Parliamentary groups in the Croatian Sabor on Thursday condemned outbursts of ethnic hatred in cases involving the national broadcaster (HRT), hooligans at stadiums as well as similar examples in political life, with the opposition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) requesting the condemnation of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's invective statements against MP Ruza Tomasic, the president of the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starcevic (HSP AS).
Opinions on the matter were presented in parliament after the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) club of deputies requested that the ongoing session also discuss reports on an alleged conflict between two Croatian Television (HTV) journalists with one of them pointing out the ethnic background of the other.
Prompted by this discussion, HDZ parliamentarians said that no one had raised their voice against situations when "instead of tackling serious economic issues, the government has insisted on some sort of ideological discussions".
HDZ MP Davorin Mlakar said that government officials had resorted to hate speech against some politicians active on the political scene.
SDSS MP Milorad Pupovac warned against downplaying cases of violations of fundamental constitutional rights.
He said that the situation could be changed for the better only if members of the parliament joined their efforts in the protection of basic constitutional values.
