Miroslav Rozic, an HSP member of Parliament, told reporters that the operation to arrest Gotovina should be only one segment of the action plan and that the government should devote more attention to political and legal measures towards the Hague tribunal in order to refute "unacceptable allegations of a joint criminal offence".
"It is necessary to use all the possibilities provided under the tribunal's statute rather than exclusively and unilaterally cooperate with one party at the tribunal, namely the prosecution," he said, adding that the HSP was aware of Croatia's obligations to cooperate with the tribunal.
Another party member, Pero Kovacevic, said: "That is not a government action plan, but apparently the non-existing 'non paper' by the British intelligence service."
The HSP officials denounced Thursday's "harsh political action" against Gotovina's family in Zagreb.
"The HSP firmly stands in the protection of General Gotovina's family from the unnecessary harshness against his family, which resulted in the seizure of nothing but a few firearms," Rozic said.
Kovacevic said he was surprised by Thursday's statement by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader that the transcripts of a meeting between the late president Franjo Tudjman and army generals on the northern Adriatic archipelago of Brijuni ahead of Operation Storm in the summer of 1995, were authentic.
"That is a very interesting statement, because only a person who attended the meeting can say it with such certainty, and Sanader was not there," Kovacevic said.
Asked if they thought positive changes had occurred in relations between Zagreb and the Hague tribunal following Thursday's meeting of Sanader and Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, the HSP officials said that earlier today their party had called on Sanader to report on the results of the meeting in Parliament in order to avoid any speculation.