Vesna Pusic of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) said that the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), which moved the bill, actually wanted to use it for electoral purposes to discredit the incumbent head of state, in light of the fact that it had among its ranks a presidential candidate, Slaven Letica.
"If we have been waiting for the commission to be established for 12 years, we can wait for two more months," she said. She recalled that the leaking of transcripts had started back in 1992, when a transcript of a conversation between the late Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and the leader of the Croatian Serb rebels, Jovan Raskovic, was published.
She added that the HSP's proposal was an attempt by individuals to misuse parliamentary institutions to reinterpret their own conversations with Tudjman.
Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) too believes that the proposal is aimed at discrediting President Stjepan Mesic.
Anto Djapic of the HSP dismissed their claims, stating that one of the basic goals of the commission would be to investigate whether the transcript of the so-called Brijuni meeting, held shortly before the 1995 Operation Storm, was a forgery.
"If it is found to be a forgery, then the report of the Hague tribunal to the United Nations on November 23 might not be negative, Gotovina may be distinguished from Karadzic and Mladic, and charges against (generals) Cermak and Markac may be dropped, as may the prosecution's allegation that "Storm" was a criminal enterprise aimed at expelling Serbs," he said.
The HSP proposal was also opposed by Antun Vujic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who believes that the issue should be discussed by experts instead of by politicians.
Kresimir Cosic of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) opposed this, saying than one should put an end to the manipulation of relevant documents, especially attempts to put them in a political context that was contrary to the parliament's Declaration on the Homeland War.
Ante Markov of the Peasant Party (HSS) said that the proposal should be discussed after the elections and that the parliament should rather discuss the work of security services, which he said had played an important role in the treatment of the transcripts.
The proposal to establish the commission after the elections was also supported by Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS).