Voting for veterans is voting for Croatia, Hebrang said at the beginning of today's parliamentary debate on the government-sponsored proposal to amend the constitution so as to include legislation on the rights and entitlements of Homeland War veterans and their families.
Hebrang refuted the Opposition's claims that this move by the government to upgrade veterans' legislation to constitutional level was a trick for the election purposes. He stressed that it was the initiative of war veteran associations which the government accepted and which veterans launched "at difficult times for them two months ago when veterans felt humiliated", referring to a guilty verdict passed by the UN tribunal in The Hague (ICTY) against generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac.
The parliamentarian said that the upgrading of this legislation would be a token act which all countries in the world make to show their respect to the contribution of their soldiers for freedom and independence.
In all countries media positively portray their veterans except in Croatia where 90 percent of news articles and reports negatively describe them, Hebrang said,
"By adopting the Constitutional Law this negative attitude can be turned into a positive," Hebrang said adding that veterans do not ask for mercy but for dignity.