Deputy Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks said on Friday he did not intend to apologise to the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) for his statement that the Constitutional Court might consider banning the SDP, saying the SDP should apologise to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for the frequent statements by its MPs that the HDZ leadership was a criminal organisation.
Responding to questions from the press, Seks asked why he should apologise to the SDP. He said that during a heated parliamentary debate, when the SDP labelled the HDZ leadership as a criminal organisation, he said that if the HDZ leadership, "which comprises the prime minister and deputy prime ministers, the speaker and deputy speakers of parliament... if the leadership of the government and parliament is a criminal organisation, then the SDP leadership is a criminal organisation, too."
Seks said that was why he would not apologise to the SDP and that SDP MPs should apologise to the HDZ for their "insults, slander and outbursts of hatred," since they keep "repeating that the leadership of the HDZ, the government and parliament, where I belong too, is part of a criminal organisation."
Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic said Seks had exaggerated with his statement that the Constitutional Court should consider whether the SDP operated in line with the constitution and whether it should be banned, saying he did not agree with the statement, but that he saw no reason why Seks should apologise to the SDP, since the SDP had hurled serious insults too during Wednesday's parliamentary discussion on confidence in PM Jadranka Kosor.
Speaking to the press, Bebic said the SDP did not apologise for calling the HDZ leadership a criminal organisation and that one could not have expected HDZ MPs to be "entirely controlled" in their statements.
"I don't accept such statements, of course. They were tactless on both sides," he said.
Reporters asked him why he, who was chairing the discussion, did not reprimand Seks as he did SDP MP Zeljko Jovanovic after his repeated claim that the HDZ leadership was a criminal organisation.
"Why should I have reprimanded (Seks)? The man mentioned an article of the constitution. The fact that I don't agree with his opinion is a different matter," Bebic said, adding that he did not think there was a party in Croatia that should be banned under Article 129 of the Constitution.
Bebic said that although parliamentary democracy continued to develop, there were still outbursts and that he condemned them. He added that an atmosphere should be created where "people who go too far will make an apology."
Asked why the HDZ would not apologise first, Bebic said his party had apologised many times, "while we have never received an apology".
