Praljak's Courtroom Suicide Anniversary Marked in Croatia

Several events are being held in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday and Friday to commemorate the death of former Bosnian Croat general Slobodan Praljak, a year after he swallowed poison in the courtroom while the verdict finding him guilty of war crimes was being read out.

Most of the events are taking places in Catholic Church venues, including the premiere of a play entitled 'I, Slobodan Praljak', which will be staged at a Herzegovinian Franciscan monastery in Zagreb.

The one-handed play was written by university professor, writer and columnist Slobodan Prosperov Novak, and will be performed by actor Bozidar Alic. Both are known for their conservative political views and have said that they considered Praljak a friend.

Prosperov Novak told Hrvatski tjednik that the play is an attempt to look at the "cognitive drama of a brilliant mind, a man who has been comprehensively educated, achieved [success] in many areas, a true 'homo universalis', and has resorted to such an act".

Alic meanwhile has described Praljak as a "Croatian martyr".

In Zagreb on Friday evening, a mass will be held in honour of Praljak at the Holy Mother of Liberty church in Zagreb.

Earlier that day, a panel discussion will be held at the national cultural institution, Matica Hrvatska, focusing on the verdict that convicted Praljak and five other Bosnian Croat political and military officials in November 2017.

"His [Praljak's] sacrifice, contempt and resentment for the Hague Tribunal obliges us to reexamine historical, political and legal facts in order to establish the truth," says the invitation to the discussion.

Among the speakers will be Miroslav Tudjman, an MP from the governing Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, who is the...