ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - Speaking about an incident which took place in a southern military barracks last weekend, President Stipe Mesic told Feral Tribune weekly's latest issue that "was not an excess" but an "attempted coup." The
interview quotes him as saying "the military was chosen to overthrow the authorities under its aegis." "That in Split was not an excess. Preparations for that attempted coup were long, and their aim was to provoke the army into dividing into those who want to bring back the political forces which lost the power and those who will respect the norms of their profession and stand by the interests of the Croatian state. The organisers of the coup thought the latter were in the minority," Mesic said. He went on to assert "it is a wholly devised scenario and specific political forces which want to change the authorities, especially if they can do so without elections, are behind it
ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - Speaking about an incident which took place
in a southern military barracks last weekend, President Stipe Mesic
told Feral Tribune weekly's latest issue that "was not an excess"
but an "attempted coup."
The interview quotes him as saying "the military was chosen to
overthrow the authorities under its aegis."
"That in Split was not an excess. Preparations for that attempted
coup were long, and their aim was to provoke the army into dividing
into those who want to bring back the political forces which lost
the power and those who will respect the norms of their profession
and stand by the interests of the Croatian state. The organisers of
the coup thought the latter were in the minority," Mesic said.
He went on to assert "it is a wholly devised scenario and specific
political forces which want to change the authorities, especially
if they can do so without elections, are behind it. That is why the
military was not chosen at random."
Asked who was behind the attempt to subvert the government, the
President said "it is perfectly clear if we look at what councillors
of the HDZ (the opposition's Croatian Democratic Union) are doing
in Split, if we look at where retired generals are and what they are
doing, if we put two and two together and look at who organises and
finances such rallies and who, as a travelling circus, appears at
all of them."
"They chose a barracks to attack me because they thought the
military would accept the challenge and turn their back on me as
their supreme commander, which would have given them the starting
point to subvert the incumbent government," Mesic said in the
extensive interview.
During an anniversary celebration of the Croatian Armed Forces
Fourth Guard Brigade at the Dracevac barracks near the southern
Adriatic city of Split last weekend, a group of retired Brigade
members and relatives of its members killed in the 1990s war greeted
Mesic by shouting "Gypsy" and "thief."
When later he was about to make an address at the barracks, most of
the attending civilians, headed by Lt. Col. Mirko Condic, a
disabled member of the Brigade, left. Mesic said after the incident
the military had not taken part in it, that it had performed its
tasks professionally and that he was proud of it.
(hina) ha