Speaking to the press in the northern Adriatic town of Vrsar, Mesic was commenting on Serbian President Boris Tadic's call on other countries' leaders to condemn on the tenth anniversary of Storm on August 5 the crimes committed against Serbs in Croatia in 1995, just as he condemned the Srebrenica crime.
"There's no justification for the crimes committed at Srebrenica, Skabrnja and Ovcara because they were planned and brutal crimes committed in order to cleanse areas and achieve the genocidal plan under which all Serbs would be able to live in one state," said Mesic.
He stated that Croatia condemned every crime because no one had the right to do anything that was unacceptable in the name of the Croatian people. He added this was why everyone who carried out, planned or commanded a crime, or knew that crimes were committed but did nothing about it, would be prosecuted in Croatia. "We are prosecuting such people now regardless of who they are."
Mesic said it was important to remember that no Croat committed a war crime in Serbia, whereas "rivers of Serbian volunteers, accompanied by tanks, arrived in Croatia trying to expand Serbia's territory".
"United Europe will accept us when we realise that borders can't be changed and that we can't go to war in order to change borders."
Asked if Tadic's statement would undermine Croatia-Serbia relations, Mesic answered in the negative, saying the statement was given because of the situation in Serbia, where he added some still thought the Serbian border should stretch to Virovitica, Karlovac and Karlobag in Croatia. He said that unfortunately, "some still win elections in Serbia on such messages".
The press asked if the possible involvement of the parliament speaker in war crimes in the eastern city of Osijek in 1991 might affect Croatia's position and reputation ahead of the launching of European Union entry negotiations, Mesic said guilt should be individualised. He urged the judiciary to appropriately punish everyone proven guilty.
"If someone is guilty, they should answer for it. If they are not, let's not harass them," Mesic concluded.