Asked by the press about recent war veterans' protests, Veterans Minister Tomislav Ivic said in Osijek on Sunday that he understood their concern over the arrest of Vukovar veteran Tihomir Purda, who is currently in custody in Bosnia and Herzegovina awaiting extradition to Serbia to face war crimes.
Ivic said attempts were being made to solve this case as soon as possible so that Purda could return to Croatia, as the Serbian indictment against him was based on an extorted confession which could not be credible. He recalled that an investigation by Croatian bodies established that Purda did not commit any crime.
Asked to comment on the fact that Branko Borkovic, the wartime commander of the eastern town of Vukovar, had requested protection from the parliamentary War Veterans Committee over alleged threats from Ivic, the minister said he had never threatened Borkovic or anyone else and that he did not wish to argue via the media.
He added, however, that Borkovic's claims that Ivic was conveying threats from Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor were "outright fabrications and lies" and that Borkovic was evidently looking for media attention.
