 January 2010 |work=La Repubblica |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=27 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727145128/http://www.repubblica.it/2005/l/sezioni/esteri/gotovina/profilgot/profilgot.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Arrested during a trip to France,{{Explain|date=December 2020}} he was sentenced in 1986 to five years in prison by Paris' ''[[Cour d'assises]]''.<ref>Axis Information and Analysis – [http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=548 Ante Gotovina: Gangster, General, National Hero... War Criminal?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113122643/http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=548 |date=13 January 2009 }}</ref> He was freed the following year, "in circumstances showing he had been benefiting from very particular protections".<ref name="RFI"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=548 |title=Ante Gotovina: Gangster, General, National Hero... War Criminal? |website=www.axisglobe.com |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522200903/http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=548 |archive-date=22 May 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Dominique Erulin disputed the verdict against Gotovina and himself, and claims Gotovina's criminal record was manufactured by left-wing factions allied with [[President of France|President]] [[François Mitterrand]].<ref name="interview"/> Gotovina's lawyers submitted a brief to the [[International War Crimes Tribunal]] alleging that Gotovina had been framed by an alleged criminal police group loyal to [[François Mitterrand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antegotovina.com/doc/motion-EN.pdf|title=Gotovina motion to strike|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429095232/http://www.antegotovina.com/doc/motion-EN.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Croatian War of Independence==
Gotovina returned to Croatia in 1991, at the dawn of [[Croatian War of Independence]], and enlisted in the [[Croatian National Guard]] (ZNG), the first organized military body of what would laterbecome the [[Croatian Army]]. He was an efficient commander and had the advantage – shared by relatively few other Croatian soldiers – of combat experience. He fought in western [[Slavonia]]: in [[Novska]] and [[Nova Gradiška]],<ref name="vojska">{{cite web|url=http://www.vojska.net/hrv/zivotopis/g/gotovina/ante|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225123749/http://www.vojska.net/hrv/zivotopis/g/gotovina/ante/|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 February 2007|title=Ante Gotovina|publisher=Vojska|date=11 December 2006|access-date=15 April 2011}}{{better source needed|date=March 2017}}</ref> attached to the [[1st Guards Brigade (Croatia)|1st Guards Brigade]].<ref name=Tigrovi>{{cite web|publisher=[[Nova TV (Croatia)]] |url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/godine-borbe-za-slobodu-ratni-put-ante-gotovine.html |language=hr |title=Godine borbe za slobodu: Ratni put Ante Gotovine |trans-title=Years of struggle for freedom: Combat path of Ante Gotovina |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119042818/http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/godine-borbe-za-slobodu-ratni-put-ante-gotovine.html |url-status=live}}</ref> He soon caught the attention of his superiors, and when the [[Croatian Army]] was established as such in 1992, Gotovina was promoted to the rank of [[colonel]].<ref name="vojska"/> As a colonel, he was one of the main organizers of [[Operation Maslenica]], which restored Croatia's territorial continuity in Dalmatia.<ref name="vojska"/>

By 1994, he had risen to the rank of [[major-general]] and, as a ''general-pukovnik'' and commanding officer of the [[Split (city)|Split]] military district he organized key military operations: the defense of [[Livno]] and [[Tomislavgrad]] from the troops of Bosnian Serb general [[Ratko Mladić]], and the ten-month war of attrition which broke the Serb defenses in the Plain of Livno, the [[Dinara]] Ridge and the [[Šator]] mountain.<ref name="icty"/><ref name="vojska"/> He led the conquest of [[Glamoč]] and [[Bosansko Grahovo]] ([[Operation Summer '95]]), which enabled him to close from the east the encirclement of [[Knin]], the capital of the self-declared (1991–95) [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]].<ref name="domovinskirat">{{cite web|author=Katušić, Igor|url=http://domovinskirat.xtreemhost.com/operacije/ljeto95.html|title=Vojne operacije – operacija LJETO 95|publisher=Domovinskirat.xtreemhost.com|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224182938/http://domovinskirat.xtreemhost.com/operacije/ljeto95.html |archive-date=24 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> This ensured conditions for the rapid success of Operation ''Oluja'' ([[Operation Storm|"Storm"]]) in 4–6 August 1995, during which forces under his command captured [[Knin]].<ref name="tanner">Tanner, Marcus (1997) ''Croatia: A Nation Forged in War.''<!-- publishing info, ISBN, pages needed --></ref>

Gotovina was then immediately put in charge of the combined forces of the Croatian Army (''Hrvatska Vojska'' or HV) and the Croatian Defense Council in Bosnia (''Hrvatsko Vijeće Obrane'' or HVO) in [[Operation Mistral 2]], which defeated the army of the Bosnian Serbs and led the Croatian army, together with the [[Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina]], within 23 kilometres of [[Banja Luka]] and was only stopped under American pressure.{{sfn|Ivanković|2001}}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}

==Post-war period==
In 1996, he became the chief of the Army Inspectorate.<ref name="VL bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/biografije/ante-gotovina-184|title=Ante Gotovina|work=vecernji.hr|publisher=[[Večernji list]]|language=hr|access-date=29 April 2014}}</ref> In September 2000, he was a signatory to the [[Twelve Generals' Letter]] in which the government of [[Ivica Račan]] was criticised. Together with some of the other generals, he was forced to retire by president [[Stjepan Mesić]], with an explanation that military officers shouldn't write political letters if not approved by the supreme commander.<ref>{{cite news|title=Godine borbe za slobodu: Ratni put Ante Gotovine|url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/godine-borbe-za-slobodu-ratni-put-ante-gotovine.html|publisher=[[Dnevnik Nove TV]]|date=16 November 2012|language=hr|access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>

==War crimes indictment==
===Flight and attendant political controversies===
In July 2001, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) issued sealed indictments to the Croatian government seeking the arrest of Ante Gotovina and [[Mladen Markač]] for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between 4 August 1995 and 15 November 1995.<ref name="icty"/> Gotovina was indicted together with Markač, a former commander of the special police of Croatia's interior ministry, and [[Ivan Čermak]], assistant defense minister from 1991 to 1993. The three were accused of "aiding and abetting the murders of 324 Krajina Serb civilians and prisoners of war by shooting, burning and/or stabbing" them and "forcibly displacing almost 90,000 Serb civilians". Gotovina was charged with five counts of crimes against humanity (persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, murder) and four counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (plunder, wanton destruction, murder, cruel treatment). He denied all charges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/12/548.TGFuZz1FTg.html|title=The Hague Justice Portal|publisher=The Hague Justice Portal|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501074219/http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/12/548.TGFuZz1FTg.html|archive-date=1 May 2011| url-status= live}}</ref>

For four years, 2001–2005, Gotovina remained at large despite intense pressure from the [[United States]] and the [[European Union]] for his surrender. Foreign countries sought to hunt down Gotovina, and an [[Interpol]] warrant was issued for his arrest. The United States announced a $5&nbsp;million (€4.2&nbsp;million) reward for his capture.<ref name="NYTcash"/> The British [[Secret Intelligence Service]] (MI6) was reported in Croatian media in 2004 to have been allowed to import sophisticated monitoring equipment to track down Gotovina.<ref name="MI6exp"/> This caused resentment among elements of Croatia's security establishment; as a result, MI6 officers based in Croatia under cover were exposed in the Croatian media, allegedly at the behest of Gotovina's sympathisers in Croatia's counter-intelligence service, the POA (''Protuobavještajna agencija'').<ref name=MI6exp>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bosnia/1472756/MI6-spies-exposed-by-Balkan-rivals.html |title=MI6 spies exposed by Balkan rivals |author=de Quetteville, Harry and Hugh Griffiths |date=27 September 2004 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=30 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130194330/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bosnia/1472756/MI6-spies-exposed-by-Balkan-rivals.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Prior to that, a number of Croatian security officials were sacked, including POA head Franjo Turek,<ref name="Turek">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4497385.stm|title=MI6 and the Croatian general|date=30 April 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=31 January 2015}}</ref> who was replaced by Joško Podbevšek and shortly afterwards by [[Tomislav Karamarko]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2004/10/balk-o27.html|title=British MI6 agents named in Balkans – World Socialist Web Site|author=Paul Mitchell|date=27 October 2004}}</ref> The wiretapping operation went ahead after Turek's retirement in March 2004, under his successor at the POA, but failed to locate Gotovina before a deadline set by the Croatian prime minister [[Ivo Sanader]] in June 2004. According to a leaked memo from MI6 to the POA, the UK government had called for Turek's arrest, unless he started to cooperate on Gotovina.<ref name="Turek"/>

Several EU [[European Union#Member states|member states]], including the UK and the [[Netherlands]], made the surrender of Gotovina a precondition for Croatia's [[2013 enlargement of the European Union|accession to the European Union]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/world/europe/09iht-croatia.html |title=EU warns Croatia to help in arrest |author=Bowley, Graham |date=10 March 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501015521/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/world/europe/09iht-croatia.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This stance was criticised by the Croatian government, which claimed ignorance of Gotovina's whereabouts but that he was probably outside the country and that it was doing all it could to bring him to justice. Accession negotiations with the EU, scheduled to start on 17 March 2005, were postponed pending a resolution of the issue.<ref name="bbc-hr-profile">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1097128.stm |title=Croatia country profile |date=23 January 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=27 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127032603/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1097128.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2005, ICTY's chief prosecutor [[Carla Del Ponte]] claimed she had information that he was hiding in a [[Franciscan order|Franciscan]] monastery in Croatia or in Bosnian Croat territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://euobserver.com/foreign/19897|title=Vatican accused of hiding Croat war crimes suspect|date=20 September 2005 }}</ref> She went to the Vatican to ask for help in locating him, but told [[The Daily Telegraph]] that the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop [[Giovanni Lajolo]], had refused to help, telling her that the Vatican was not a state and thus had "no international obligations".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/croatia/1498809/Vatican-accused-of-shielding-war-criminal.html |title=Vatican accused of shielding 'war criminal' |author=Rennie, David |date=20 September 2005 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=3 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403035847/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/croatia/1498809/Vatican-accused-of-shielding-war-criminal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Her comments infuriated the Church in Croatia<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.culture.yugoslavia/2005-09/msg00031.html|title=Croatia: Church Officials insult war crimes prosecutor|publisher=Newsgroups.derkeiler.com|access-date=15 April 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427060459/http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.culture.yugoslavia/2005-09/msg00031.html|archive-date=27 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the Vatican, whose spokesman [[Joaquín Navarro-Valls]] said the archbishop asked Del Ponte what evidence she had for her claims but which she reportedly did not provide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ezilon.com/information/article_10014.shtml |title=UN prosecutor sparks fury with claim Vatican is hiding alleged war criminal |publisher=Ezilon.com |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430161507/http://www.ezilon.com/information/article_10014.shtml |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Capture and extradition===
On 7 December 2005, Gotovina was captured by [[Spain|Spanish]] police and special forces in the resort of [[Playa de las Américas]] on [[Tenerife]] in the [[Canary Islands]]. He was reported to have been traveling on two fake Croatian passports using the names, Goran Drozdek and Stjepan Seničić.<ref name="independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/croatians-rally-behind-national-hero-after-general-is-snatched-332470.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/croatians-rally-behind-national-hero-after-general-is-snatched-332470.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Croatians Rally Behind 'National Hero' after General Is Snatched|author=Zimonjic, Vesna Peric|date=12 December 2005|work=The Independent|access-date=30 January 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His passport contained border stamps of several countries, including [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], [[Russia]], [[China]], [[Czech Republic]] and [[Tahiti]].<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/dec/10/warcrimes |title=War crimes suspect was using a false passport |date=9 December 2005 |work=The Guardian |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=4 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504042232/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/dec/10/warcrimes |url-status=live}}</ref> A sum of money amounting to [[Euro|€]]12,000 was discovered in his room.<ref name="NYTcash">[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/international/europe/12croat.html?hp&ex=1134363600&en=f52b2fe2583a0f7c&ei=5094&partner=homepage War Crimes Case Revives Passions in a Divided Croatia] ''The New York Times'' 12 December 2005</ref> He was immediately flown to [[Madrid]], where he was imprisoned in advance of a court hearing to extradite him to the ICTY prison at [[The Hague]]. Spanish police were later reported to have been tracking him for several days, apparently following a lead obtained through the [[Telephone tapping|wiretapping]] of his wife Dunja's phone.<ref name="independent"/>

The involvement of Croatian authorities was backed up by the Carla's List documentary, a part of which is available on YouTube. Croatian media credited [[Josip Buljević]] (subsequently the [[Security and Intelligence Agency|SOA]]'s director, later president [[Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović]]'s national security advisor<ref>[https://archive.today/20150130161749/http://voiceofcroatia.hrt.hr/our-news/single-news/croatia-today-12_00/croatia-today-1200-2015-01-28/ Croatia Today (12:00)], 28 January 2015.</ref> and since January 2016 [[Ministry of Defence (Croatia)|defence minister]]) with being in charge of the operation to locate and arrest Gotovina.<ref name="Jutarnj">{{cite web|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/josip-buljevic--sanaderov-i-karamarkov-spijun-od-povjerenja/1061685|title=Tko je Josip Buljević, bivši šef SOA-e: Sanaderov i Karamarkov špijun od povjerenja|newspaper=[[Jutarnji list]]|date=22 October 2012|access-date=31 January 2015}}</ref>

On 10 December 2005, Gotovina was flown to The Hague, where he appeared before the ICTY on 12 December. He pleaded not guilty to the seven charges brought against him, for acting individually and/or through a [[joint criminal enterprise]] in persecutions, deportation and forced displacement and other inhumane acts for a total of four counts of [[crimes against humanity]]; and murder, plunder of property and wanton destruction of settlements in three counts of violations of the [[laws of war|laws or customs of war]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/mil-2ai011029e.htm|title=Milosevic et al. – Second Amended Indictment|publisher=Un.org|date=5 March 2007|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807134440/http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/mil-2ai011029e.htm |archive-date=7 August 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to his lawyer, Gotovina has declared that he is "not the man described in each and every count."<ref>{{cite news|last=Max|first=Arthur|url=http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2396172005|title=War crimes accused says he's 'not the man'|publisher=News.scotsman.com|date=13 December 2005|access-date=15 April 2011}}</ref>

===Reactions===
[[File:Ante Gotovina plakat 2 w Makarska.jpg|thumb|"Croatian pride", [[Makarska]] centre, September 2011]]
Many Croats continued to regard Gotovina as a war hero and rejected the assertion that he was guilty of crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/international/europe/09croatia.html |title=Croatian Suspect in War Crimes Is Arrested in Canary Isles |author=McLean, Renwick and Marlise Simons |date=9 December 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501015541/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/international/europe/09croatia.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.net/2005/12/11/rally-in-croatia-in-support-of-ante-gotovina|title=Rally in Croatia in support of Ante Gotovina|publisher=Euronews.net|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110430011242/http://www.euronews.net/2005/12/11/rally-in-croatia-in-support-of-ante-gotovina|archive-date=30 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Major parties in Croatia were reported to be using Gotovina as a means of drumming up political support in the run-up to the 2007 [[Croatian parliamentary election, 2007|parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Jungvirth|first=Goran|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/gotovina-exploited-croatias-election-campaign|title=Gotovina Exploited in Croatia's Election Campaign|publisher=Iwpr.net|date=1 September 2007|access-date=30 January 2015}}</ref>

During his flight, Gotovina became a prominent icon of Croatian popular culture. [[Marko Perković]] and [[Miroslav Škoro]], two popular Croatian musicians, recorded songs with lyrics implicitly praising the general and his flight, and both songs became huge hits, especially among younger fans.<ref>Baker, Catherine. ''Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia'' (2010)<!-- ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed --></ref> In 2006, the two most popular football teams in the country, [[Dinamo Zagreb]] and [[Hajduk Split]], played a match, whose proceeds went to help finance the generals' legal fees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://it.peacereporter.net/articolo/5388/Croatian+soccer+fans+against+the+Hague |title=Croatian soccer fans against the Hague |publisher=It.peacereporter.net |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429042814/http://it.peacereporter.net/articolo/5388/Croatian%2Bsoccer%2Bfans%2Bagainst%2Bthe%2BHague |archive-date=29 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/world/europe/04iht-croatia.html |title=In Croatia, stalemate on fugitive |author=Wood, Nicholas |date=5 April 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=19 March 2015 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501015517/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/world/europe/04iht-croatia.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2005, a survey conducted on behalf of the U.S. Embassy in Croatia reported that a majority of those surveyed thought it was not in Croatia's interest to extradite Gotovina.<ref name="nytimes"/> Unofficial polls by television programs also showed strong support, with most callers saying that they would prefer Gotovina remain at large even if it meant not joining the European Union.<ref name="nytimes"/>

In 2001, the Croatian writer [[Nenad Ivanković]] wrote a biography of Gotovina, ''Warrior-Adventurer and General (A Biography)''. The Croatian filmmaker [[Dejan Šorak]] wrote and directed ''[[Two Players from the Bench]]'' (''Dva igrača s klupe''), a [[black comedy]] released in 2005 whose plot was inspired by the events surrounding the indictments against Gotovina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0814715 |title=Dejan Sorak |website=Internet Movie Database |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113143712/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0814715/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Jack Baric, an Emmy Award winning Croatian-American filmmaker made ''Searching for a Storm,'' a documentary film about Gotovina's case and the war in Croatia. The film had its world premiere in 2009 at the Zagreb Dox Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Searching for a Storm / Controversial Dox / Official Programme / Programme / 2009 / ZAGREBDOX International documentary film festival |url=http://zagrebdox.net/en/2009/programme/official_programme/controversial_dox/searching_for_a_storm |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=zagrebdox.net}}</ref>

After Gotovina's arrest in Spain, several rallies and protests took place in Croatian cities. On 11 December 2005 (the first Sunday after his arrest), a rally organised by war veterans attracted between 40,000 and 70,000 Croatians in the city of [[Split (city)|Split]] to protest the arrest.<ref>Bideleux, Robert & Jeffries, Ian. ''The Balkans: a post-communist history'' (2007).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/world/europe/11iht-croatia.html |title=40,000 protest general's arrest |author=Simons, Marlise |date=12 December 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501015508/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/world/europe/11iht-croatia.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Several retired generals attended the rally and expressed their support for Gotovina. On the same day, rallies were held in several other cities in Croatia, but with smaller attendance (in [[Zagreb]] some 500 people gathered).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4518946.stm |title=Massive rally for Croatia suspect |date=11 December 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=18 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218192609/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4518946.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Polls taken by the PULS Agency after Gotovina's arrest showed that almost two-thirds of the Croatian public found the accusations baseless.<ref name="poll">{{cite web|url=http://www.puls.hr/artman/uploads/press_gotovina_v1.doc|title=61% građana vijest o uhićenju Gotovine smatra lošom vijesti|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430224215/http://www.puls.hr/artman/uploads/press_gotovina_v1.doc|archive-date=30 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Trial==
{{main|Trial of Gotovina et al}}
At the end of 2006, Gotovina's case was combined with cases of Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač, as they all relate to Operation Storm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/gotovina90/appeal/decision-e/061025.htm|title=Icty|publisher=un.org|date=5 March 2007|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609040852/http://www.un.org/icty/gotovina90/appeal/decision-e/061025.htm|archive-date=9 June 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Trial of Gotovina et al]] was expected to begin in May 2007 but was postponed indefinitely because of conflicts between lawyers on the defence bench.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=334888&apc_state=henptri|title=Gotovina|publisher=Iwpr.net|date=9 April 2003|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030634/http://iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=334888&apc_state=henptri|archive-date=30 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> His lawyers were [[Luka Misetic]], an American attorney of Croatian descent,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=131027|title=Trial of Croatian Generals Begins|publisher=Javno.com|date=11 March 2008|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115131536/http://www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=131027|archive-date=15 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Greg Kehoe, an American lawyer who advised the prosecution in the [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]] case against [[Saddam Hussein]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gtlaw.com/People/GregWKehoe |title=Greg Kehoe profile |publisher=Gtlaw.com |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019143841/http://gtlaw.com/People/Greg-W-Kehoe |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Payam Akhavan]], former Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor's Office of the ICTY.<ref name="icty"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.mcgill.ca/payam.akhavan|title=Payam Akhavan profile|publisher=People.mcgill.ca|date=24 October 2006|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426190910/http://people.mcgill.ca/payam.akhavan|archive-date=26 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After the 2006 death of [[Slobodan Milošević]], Gotovina signed a condolence note to his family (together with [[Mladen Naletilić|Mladen Naletilić Tuta]], [[Ivica Rajić]] and other Croat and Serb detainees, making the list 34 signatures long), which was published in [[Belgrade]]'s ''[[Politika]]'' and ''[[Večernje novosti]]'' newspapers. Gotovina's attorney stated that he signed because of his Catholic faith, which stresses forgiveness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osce.org/zagreb/18630|title=OSCE Spot Report|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425190337/http://www.osce.org/zagreb/18630|archive-date=25 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

The trial began on 11 March 2008,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=131027|title=Croatian general's war crimes trial begins at The Hague|publisher=Javno.com|date=11 March 2008|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115131536/http://www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=131027|archive-date=15 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> and it concluded in September 2010 with the delivery of closing arguments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/newsbriefs/2010/09/01/nb-10|title=Gotovina's team presents closing arguments at the Hague|publisher=Setimes.com|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050755/http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/newsbriefs/2010/09/01/nb-10| archive-date= 27 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Misetic said that he expected a verdict in two to 10 months' time, as had been the case with the tribunal's decisions to date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antegotovina.com/default.aspx?LID=1&clanak=5195|title=Gotovina-Cermak-Markac trial ends, verdict to be delivered 'in foreseeable future'|publisher=Antegotovina.com|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429095222/http://www.antegotovina.com/default.aspx?LID=1&clanak=5195|archive-date=29 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===First-degree verdict===
On 15 April 2011, Gotovina was found guilty on 8 of the 9 counts of the indictment and sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment.<ref name="ICTY_Judgement_20110415">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/gotovina/tjug/en/110415_summary.pdf|title=Judgement Summary for Gotovina, et al|publisher=ICTY|date=15 April 2011|access-date=19 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427065921/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/gotovina/tjug/en/110415_summary.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was convicted of "committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation, persecution and inhuman acts" and Presiding Judge [[Alphons Orie]] cited several witness testimonies in the decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110415/ap_on_re_eu/eu_war_crimes_croatia|title=UN court convicts Balkan wartime hero to Croatians|publisher=News.yahoo.com|date=30 August 2010|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425213243/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110415/ap_on_re_eu/eu_war_crimes_croatia|archive-date=25 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Gotovina Defence Final Trial Brief,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/gotovina/custom5/en/100727.pdf|title=Gotovina Defence Final Trial Brief|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=27 July 2010|access-date=27 July 2010}}</ref> a 315-page document, Gotovina's lawyers rejected the accusation of mass expulsion of Serbian population as well as the accusation of unlawful shelling of civilian areas, saying that the "HV used artillery solely against military objectives in a highly professional operation consistent with well-established military doctrine".{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

In Zagreb, Croatia's capital, thousands gathered to watch the sentence being given out live on large screens and loudly protested the decision.<ref name="Indep">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/croatian-national-hero-jailed-for-war-crimes-against-serbs-2268637.html|title=Croatian national hero jailed for war crimes against Serbs|newspaper=The Independent|date=16 April 2011|access-date=16 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110513081310/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/croatian-national-hero-jailed-for-war-crimes-against-serbs-2268637.html|archive-date=13 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Croatian prime minister [[Jadranka Kosor]] stated the idea of a "joint criminal enterprise" was "unacceptable".<ref name="Indep"/> War veterans staged a march in the Croatian capital in protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/04/2011415182651469215.html|title=UN war crimes verdict angers Croatians|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=15 April 2011|access-date=16 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110416110848/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/04/2011415182651469215.html| archive-date=16 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> About 10,000 showed up to the march, chanting slogans against the Kosor-led government and the EU as protesters removed and ripped apart the [[EU flag]] from a flagpole at the main square, replacing it with the [[Croatian flag]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/ogorceni-prosvjednici-zagrebu-skinuli-potrgali-zastavu-eu-clanak-277180 |title=Ogorčeni prosvjednici u Zagrebu skinuli i potrgali zastavu EU |language=hr |author=Critic, Mark |date=16 April 2011 |work=Vecernji list |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=13 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013192721/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/ogorceni-prosvjednici-zagrebu-skinuli-potrgali-zastavu-eu-clanak-277180 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A poll conducted immediately after the verdict showed that 95.4% of Croatians felt the judgment against Gotovina was unjust and that 88% still saw him as a hero. Support for Croatia's entry into the [[European Union]] plummeted to 23.8%.<!--by whom/where: by Croatians or in other European countries?--><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/istrazivanje-nakon-presude-gotovini--samo-23--hrvata-za-ulazak-u-eu/939458 |title=EKSKLUZIVNO Samo 23% Hrvata za ulazak u EU! Čak 95% smatra presudu nepravednom |author=Butković, Davor |date=16 April 2011 |work=Jutarnji list |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=5 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105041202/http://www.jutarnji.hr/istrazivanje-nakon-presude-gotovini--samo-23--hrvata-za-ulazak-u-eu/939458/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2011, Gotovina was ranked the second most creditable person for the creation of an independent Croatian state in a poll conducted by ''[[Večernji list]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/tudman-najzasluzniji-drzavu-kakvu-imamo-osvojio-62-glasova-clanak-303706 |title=Tuđman najzaslužniji za državu kakvu imamo, osvojio 62% glasova |date=23 June 2011 |work=Vecernji list |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113084207/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/tudman-najzasluzniji-drzavu-kakvu-imamo-osvojio-62-glasova-clanak-303706 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Appeal verdict===
On 16 November 2012, Gotovina was found not guilty by three votes against two by the Appeals Panel of the ICTY, presided over by [[Theodor Meron]].<ref name=B92>{{cite news |title=Hague judge says justice has not been served |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=17&nav_id=83206 |newspaper=B92 |date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=22 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122103649/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=17&nav_id=83206 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref> The previous verdict had sentenced him to 24 years in prison while [[Mladen Markač]] was sentenced to 18 years. Both of them were accused of being part of the "criminal enterprise" but the Court concluded there was no such conspiracy.<ref name="BBC-2012-11-16">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20352187 |work=BBC News |title=Hague war court acquits Croat Generals Gotovina and Markac |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116131955/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20352187 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 November, the night before the verdict, candle-lit vigils were held across Croatia, including at Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hZ9pJdsmwdwjvf85Yr_oSb9rAsmg?docId=CNG.9f979e59a20070b49604fd38e9e6b3f5.4a1 |title=Croatian 'hero' generals home after war crimes acquittal |author=Lajla Veselica |date=17 November 2012 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=24 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124170443/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hZ9pJdsmwdwjvf85Yr_oSb9rAsmg?docId=CNG.9f979e59a20070b49604fd38e9e6b3f5.4a1 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gotovina and Markač were supported by numerous Croatian veterans, and some marched from Zagreb's [[Mirogoj cemetery]] to the [[Zagreb Cathedral]].<ref name="BBC-2012-11-16"/>

Gotovina's acquittal provoked mixed international reactions. Croatian Prime Minister [[Zoran Milanović]] reacted positively,<ref>{{cite news|title=Croatian hero Ante Gotovina acquitted of war crimes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/croatia/9682855/Croatian-hero-Ante-Gotovina-acquitted-of-war-crimes.html |last=Waterfield |first=Bruno |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116131752/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/croatia/9682855/Croatian-hero-Ante-Gotovina-acquitted-of-war-crimes.html |url-status=live}}</ref> as did the Croatian president [[Ivo Josipović]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Milanović i Josipović generalima: Stoički ste podnijeli žrtvu, hvala! |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/milanovic-josipovic-generalima-stoicki-ste-podnijeli-zrtvu-hvala-clanak-475959 |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=15 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119235718/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/milanovic-josipovic-generalima-stoicki-ste-podnijeli-zrtvu-hvala-clanak-475959 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Serbian President]] [[Tomislav Nikolić]] reacted negatively,<ref>{{cite news|title=Serbia angry that Croatian generals were acquitted |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/serbia-angry-croatian-generals-acquitted/story-fn3dxix6-1226518535197 |agency=Australian Associated Press |newspaper=The Australian |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116232009/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/serbia-angry-croatian-generals-acquitted/story-fn3dxix6-1226518535197 |url-status=live}}</ref> as did Serbian government minister [[Rasim Ljajić]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Serbia slams UN court after Croatian generals freed |url=http://www.brecorder.com/world/europe/90970.html |last=Iqbal |first=Muhammad |publisher=Business Recorder.com |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=29 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329035218/http://www.brecorder.com/world/europe/90970.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and Prime Minister [[Ivica Dačić]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Dačić: Presuda će imati teške posljedice na pomirenje u regiji |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/dacic-presuda-ce-imati-teske-posljedice-pomirenje-regiji-clanak-476480 |last=Flego |first=Miroslav |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=17 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119222947/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/dacic-presuda-ce-imati-teske-posljedice-pomirenje-regiji-clanak-476480 |url-status=live}}</ref> and much of the Serbian media.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mediji u Srbiji: Skandalozna odluka, Oluje kao da nije ni bilo |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/mediji-srbiji-skandalozna-odluka-oluje-kao-da-nije-ni-bilo-clanak-475955 |last=Halar |first=Ivan |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=15 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119074210/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/mediji-srbiji-skandalozna-odluka-oluje-kao-da-nije-ni-bilo-clanak-475955 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Serbian government]] froze its relations with the Tribunal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Beograd ''zaledio'' odnose s Haagom zbog presude generalima |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/beograd-zaledio-odnose-haagom-zbog-presude-generalima-clanak-476254 |last=Flego |first=Miroslav |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=15 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119092758/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/beograd-zaledio-odnose-haagom-zbog-presude-generalima-clanak-476254 |url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand, [[Veselin Šljivančanin]] congratulated the generals on their release and blamed the political leaders instead.<ref>{{cite news|title=Šljivančanin: Čestitam Gotovini i Markaču što su na slobodi |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/sljivancanin-cestitam-gotovini-markacu-sto-su-slobodi-clanak-476636 |last=Flego |first=Miroslav |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=18 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=21 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121140557/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/sljivancanin-cestitam-gotovini-markacu-sto-su-slobodi-clanak-476636 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Reactions in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] were mixed: positive reactions came from the President of the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] [[Živko Budimir]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Budimir uputio čestitku generalima Gotivini i Markaču |url=http://www.predsjednikfbih.gov.ba/index.php/component/content/article/1-slajd/449-budimir-uputio-estitku-generalima-gotivini-i-markau.html |publisher=[[President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=3 December 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121203211821/http://www.predsjednikfbih.gov.ba/index.php/component/content/article/1-slajd/449-budimir-uputio-estitku-generalima-gotivini-i-markau.html |url-status=dead |language=hr}}</ref> and Croatian politician [[Dragan Čović]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Reakcije u BiH od ushita do ogorčenja|url=http://www.hrt.hr/index.php?id=vijesti-clanak&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=189860&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=850&cHash=599da135bd|publisher=[[Croatian Radiotelevision]]|date=16 November 2012|language=hr|access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Čović: Presretan sam zbog oslobađanja Gotovine i Markača |url=http://www.oslobodjenje.ba/vijesti/bih/covic-presretan-sam-zbogt-oslobadjanja-gotovine-i-markaca |newspaper=[[Oslobođenje]] |date=16 November 2012 |language=bs |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=23 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123050254/http://www.oslobodjenje.ba/vijesti/bih/covic-presretan-sam-zbogt-oslobadjanja-gotovine-i-markaca |url-status=live}}</ref> while the President of [[Republika Srpska]] [[Milorad Dodik]] responded negatively.<ref>{{cite news |title=Generals acquitted "for sake of Croatia's EU accession" |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=16&nav_id=83191 |publisher=B92.net |date=16 November 2012 |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=22 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122090137/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=16&nav_id=83191 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The case raised significant issues for [[law of war]] and it has been described as a precedent.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Military Law Review|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Military_Law_Review/pdf-files/211-spring-2012.pdf|volume=211|issue=Spring|year=2012|title=Margin of error: Potential pitfalls of the ruling in the Prosecutor v. Ante Gotovina|author=Walter B. Huffman|pages=1–56|issn=0026-4040|publisher=[[The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School]]|access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Cambridge International Law Journal|url=http://cilj.co.uk/2012/11/19/the-icty-appeals-judgement-in-prosecutor-v-gotovina-and-markac-scratching-below-the-surface-2/|year=2012|title=The ICTY Appeals Judgement in Prosecutor v Gotovina and Markač: Scratching below the Surface|author=H. Decoeur|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Tilburg Law Review|url=https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/306869/1/Zammit%20Borda%20-%20The%20Use%20of%20Precedent.pdf|volume=211|issue=Spring|year=2012|title=The Use of Precedent as Subsidiary Means and Sources of International Criminal Law|author=A.Z. Borda|pages=65–82|access-date=5 August 2018|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723112302/https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/306869/1/Zammit%20Borda%20-%20The%20Use%20of%20Precedent.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Melbourne Journal of International Law|url=https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/306869/1/Zammit%20Borda%20-%20The%20Use%20of%20Precedent.pdf|volume=14|year=2014|title=The Direct and Indirect Approaches to Precedent in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals|author=A.Z. Borda|pages=608–642|access-date=5 August 2018|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723112302/https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/306869/1/Zammit%20Borda%20-%20The%20Use%20of%20Precedent.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Swisspeace|url=http://www.swisspeace.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Media/Publications/WP_1_2014.pdf|year=2014|title=Acquittal of Gotovina and Haradinaj|author=B. Jones|display-authors=et al|pages=1–35|access-date=5 August 2018|archive-date=26 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426201403/https://www.swisspeace.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Media/Publications/WP_1_2014.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38FWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Seeking Accountability for the Unlawful Use of Force|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn= 9781316941423|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> [[Carla del Ponte]], former Chief Prosecutor of ICTY, was described as shocked by the verdict.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130417125635/http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_11_23/ICTY-Gotovina-verdict-this-is-no-justice/ This is no justice], english.ruvr.ru; accessed 19 March 2015.</ref> [[Ivan Šimonović]], former Croatian minister of justice and current UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights, said that the verdict would have an important role in interpretation of some regulations of international criminal law.<ref name=JureskoKero>{{cite news|title=Damaška: Poručite generalima da sam presretan jer su na slobodi! |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/damaska-porucite-generalima-da-sam-presretan-jer-su-slobodi-clanak-476314 |last=Jureško-Kero |first=Jadranka |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=16 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119074125/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/damaska-porucite-generalima-da-sam-presretan-jer-su-slobodi-clanak-476314 |url-status=live}}</ref> Serbian politician [[Vuk Jeremić]], President of the [[UN General Assembly]], criticized the ICTY on [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/croatia-jubilant-serbia-appalled-generals-freed |publisher=[[Radio Netherlands]] |agency=[[Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau|ANP]]/[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]] |title=Croatia jubilant, Serbia appalled as generals freed |quote=Vuk Jeremic, the UN General Assembly chairman and former Serbian foreign minister, lost his cool on his Twitter account |date=17 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117185355/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/croatia-jubilant-serbia-appalled-generals-freed |url-status=live}}</ref> and in response [https://web.archive.org/web/20121122014007/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=19&nav_id=83229 scheduled a UN GA session to discuss the work of the ad-hoc Tribunals set up by UN.]

==After release==
[[File:Ante Gotovina Dubrovnik.JPG|thumb|A billboard showing a picture of Ante Gotovina on a road near Dubrovnik.]]
After the generals' release, the Croatian government dispatched the governmental [[Bombardier Challenger 600]] plane along with the Minister of Defence, [[Ante Kotromanović]], and the [[Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (Croatia)|Minister of Veterans' Affairs]], Predrag Matić, to bring Gotovina and Markač to Croatia. In Zagreb, they were greeted by Prime Minister [[Zoran Milanović]] and the Speaker of Parliament [[Josip Leko]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Live streaming s Plesa:Gotovina i Markač konačno na hrvatskom tlu! |url=http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ocekuje-se-slijetanje-aviona-s-generalima-sprema-se-veliki-docek-na-trgu-bana-jelacica/647034.aspx |publisher=Index.hr |date=16 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119215301/http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ocekuje-se-slijetanje-aviona-s-generalima-sprema-se-veliki-docek-na-trgu-bana-jelacica/647034.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> Around 100,000 people heard them speak at the [[Ban Jelačić Square]], after which Cardinal [[Josip Bozanić]] held a mass for them at the [[Zagreb Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Gotovina: Rat pripada povijesti, okrenimo se budućnosti! |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/gotovina-rat-pripada-povijesti-okrenimo-se-buducnosti-clanak-475975 |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=16 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119074135/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/gotovina-domovinski-rat-je-sada-cist-temelj-je-buducnost-clanak-475975 |url-status=live}}</ref> The two generals were then received by the President at the [[Presidential Palace, Zagreb|Presidential Palace]] where Gotovina said that the "[[Croatian War of Independence|Homeland War]] is now clean, it belongs to our history, it is a basis on which we build our future."<ref>{{cite news|title=Croatia feels vindicated by generals' acquittal |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jrawopxJcGt3AeXo7oZlZkT-Zhtg?docId=CNG.c6c18744bcf573f19c587e59b6e4fd3d.241 |last=Veselica |first=Lajla |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |date=17 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=24 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124233743/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jrawopxJcGt3AeXo7oZlZkT-Zhtg?docId=CNG.c6c18744bcf573f19c587e59b6e4fd3d.241 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Gotovina: Domovinski rat je sada čist i temelj je za budućnost |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/gotovina-domovinski-rat-je-sada-cist-temelj-je-buducnost-clanak-475975 |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=16 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119074135/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/gotovina-domovinski-rat-je-sada-cist-temelj-je-buducnost-clanak-475975 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Matić said that Gotovina and Markač are amongst the candidates for a new highest [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Croatia|Croatian decoration]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Matić: Gotovina i Markač su kandidati za 'odličje Blago Zadro' |url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/matic-gotovina-markac-su-kandidati-odlicje-blago-zadro-clanak-476845 |newspaper=[[Večernji list]] |date=18 November 2012 |language=hr |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-date=22 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122005856/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/matic-gotovina-markac-su-kandidati-odlicje-blago-zadro-clanak-476845 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 19 November 2012, the Belgrade-based tabloid ''[[Kurir]]'' ran an interview with Gotovina, who urged Serbs displaced after Operation Storm to return to Croatia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=19&nav_id=83233 |title=Gotovina now "wants Serbs to return" |date=19 November 2012 |publisher=B92 |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=21 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121102210/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=11&dd=19&nav_id=83233 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/19112012-gotovina-calls-croatian-serbs-to-return |title=Gotovina Calls for Croatian Serbs to Return to Croatia |author=Pavelic, Boris |date=19 November 2012 |work=eurasia review |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-date=21 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121234538/http://www.eurasiareview.com/19112012-gotovina-calls-croatian-serbs-to-return/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 23 November 2012, Gotovina became an honorary citizen of [[Split, Croatia|Split]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Gotovina postao počasni građanin Splita! |url=http://www.rtl.hr/vijesti/novosti/569576/gotovina-postao-pocasni-gradjanin-splita|publisher=[[RTL Televizija]]|date=23 November 2012|language=hr|access-date=24 November 2012}}</ref> and the next day he became an honorary citizen of [[Zadar]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Gotovina: Neću u politiku. To nije moj izbor|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/foto-gotovina-necu-politiku-to-nije-moj-izbor-clanak-479106|publisher=[[Večernji list]]|date=24 November 2012|language=hr|access-date=24 November 2012}}</ref> On 2 December he was named honorary citizen of [[Osijek]] along with Markač.<ref>{{cite news|title=Generali Markač i Gotovina počasni građani Osijeka|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/regije/generali-markac-gotovina-pocasni-gradani-osijeka-clanak-482136|last=Lepan|first=Suzana|newspaper=[[Večernji list]]|date=2 December 2012|language=hr|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref>

In November 2012, Serbia's government requested that the ICTY transfer the evidence against both generals to them for their own investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/11/serbia-asks-un-tribunal-to-hand-over-evidence-against-freed-croat-generals.php|title=JURIST – Serbia asks UN tribunal to hand over evidence against freed Croatian generals|date=26 November 2012 }}</ref> In January 2013, Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević said that the acquittal was final and a review of the case was impossible.{{Why?|date=April 2015}}<ref>{{cite news|title=To je konačno, revizija slučajeva Gotovina i Markač nije moguća|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/to-je-konacno-revizija-slucajeva-gotovina-markac-nije-moguca-clanak-499041|publisher=[[Večernji list]]|date=17 January 2013|language=hr|access-date=18 January 2013}}</ref>

On 7 January 2014, it was announced that Gotovina had filed a lawsuit against the [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Department of Treasury]] to lift economic sanctions imposed against him, which had been in place for more than a decade, listing Gotovina as a Specially Designated National in 2003, subject to economic sanctions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2014/01/former-croatian-military-official-sues-to-remove-sanctions.html?kw=Former%20Croatian%20Military%20Official%20Sues%20to%20Remove%20Sanctions&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20140107&src=EMC-Email&pt=Legal%20Times%20Afternoon%20Update|title=Former Croatian Military Official Sues to Remove Sanctions|work=The Legal Times|date=7 January 2014}}</ref> On 6 February, the Federal Register announced Gotovina's removal from the list.<ref>[https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/02/06/2014-02562/unblocking-of-three-individuals-blocked-pursuant-to-executive-order-13219-as-amended Unblocking of Three Individuals Blocked Pursuant to Executive Order 13219, as Amended], federalregister.gov; accessed 19 March 2015.</ref>

In 2019, ''The General'', a [[biographical film]] about Gotovina's life based on Nenad Ivanković's book ''Warrior-Adventurer and General (A Biography)'' was released. It was directed by [[Antun Vrdoljak]] and starred [[Goran Višnjić]] as Gotovina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6916502/|title=General (2019)|website=imdb.com|publisher=IMDb|access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref>

==Acknowledgements==
* [[Zadar#City of Zadar Award|City of Zadar Award]] (2011)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grad-zadar.hr/vijest/javna-priznanja-grada-zadra-32/dobitnici-javnih-priznanja-grada-zadra-u-2012-godini-2133.html|title=Dobitnici javnih priznanja Grada Zadra u 2011. godini|website=grad-zadar.hr|lang=hr|publisher=City of Zadar|date=1 December 2011|access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last=Ivanković|first=Nenad|title=Ratnik: pustolov i general (jedna biografija)|location=Zagreb|publisher=Honos|year=2001|isbn=953-98429-0-5}}

==Further reading==
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.balkans.eu.org/article5147.html French translation of ''Jutarnji list's'' investigation]

==External links==
{{commons category|Ante Gotovina}}
* {{in lang|en}} [http://www.icty.org/case/gotovina/4 Gotovina et al. (IT-06-90) "Operation Storm" at the ICTY]
* {{in lang|en|fr}} [http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/6/008.c2V0TGFuZz1FTiZMPUVO.html Ante Gotovina: Hague Justice Portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827085753/http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/6/008.c2V0TGFuZz1FTiZMPUVO.html |date=27 August 2011 }}

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{{s-mil}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Commander of the Split Military District|years=1992–1996}}
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{{Authority control}}
{{Yugoslav wars}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotovina, Ante}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Tkon]]
[[Category:People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Croatian army officers]]
[[Category:Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of France]]
[[Category:Order of Ante Starčević recipients]]
[[Category:20th-century Croatian military personnel]]
[[Category:21st-century Croatian people]]
[[Category:Order of Duke Domagoj recipients]]
[[Category:MI6]]