Croatian lawmakers observed a minute's silence Thursday for "all victims" of the early 1990s Balkan wars, a day after a Bosnian Croat war criminal died after appearing to drink poison at court in The Hague.
Former military commander Slobodan Praljak, 72, made the dramatic move seconds after UN judges upheld his 20-year sentence for war crimes committed in Bosnia's bloody conflict as Yugoslavia fell apart.
Parliamentary speaker Gordan Jandrokovic called on lawmakers to observe the minute of silence for "all victims of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina", including civilians and "the killed and missing Croatian defenders".
"All victims have to remain forever in our collective consciousness and yesterday's death of General Praljak should remain the last act of the tragic events of war," he said.
Most opposition Social Democrat MPs were not present in the parliament of the European Union country, but the party did not say why.
Praljak was one of six Bosnian Croat wartime leaders who had their jail terms upheld by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday.
The ruling sparked anger among many Croats in the Balkans, who consider the men heroes and defenders of their people.
The six were found to be key participants in a "joint criminal enterprise" to ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims in order to unify Croats in the region.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday repeated his conviction that the verdict was "unjust".
But he stressed that the UN court had tried "individuals and not states, and it does not speak about responsibility of a state".
Significantly however, the judges upheld the original trial's finding that the "ultimate purpose" of the enterprise was shared by late Croatian president Franjo Tudjman, seen as the "father" of his country.
The ruling is at odds with the view from Zagreb, where Croatia's own 1990s war is seen as one of liberation and self-defence against Belgrade aggression as Yugoslavia fell apart.
The verdict "is a serious burden for Croatia as a state," political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP.
Allies against ethnic Serbs during most of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, Croats and Muslims also fought against each other in 1993 and 1994.
Tudjman died in 1999, but UN court said he would have been indicted if he had lived.
Croatian lawmakers observed a minute’s silence Thursday for “all victims” of the early 1990s Balkan wars, a day after a Bosnian Croat war criminal died after appearing to drink poison at court in The Hague.
Former military commander Slobodan Praljak, 72, made the dramatic move seconds after UN judges upheld his 20-year sentence for war crimes committed in Bosnia’s bloody conflict as Yugoslavia fell apart.
Parliamentary speaker Gordan Jandrokovic called on lawmakers to observe the minute of silence for “all victims of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina”, including civilians and “the killed and missing Croatian defenders”.
“All victims have to remain forever in our collective consciousness and yesterday’s death of General Praljak should remain the last act of the tragic events of war,” he said.
Most opposition Social Democrat MPs were not present in the parliament of the European Union country, but the party did not say why.
Praljak was one of six Bosnian Croat wartime leaders who had their jail terms upheld by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday.
The ruling sparked anger among many Croats in the Balkans, who consider the men heroes and defenders of their people.
The six were found to be key participants in a “joint criminal enterprise” to ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims in order to unify Croats in the region.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday repeated his conviction that the verdict was “unjust”.
But he stressed that the UN court had tried “individuals and not states, and it does not speak about responsibility of a state”.
Significantly however, the judges upheld the original trial’s finding that the “ultimate purpose” of the enterprise was shared by late Croatian president Franjo Tudjman, seen as the “father” of his country.
The ruling is at odds with the view from Zagreb, where Croatia’s own 1990s war is seen as one of liberation and self-defence against Belgrade aggression as Yugoslavia fell apart.
The verdict “is a serious burden for Croatia as a state,” political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP.
Allies against ethnic Serbs during most of Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, Croats and Muslims also fought against each other in 1993 and 1994.
Tudjman died in 1999, but UN court said he would have been indicted if he had lived.
