The day after being acquitted by the Hague war crimes tribunal, Croatian General Ante Gotovina went to town on Saturday to see his friends and attorneys, telling the reporters outside his house in Zagreb that he had missed his friends and the homeland the most.
"This is my first day of freedom after so many years of a marathon with many obstacles, legal and other ones, in which I was quite clumsy, I could say. But, with my team of attorneys, we won this victory with the support of the Croatian state and its institutions, the judiciary, the Defence Ministry, the office of the president of the republic. This is our joint victory."
Asked about his plans, Gotovina said he would probably go to the coast next week.
Asked if he would go to Vukovar on Sunday, when the eastern town observes its Memorial Day and the 21st anniversary of its occupation in the Yugoslav-Serbian military aggression, Gotovina said he was not sure if he would go tomorrow but would do so in the days ahead, "to pay my respects to the victims, my friends and fellow fighters. It doesn't have to be tomorrow, it can be in the days ahead."
