Heated reactions after Hague verdict: New slap in the face for Croatia due to JCE

ZAGREB, (Patria) - A recess was requested in the Croatian Parliament following shocking scenes from the courtroom at the Hague Tribunal when Slobodan Praljak drank a liquid from a vial and then said he had drunk poison. He had previously been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Until that moment, MPs had not been widely following the pronouncement of the verdict, but after Slobodan Praljak drank the liquid, which was unknown at the time, the session was interrupted, and MPs gathered around the televisions in Parliament.

Miro Bulj, an MP from Most, said that Praljak would never accept being a war criminal and that he had proven it.

- Unfortunately for Croatian politics, the Ministry of Justice did nothing. Of course, this is shocking. I was personally on the battlefield in Bosnia and Herzegovina for just under a year. The Croatian soldier was not part of a joint criminal enterprise, but did everything to achieve peace, that is a fact. I believe General Praljak - said Bulj.

He added that no one would ever justify a crime, but that "we must never agree that it was a joint criminal enterprise," but rather that it was a Greater Serbian aggression against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Hrvoje Zekanović, an MP from Hrast, says everyone is shocked. "It's about the truth. We must not accept that it was a joint criminal enterprise. General Praljak's gesture speaks volumes about how difficult this decision is for him, but also for the entire Croatian people," said Zekanović.

It was also highlighted that Croatia had done little in recent days, and had waited in silence for today's verdict.

The Appeals Chamber today established the existence of a joint criminal enterprise with the participation of Croatia.

Some MPs commented that this was a slap in the face for Croatia.