Former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that "the news about the arrest of Josip Boljkovac, Croatian patriot, anti-fascist and Croatia's first interior minister" did not overly surprised him because, as Mesic said, the incumbent interior minister in several occasions made statements which indicated in which direction would his action go.
"On the other hand, that information shocked me in a way, because it shows just how far the forces settling accounts with anti-fascists under the disguise of what they call communist crimes are ready to go," Mesic said.
Mesic said he suspected that the ruling party (the Croatian Democratic Union) was behind Boljkovac's arrest.
Former Croatian interior minister Josip Boljkovac was arrested in Karlovac on Wednesday morning, spokesman for the Interior Ministry Krunoslav Borovec told press.
The 89-year old has been under investigation for the alleged war crimes committed in in the Karlovac area in the aftermath of World War II, but for now there is not official information what exactly he is suspected of.
County State Prosecutor Gordana Krizanic recently has confirmed that exhumations had been carried out in the Kozjaca woods in Karlovac in connection with the execution of prisoners of the Dubovac camp near Karlovac.
Former head of the Department for the Protection of the People (OZNA) Boljkovac was a Partisan soldier in World War II and Croatia's first interior minister.
The case of Josip Boljkovac was referred to the Zagreb County Court, as only four courts in Croatia investigate war crimes - in Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka and Split.
