The office of President Ivo Josipovic issued a statement on Wednesday saying that he will not attend an upcoming summit of heads of state of Central European countries in Yalta due to "circumstances which indicate violation of human rights in Ukraine". President Josipovic has thus joined many other senior European officials who will boycott the summit due to the Ukrainian authorities' treatment of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"Taking into consideration circumstances which indicate violation of human rights in Ukraine, President Ivo Josipovic has decided not to attend the summit of Central European heads of state to be held in Yalta on May 11 and 12," the office said.
Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, too, said today that there was a real possibility of the government deciding to cancel a visit by its officials to Ukraine over its treatment of the former Ukrainian PM, and that she would support such a decision.
The number of world politicians who plan to boycott Ukraine is rising after reports of Tymoshenko's mistreatment in prison.
According to the media, a number of European presidents have already made a decision to that effect, as have European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner for Justice and Fundamental Rights Viviane Reding. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also considering boycotting the summit.
According to a number of German media, attendance has been cancelled by Presidents Joachim Gauck of Germany, Heinz Fischer of Austria and Danilo Tuerk of Slovenia.
The Czech daily Lidove Noviny reported that President Vaclav Klaus will also boycott the meeting.
Some politicians will also boycott the part of the European football championships to be held in Ukraine in June.
