We appreciate the operation in Iraq, but we are not taking part in it as it is not a UN-led action, said the head of state, who is also the supreme commander of the Croatian Armed Forces,
We have been exposed to criticism due to this position and we have also been criticised for not adopting a law which might regulate the exclusion of some from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. "We believe that we must be equal, and if Croatia has to extradite its citizens, then it should not protect some other citizens from the same responsibility," Mesic said.
Mesic, who was accompanied by Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic during his tour to the Jastrebarsko school, also commented on an attempt of Slaven Letica, the presidential candidate of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), to hold a press conference in the military port of Lora, Split, on Monday.
"There is no room for politics in the army," Mesic said commenting on the matter.
Defence Minister Roncevic said he had allowed Admiral Zdravko Kardum, the Croatian Navy commander, to hold talks with Letica in his capacity as a member of Parliament. However, when the latter tried to turn the entire situation into a press conference of one political party, which was inadmissible and the admiral acted properly consulting with me.
On Monday afternoon, the minister banned the announced press conference of the HSP on the premises of Lora.