The case of war veteran Tihomir Purda is now a judicial issue and must not become a motive for threatening veterans or a reason for them to feel afraid, President Ivo Josipovic said on Friday in response to a question from the press.
He was asked to comment on a request by Josip Djakic, president of the Hvidra association of disabled war veterans, that Croatia withdraw its ambassador from Belgrade and that Croatian Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic resign if Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Purda is in custody, extradited the veteran to Serbia, where he is wanted on war crimes charges.
Josipovic said Purda was a case that had remained unsolved "among the huge number of cases that were in some way coordinated between the Croatian and Serbian judiciaries."
"We have seen that there were omissions on our side as well. We should first prevent such things on our side and I believe this case is a good message," he said.
"The European policy envisages cooperation with neighbours even when we disagree on certain matters. They should be discussed so that some solution can be reached, including in this case", Josipovic said.
