"I personally think it is intolerable to sell something that does not belong to you, because the land does not belong to the municipality, but to the state, which has also been established by the court ruling," Sanader said during Question Time in parliament, in response to a question by independent deputy Ivo Loncar who asked what the government was doing to prevent the sale of the contentious land on Mljet.
The PM said his cabinet would insist on the position that state property, notably those on islands, must remain Croatian and be protected from excessive construction.
"I was convinced that we had the support of all parties for that, but after this I doubt it. His party even awarded him (Nikola Hajdic, the head of the municipality of Mljet) by electing him the head of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County branch of the Social Democrats," Sanader said.
Sanader said that the contentious land, even if it was owned by the municipality, should not be sold.
Asked if there were grounds for criminal prosecution of the Mljet municipality leader, Justice Minister Ana Lovrin said this would be decided by the Chief State Prosecutor's Office.