"Considering everything that happened, I expected the report to be tough," Mesic told the press while visiting Ingra company.
"While on one hand Croatia keeps saying that it will do everything to meet its international commitments, that it will enforce the constitutional law on cooperation with the Hague tribunal, which makes it recognisable at the Prosecutor's Office, the Hague tribunal and the UN, on the other hand there are debates in Parliament that those who cooperate with the Hague tribunal are guilty of treason, in which deputies of the ruling party are taking part. If no one distances themselves from that, it obviously will not help cooperation or Croatia's recognisability as a state which enforces its laws."
Commenting on Carla del Ponte's claim in the report that there were indications that Gotovina enjoyed the support of a well-organised network, part of which was within the state structures, Mesic said he was sure that no part of the authorities was cooperating with the fugitive general wanted by the Hague tribunal. "Nobody is certainly taking part in that, because some service would have to submit a report on it."
Mesic added that perception was due to the fact that Parliament was debating how to determine the responsibility of those cooperating with the tribunal and no one was distancing themselves from that.
"These messages are wrong. This doesn't mean that someone is cooperating with General Gotovina or protecting him. But we can't have one side say, 'We are doing everything that is necessary,' while the other accepts General Gotovina as a hero."
Mesic underlined that no one had ever said that Gotovina did not deserve credit for Croatia's independence or defence, but added that Gotovina "has the duty to answer the Hague tribunal's questions".
Asked to comment on Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's announcement that he would ask del Ponte to prove her claims about Gotovina, Mesic said Sanader was entitled to say that.
He underlined that the Government had expressed willingness, that all national services were cooperating with the Hague tribunal, and that all Croatian citizens who had been summonsed by the tribunal had acted on the summonses, either as witnesses, suspects, or indictees.
"In that respect, I don't think there are any difficulties in the cooperation. There is only one person who is at large, whom Croatian authorities can't locate. In this respect, I don't think we should be hostage to one man," Mesic said.