Mesic said on Croatian Radio on Monday he had been surprised by the Hague tribunal's rejection of the request for provisional release because Cermak and Markac had voluntarily surrendered and had been interviewed by the prosecution, and because Croatia and its institutions were fully cooperating with the tribunal.
Asked if this course of events represented a government debacle, Mesic said the government had done everything to locate Gotovina, including firing some people, but that no lead was found to indicate that Gotovina was hiding in Croatia.
Assessing the government's recent performance, Mesic said the government had identified problems and reaffirmed its European orientation and efforts invested so that Croatia could achieve European Union standards as quickly as possible.
He added, however, that the government must revive the economy as citizens expected higher salaries, pensions, employment, and exports.
Commenting on interpretations of his speech at the opening of the Zagreb International Autumn Fair last week, Mesic said he had not asked for a devaluation of the national currency. He said devaluation was possible only when the exchange rate was fixed, which he added was not the case with the kuna.
The president advocated the adoption of measures which would stimulate production and exports while discouraging imports, and the reaching of a consensus on these measures. He added the initiative must come from the government.
The president went on to say that Croatia's debt had reached a level which should not be exceeded, and that this was a serious warning to the parliament and the government that further borrowing would be dangerous. He added that signing a new stand-by deal with the International Monetary Fund would not jeopardise citizens' social security or reduce public investment if the economy was activated.
Asked about the possibility of Croatian troops going to Iraq, Mesic said the participation of the Croatian military in wars outside of its borders was possible only if approved by the United Nations.