Commenting on Saturday's veterans' protest in Zagreb central Ban Jelacic Square, the president of the parliamentary caucus of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) and the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU), Vesna Pusic, told reporters on Sunday that everyone had the right to participate in protests which are not violent and which do not use hate speech, adding that this was not the case on Saturday.
"Hate speech was directly used against the president of the Serb Democratic Independent Party (SDSS), Vojislav Stanimirovic, which is intolerable and punishable," Pusic said.
Pusic said she only agreed with one request from yesterday's protest and that request is that the government needs to be replaced, adding however that she did not agree with the way the request was sent. "I believe the government needs to be replaced at elections and not in the streets," Pusic said.
She stressed she did not agree with any other request from yesterday's protests.
Asked to comment on a statement by a spokesman for the government that according to government's information some opposition parties were behind the the organisation of the rioting in Zagreb, Pusic said these accusations were absurd.
