Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Tomislav Karamarko described on Friday as uncivilised and non-European conduct the amendments to the law on judicial cooperation in criminal matters with European Union countries, saying the government had embarrassed Croatia.
The opposition leader said Croatia must clear up what happened during communism and talk about the responsibility of the former Croatian Communist Alliance for those events.
"They are afraid of Josip Perkovic going before the German judiciary for the simple reason that he could talk about his superiors... We will soon see if there were criminal elements in the party succeeded by today's SDP (Social Democratic Party), if there were elements of criminal activity among the people who perhaps are still their icons, and there will also be talk of Josip Broz Tito's superior responsibility," said Karamarko.
He was speaking to the press after the parliamentary majority amended a law to prevent the application of the European Arrest Warrant for crimes committed before August 2002.
He said the time had come to defend authentic antifascism from those who used antifascism as a cover because they were actually Bolsheviks and communist executioners.
Karamarko dismissed accusations that as a former Counter-Intelligence Service (POA) chief, he was partly responsible for the expiry of the statute of limitations in the Perkovic case.
"That's an inarticulate and clumsy attempt to divert attention from what they did today. Today they embarrassed Croatia."
He said POA had done everything according to the law, in cooperation with partners in Germany, the Croatian State Prosecutor's Office and criminal police.
He dismissed arguments that Perkovic had cooperated with former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Defence Minister Gojko Susak.
"Mr Perkovic wasn't summoned to Germany on an arrest warrant because he cooperated with Susak and Tudjman. He is being summoned because he was an associate of Josip Broz Tito, of Communist Party structures which organised the murders of Croatian citizens."
Karamarko said he was sure the government would get "a new slap from the EU" because of the law passed today.
As for the idea to amend the Constitution to lift the statute of limitations on political murders, he said it was a manoeuvre and an attempt to buy time, but that it could be discussed.
