During his visit to the Croatian military academy and the war school in Zagreb on Monday, President Mesic met with school cadets who asked him why in his capacity as the Supreme Commander, Mesic had not demoted Zagorec, who is suspected of white-collar crimes, including abuse of office and embezzlement.
"Croatia is a law-based country and we must enforce laws, regardless of whom it may concern. Given that General Zagorec is not a convict, it is not possible to strip him of the rank or strip him of medals and decorations. In case of his conviction, which does not depend on me, this will be another thing," Mesic said.
He reiterated that he would insist that financial forensic experts should establish the routes in which money was syphoned off from Croatia during the war and all those who were engaged in such deals.
Zagorec is believed to have been one of those who were involved in such murky dealings in the 1990s.
Mesic recalled that bank accounts for such transactions had been found in Malta, Cyprus, the Cayman Islands and Virgin Islands.