Two HSP deputies were slightly injured in the explosion of a device thrown by an unidentified perpetrator on Wednesday evening outside an apartment block in Vukovar's Borovo Naselje district in which the offices of the local HSP branch are located. Police arrested three people from Borovo, mostly populated by Serbs, in connection with the explosion.
At a news conference on Thursday, Djapic called on HSP members to be tolerant and dignified. He thanked the Vukovar-Srijem county police and local authorities for their swift reaction and the arrest of the perpetrators.
"Let the police do their job, while state authorities should look at the big picture and see how long one can tolerate statements such as those by (Serb MP) Milorad Pupovac, who last week spoke about the continuation of the policy of ethnic cleansing while yesterday making flattering statements supporting the government," Djapic said.
Independent parliamentary deputy Ivo Loncar, who said he attended today's news conference as a citizen, asked whether yesterday's incident in Vukovar was in fact a terrorist attack. Djapic said that "carrying a bomb in a pocket in itself is a form of terrorism".
"This is the worst form of violence against citizens," Djapic said.
The HSP leader once again expressed his party's support to the presidential candidacy of Slaven Letica and condemned the attempt by some media to imply that the presidential elections will be a "dead race" between the incumbent President Stjepan Mesic and Jadranka Kosor of the Croatian Democratic Union.