I completely believe Minister Ranko Ostojic but it is obvious that supervision of police-intelligence systems is not well placed, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy Radimir Cacic said responding to questions by journalists about his opinion of the Interior Minister's claims that there had been no unlawful phone-tapping.
In response to whether it was possible that some businessmen may have had their phones tapped, Cacic said that legal standards existed regulating who could be tapped and in what circumstances however, these standards were often not implemented in Croatia.
Cacic believes that the problem of misuse of intelligence instruments, which are vital to any country governed by the rule of law, has always and continuously existed in Croatia, adding that such problems existed elsewhere.
As regards claims that some businessmen had been the subject of phone-tapping, Cacic believes this was not an issue of misuse but rather some sort of game by former senior officials in these services.
Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic on Sunday rejected media reports that the police had illegally phone tapped intelligence services and senior officials in the Agrokor food and retail concern. Ostojic said that after analysing police reports he could decisively state that the police did not engage in any misuse and that he stood behind the legal activities of the police.
Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko today did not wish to comment on the media allegations regarding intelligence probes and said that he hoped the President and Prime Minister would inform the public precisely of what had happened.
"I cannot comment on such vital issues based on just what I can read in the papers. When I receive a report from the Croatian Sabor and am informed of the situation then I will be able to say something about it", Leko told journalists.
The alleged misuse of intelligence instruments were disclosed during a regular inspection by the Office for National Security.
