The Hvidra association of Homeland War veterans on Friday stated that it demanded a public apology from Milorad Pupovac over his "reprehensible statements", or Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenkovic should sever the coalition with Pupovac's SDSS party.

Hvidra, an association of disabled war veterans, is accusing Pupovac of “crossing the line” with his recent interview with the Radiosarajevo.ba web protal in which this Croatian Serb leader accused Croatia of turning into a “factor of instability” and claimed that some Catholic dignitaries and war veterans played an important role in promoting intolerance toward other ethnic groups and in reviving Ustasha ideology.

The association says that Pupovac’s statements comparing present-day Croatia to the Ustasha regime were reprehensible and inappropriate.

The association also calls on relevant agencies to investigate whether Pupovac’s statements have harmed Croatia’s reputation.

We insist that Milorad Pupovac should promptly extend his apology to all citizens in Croatia. If he fails to do so, we call on PM Andrej Plenkovic to decide on discontinuing the coalition with the SDSS party, reads a press release issued by Hvidra, which is led by Josip Djakic, a HDZ member of the national parliament.

PM says has met with Pupovac, understands his concern

On Thursday evening PM Plenkovic said he had met with the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) leader and that he understood Pupovac’s concern about recent attacks on Serbs and that he expected the perpetrators to be punished. Plenkovic added that no climate of intolerance towards ethnic minorities exists in Croatia.

“We met and we talked,” Plenkovic told reporters in Varazdin, adding that Pupovac “expressed his concern about these incidents, and I understand him as he is a representative of the Serb minority.”

Plenkovic reiterated that it was his choice that ethnic minorities should be part of the parliamentary majority and that he stood by.