The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, said on Friday evening that the party's main committee had concluded by consensus that all war crimes that had occurred in Croatia should be investigated, notably those in Vukovar and Ovcara.

Speaking for media in the eastern municipality of Karanac, following the Main Committee session, Plenkovic said the party did not want the protest Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava planned to hold in that town over inefficiency in war crimes prosecution to be politicised or manipulated.

The HDZ leader also said they had discussed the start of the new parliamentary session, key economic issues, reforms, party activities and the planned Vukovar protest.

“After a very thorough debate, we decided by consensus that the party’s position is that all war crimes that had happened in Croatia should be investigated, notably those committed in Vukovar and at Ovcara, within appropriate legal procedures and by the relevant agencies that are independent of politics and the government, and those are the police, prosecutors and courts,” said Plenkovic.

“At the same time, we do not want the protest to be politicised, manipulated or used for some other end because we have full understanding for and empathise with victims of the Homeland War, war veterans and the families of people killed or gone missing in the war,” said the PM.

Asked by reporters who was the one trying to manipulate the protest, he said it was visible in the past few days “who was the first to support the protest and who possibly want to use it for scoring political points.”