Serb National Council president Milorad Pupovac said on Sunday that this morning's incident in the eastern town of Borovo was part of efforts to maintain a sort of state of war encouraged by members of parliament and the state leadership.

“What happened in Borovo this morning is speech that actually maintains some sort of state of war and uses memorial sites to maintain the state of war and spread messages of intolerance and hatred. I want to express my regret and disappointment that the encouragement to these young people came from the parliamentary rostrum or the highest representatives of the state leadership who belittled representatives of local government, including myself,” Pupovac told a press conference in Zagreb.

Early this morning, after laying wreaths at the monument to 12 police officers killed by Serb paramilitaries 30 years ago, a group of about 20 Hajduk Split football fans went into the town chanting anti-Serb slogans, including “Kill the Serbs”. Footage of the incident was posted on the town’s Facebook account.

“This is not the first time. This is not an isolated incident that occurred spontaneously after so many things have happened in the last two years. This is something that is recurring. Anyone who incites such behaviour with their speech should be aware of their responsibility,” Pupovac said.

“Someone has said that this is a minor offence. That’s not true. Once again things are not called what they really are, which is why appropriate action is not being taken,” he concluded.