President Ivo Josipovic said on Saturday he spoke to representatives of milk farmers who have been protesting for nearly two weeks now, asking for a higher purchasing price for milk, and stressed that they were most definitely not the way they were being portrayed by some media, as people who do not work and take money from the state budget.
"Maybe some of them are like that, but most of them are people who are serious about the work they do and who want the best, people who made investments and are facing serious problems now that the circumstances have changed," Josipovic said.
The president has said the state has its limits and believes that milk farmers need to see what can be done in the negotiations with the government, adding that an improvement must be sought out in their relationship with the daily industry.
The state needs to see what is the long-term fate of the country's dairy business and what measures, that are in line with European standards, can be taken to help the milk farmers, Josipovic said.
Asked if the Labour Act should be amended, Josipovic said this was a complex issue and that it was not only about the law but also about the practice in Croatia and the protection of workers.
He said that the idea about possible amendments to the Constitution, which would enable the restitution of property to foreigners, was not good because in principle property must be returned to everyone.
He stressed that the idea about changing the Constitution was not in accordance with European trends and the practice of many countries.
Asked if he changed his opinion about Anonymous, a group which is continuing to protest against ACTA, the president said that there were some "unfair interpretations", stressing that his message was to preserve the rights of others which also referred to freedom on the Internet.
Josipovic reiterated that he would launch an online debate on this matter.
