AFP, Dec. 11:

THOUSANDS of people protested overnight in the Croatian coastal town of Zadar to express their anger over the jailing of war crimes suspect Ante Gotovina at the UN court at The Hague.

The protests came after a night of unrest in which police made more
than a dozen arrests and angry demonstrators set fire to cars and
displayed the insignia of Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi Ustasha
regime.

The 50-year-old former general was arrested in Spain on Wednesday
after four years on the run. He was detained at the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague on Saturday pending the start of his trial.

Gotovina, who was born near Zadar, is considered a hero by many in
Croatia for repelling Serb forces toward the end of the country's
1991-1995 inter-ethnic war of independence from Yugoslavia.

"We demand the government provide general Gotovina and his lawyers all documents (needed for his defence). We also demand that general Gotovina be tried in his country," protest organizer Ante Martinac told a crowd waving Croatian flags and portraits of Gotovina in Zadar's central square.

Gotovina has been presented with the keys to the city and until
recently his portrait hung over the main gate in its medieval walls.

More protests are expected Sunday after a veterans' association
called a demonstration in the southern coastal town of Split, saying
some 100,000 people would attend.

An association of some 20 mostly retired generals has backed the gathering.

"We call all Croatian patriots, all honest Croatians, to be in Split
tomorrow at noon to voice support to Gotovina," retired general Ljubo Cesic-Rojs told journalists.

Another retired general, Markica Rebic, stressed however that the
protests should not be hijacked by "extremists".

"We want to condemn in advance any attempt to use tomorrow's
gathering for any extremist or political goals," he said.

On Friday some 200 high-school pupils chanted insults against the
authorities in a protest in Zadar. Some had the insignia of Croatia's
World War II Ustasha fascist regime, sang Ustasha songs and used the Nazi salute.

They also burned the flag of the European Union, which had held up
talks on Croatia's membership due to Zagreb's failure to arrest the
fugitive.

Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said he understood that Gotovina's arrest
was an emotional issue but called for people to "show common sense
and trust the government".

Gotovina is accused of failing to prevent the massacre of about 150
ethnic Serb civilians during a Croatian offensive to retake the
rebel-held Krajina region in August 1995.

The indictment says his troops went on a rampage of looting and
destruction in Serb-held areas. The war claimed 20,000 lives with
rebel Serbs occupying one-third of the country at one stage.

Pro-Gotovina rallies were also announced for Sunday in neighboring
Bosnia, in areas with a majority ethnic Croat population.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry said that Gotovina asked local media
not to disturb his family.