"I have not seen the verdict, but it is absolutely clear that genocide was committed," Mesic said during a visit to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb on Monday.
"It is clear to everyone, including judges of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, that what happened in Srebrenica was genocide. If 8,000 people were killed, if men older than 16, 17 were singled out and shot dead within a few days, this can't be anything else but genocide. At least that part of the judgement is acceptable," Mesic said.
The reading of the judgement in the case of Bosnia's lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for crimes committed in the 1992-1995 war started at the ICJ this morning. By noon, the ICJ made public the part of the verdict which defines the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims committed by Serb forces in Srebrenica as genocide.
Asked if this verdict would affect Croatia's war crimes lawsuit against the FRY, Mesic said that Croatia would certainly study the latest verdict and decide how to proceed in the case of its lawsuit.
Asked about the case of retired general Vladimir Zagorec, who is suspected of embezzling money intended for Croatia's defence, Mesic said: "I am not saying that Zagorec is guilty or not guilty, but I would like state mechanisms to expedite all proceedings related to war profiteering. I do not know if Zagorec will be put on trial, but I do believe that we will prosecute war profiteers."
He repeated that government ministers should not be sitting on the supervisory boards of state-run companies, because it constituted potential conflict of interest.
Commenting on his forthcoming visit to Duesseldorf, scheduled for Tuesday, Mesic said that he would not be visiting Social Democratic Party leader Ivica Racan, who is being treated for cancer in Munich.
"I won't visit Racan. I talked to him and he told me that he was returning to Zagreb, so we will arrange a meeting when he returns. He underwent difficult operations and his and his family's desire for peace should be respected," Mesic said.