"The article of Ivica Djikic, (the Novosti editor-in-chief and the writer of the article headlined "Revenger from Pantovcak" which is the president's office) was an elaborated version of a letter which Mr. Pupovac and the SNV president had forwarded to me a few days before the publication of that issue of Novosti. Even some sentences are practically the same (both in the letter and the subsequent article). Writer Djikic actually signs a text whose author is politician Pupovac," Josipovic said in his response which he forwarded to the weekly.

The Croatian president criticises Pupovac for the abuse of the Novosti weekly in order to promote his policy.

In his open letter, the president also elaborates the reasons why he and Pupovac disagree.

"He (Pupovac) holds a huge grudge against me for my negative opinion on electoral legislation that had preferred Mr. Pupovac and his party (the Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS) at parliamentary elections. Fortunately, the Constitutional Court rescinded the grotesque provisions ... and rescinded provisions created due to 'blackmailing' from the then coalition partner (SDSS) when the then parliamentary majority depended on Mr. Pupovac to a great extent," Josipovic said in his open letter.

In late July 2011 the Constitutional Court annulled Article 1 of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities, which was amended in 2010, saying that the provision guaranteeing in advance seats in the national parliament for one minority, namely the Serbs, was unconstitutional. The court unanimously dismissed as unacceptable the provision under which ethnic minorities that account for more than 1.5% of the total population should be guaranteed in advance at least three seats in Parliament based on a general voting right.

The court declared null and void those provisions when the SDSS was a junior partner in the government led by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

President Josipovic went on to say that Pupovac's policy had a long time ago turned into "an ethnic business", ceasing to be a quality minority policy.

"At the times when his party was formally in the government, he did little for the Serbs but he did much for himself and his closest associates. I cannot like it as a citizen and as the president of all citizens in this country," Josipovic said adding that "of course, the Serbs will vote for those people they believe in. Mr. Pupovac won the elections and I respect that".

"However, he must be aware that a good solution in the electoral legislation providing for the representativeness of the Serbs in the Croatian parliament does not mean that he and his party are the only representatives of the Serbs on the political scene," the Croatian president said explaining that a majority of ethnic Serbs in Croatia do not vote for the so called minority list (with Serb representatives), with the number of voters for that list diminishing.

Without the SDSS , the current government has more Serbs than the total number of SDSS government officials in all cabinets when that party was a part of the governing coalition, according to Josipovic who said that the current ruling coalition, notably the Social Democratic Party (SDP), can pursue a good minority policy without Mr. Pupovac and his like-minded people.

Josipovic said that the attack from the weekly against him came at the time when he called on other Serb politicians to participate in politically important events such as the observance of Operation Storm.

He also criticised Pupovac and those close to him for having spent in non-transparent way the funds allocated to the Serb minority.

Josipovic accused Pupovac of pretending to be a great proponent of reconciliation between the Croatians and the Serbs.

In many areas of Croatia he is pursuing "a policy of ethnic conflict of low intensity only to show to the Serbs that they need a guardian such he is," the Croatian president said in strong-worded response which the Novosti paper published in its latest issue on 17 August.

Rejecting accusations that he exerted pressure on the Serb People's Council as the Novosti publisher and describing those claims as "a winsome trick", President Josipovic warns that it is Mr. Pupovac who opposes the pluralisation of the political scene of minorities and who is trying to "keep his political and financial monopoly".

His policy has been for some time "dysfunctional for the relations between the Serbs and the Croatians in Croatia, for the exercise of the Serbs' rights under the Constitutional Court and also for the relations between Croatia and Serbia," Josipovic wrote in his letter.