The European Commission urged for 'prudence' and 'careful consideration' with regard to Croatia's push to pass a bill declaring null and void all Serbian legal documents citing Croatian nationals as suspects, indictees or convicts.
The bill, which was endorsed by a Croatian parliamentary committee on Tuesday, was drafted hastily after it became known that Serbia had issued indictments for war crimes against Croatian nationals, including prominent political personalities, such asVladimir Šeks, the former speaker of parliament and a prominent member of HDZ, the ruling main centre-right political party of Croatia.
Relations between Belgrade and Zagreb have been put to the test several times this year. The arrest of Croatian veteran Tihomir Purda in Bosnia in March 2011 under an arrest warrant issued by Serbia for war crimes ignited tensions.
Belgrade recently criticised Croatian PM Jadranka Kosor for her statement during the anniversary of Operation Storm (see background) because she praised generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač [more] for their work in that operation. The two were convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at first instance for the war crimes commited during that operation.
Belgrade also criticized Kosor for a visit to Kosovo - and statements she made there - in late August. The visit came in the midst of a crisis in Northern Kosovo, and Belgrade feared that she presented Croatia as Kosovo's best friend.
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor was asked by reporters on Wednesday whether there would be any sanctions against Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković for his failure to promptly inform her and the government about the war crimes indictments issued by Serbian authorities against Croatian citizens.
Kosor said it was difficult to accept Bošnjaković's explanation that the indictments were not so important, adding that the justice ministry should have notified her immediately, news agency HINA reported.
"Had I known about the indictments, I would have taken several steps. First and foremost, we would have notified the Croatian veterans named in the indictments so they knew what they might expect," Kosor said. She added that in such case procedures would have been initiated immediately to pass a law declaring the Serbian indictments null and void.
Pre-election accusations
Kosor said that Croatia wanted to try all people accused of war crimes, but it could not agree to Serbia extending its jurisdiction to Croatia or allow further harassment of Croatian veterans, especially in a year when Croatia was celebrating 20 years of independence.
Kosor accused the country's President, Ivo Josipović, of knowing about the Serb indictments, but failing to inform the government.
Tensions betwen Kosor and Josipović, a social democrat, are growing in the wake of the December parliamentary elections.
President Josipović did not know about the Serbian indictments at the time they were issued, but requested information from relevant institutions after their existence was made public, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The President of the Republic recommends the government and parliament not to pass this bill, but to immediately start work on concluding a serious international treaty that will prevent any abuse of war crimes prosecutions and ensure that no crime remains unpunished," the president's office said.
In spite of the developments, Serbia and Croatia continue to improve relations, and visits and meetings between their highest officials are quite common.
Recent tough rhetoric and colder relations with Serbia, including the newly proposed bill, are seen by some as a part of an electoral campaign by Kosor's HDZ. The conservative political party founded by Franjo Tudjman, the country's staunchly nationalist first president, pays special attention to the needs and status of veterans.
