Opposition parties in the Croatian parliament on Wednesday morning demanded that Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor should address the highest law-making body in order to explain what her spokesman Mladen Pavic meant when he said that some Opposition parties were behind the rioting at last Saturday's protest in Zagreb and that she should fix a date for parliamentary elections.
Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic said that the government spokesman's statement was untrue and that speaking on behalf of the government, he accused opposition parties of serious crime, while the police investigation showed that Pavic's claim was not true.
Milanovic accused PM Kosor of shunning responsibility as she did not distance herself from Pavic's statement nor did she give a clear answer to the question who was accountable for financing the riots and what her spokesman had meant.
The SDP leader said that Kosor should clearly say when parliamentary elections would be held.
Croatian People's Party (HNS) MP Goran Beus Richembergh said that it was necessary to set a date for the elections as this would defuse tensions in the country. He called for holding elections as soon as possible, saying that the incumbent government was unsuccessful in implementing its Economic Recovery Programme.
Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) MP Damir Kajin described Pavic's statement as nonsense.
Andrija Hebrang of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that the police "still do not have evidence that the Opposition organised the riots," but the police did not say that they would not continue looking into the matter.
"Let them do their job... and when they finish it, the spokesman can apologise if his statement proves not to be true," the HDZ parliamentarian said.
Hebrang said that Kosor could not attend the parliament's session due to her numerous obligations regarding the completion of Croatia's European Union accession negotiations.
