Croatian Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic on Thursday expressed regret at the decision of several Opposition parties to boycott the work of the Sabor, adding that he would call on all parliamentary clubs and MPs to resume their activities in the highest law-making body.
"I still don't believe that we will wrap up the work of this Sabor in this way," Bebic said in his response to reporters' questions about the leading Opposition parties' decision to cease attending sessions of the parliament a few weeks before the formal end of its term.
Bebic said that the parliament should be dissolved in the next 15-20 days "in order to meet deadlines for the election."
He said that he would abide by the rule book and see to it that all items on the agenda were voted, but that all of that depended on a quorum in the parliament.
"I don't want to force anything, but I would like to wrap up the session successfully, without incidents," Bebic said.
Two parliamentarians of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) today called on the Opposition's parliamentary deputies to reconsider their decision to boycott the work of the parliament and to resume their work in the Sabor so that laws necessary for the functioning of the state could be adopted.
"I urge the Opposition to reconsider its position and be aware of the extent of damage their decision could cause to Croatia," the HDZ parliamentary club's president, Andrija Hebrang, said.
Several decisions of vital importance are on the agenda, and if we discontinue the parliament's work, it will thwart decision-making and normal functioning of several state agencies and undermine Croatia's negotiations with the European Union, Hebrang said.
He recalled that the parliament should adopt a law on the interim budget in the first quarter of 2012 and on a referendum on Croatia's EU membership.
Asked by reporters whether by calling on the Opposition to participate in the parliament, the HDZ was admitting that it was unable to secure a majority and a quorum required for law passage, Hebrang said that "the HDZ has a majority and will have a quorum".
Hebrang explained that three HDZ deputies had been absent last week for health reasons and that they had recovered in the meantime.
"Our people have recovered and they will come tomorrow, and the HDZ together with its coalition partners will have a quorum," he added.
HDZ parliamentarian Frano Matusic said that the Opposition's decision was an alibi for their inaction in the parliament.
The Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), which has one seat in the parliament, said today that it had not yet decided on the boycott.
HSP leader and MP Daniel Srb said his attendance in the parliament would depend on topics to be discussed.
He said that the HSP would support a government-sponsored bill to declare null and void the Yugoslav People's Army war crimes indictments against Croatian nationals, but that he would undermine a quorum regarding the bill on the interim budget for the first quarter of 2012.
