Government Weighing Response to Tribunal

The Croatian government met in an emergency session on how to deal with the first indictments from a U.N. war crimes tribunal, disclosed Friday, against its citizens for wartime atrocities against Serbs.

There is little alternative for Prime Minister Ivica Racan but to act on the indictments, which call for the extradition of the suspects for trial at The Hague, or brace for international isolation, perhaps even sanctions.

Seeking national consensus on such a sensitive issue, Racan spoke to the five coalition party leaders without agreement on how to proceed, state radio reported, citing government sources.