"They offered Dario Kordic a deal to shift all the blame on to the late President Franjo Tudjman and (the late Defence Minister) Gojko Susak. He refused and was given a 25-year prison term in retaliation, and the Bosnian Croats were marked as a criminal nation. The key witness was the incumbent Croatian president," Pasalic said at an election rally in the southern Bosnian city of Mostar.
He described Mesic's testimony at the Hague tribunal as "traitorous", and called on the Bosnian Croats not to vote for Mesic because of his "servile and traitorous politics".
Pasalic also criticised the Croatian government of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, saying that it was shameful that none of the government officials had responded to the verdict against Kordic or contacted Kordic's family.
The HB candidate reiterated that he was in favour of establishing a third federal unit for the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "If you help me become president of Croatia, I will fight as much as I can for the interests of the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina."
Although he has been severely criticised in the Bosniak media and public, on his campaign trail Pasalic will address an election rally in Sarajevo. He is due to attend Mass in his home town of Suica near Tomislavgrad on Sunday.