Croatian President Ivo Josipovic on Wednesday commented on the statement by HDSSB party leader Vladimir Sisljagic that his party did not recognise the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the guilty verdict against Branimir Glavas, saying that it was worrying that the leader of a parliamentary party did not recognise a Supreme Court ruling.
"Whether he recognises it or not, the verdict is there and it has become final, so his statement about it does not make a difference, however, I must say that it is worrying that the leader of a parliamentary party does not recognise a Supreme Court verdict. It is in a way an attack on the legal order of the Republic of Croatia," Josipovic said in an interview with the commercial broadcaster RTL.
He added that there were extraordinary legal remedies in the case, but that the ruling must be respected.
When asked if he would strip Glavas of his military decorations, Josipovic said that he first had to receive the court verdict, after which he would act in line with his powers.
Croatia's Supreme Court has upheld a trial court ruling that found Glavas guilty of war crimes against Serb civilians committed in the eastern city of Osijek in 1991, but has reduced the prison sentence from 10 to eight years.
When asked to comment on the fact that funds for this year's celebration of the anniversary of the 1995 Operation Storm would be more modest than before, Josipovic said that it was people's emotions and attitude to a certain date that mattered.
"We express our admiration for war veterans not with the amount of kuna that we spend, but with our emotions and respect for the veterans and the Homeland War," he said.
