Zagreb - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic is under fire for saying the state, facing the financial crisis, should save money on military funerals for war veterans, local media reported Tuesday.

"Five veteran funerals each day. The army must send a platoon with full honours, with salvoes, with pay, with wreaths," Mesic said in a regular morning radio interview.

"It means 13,000 soldiers go out each year - we can find something to save there, like to say farewell to soldiers with a wreath," he said.

"Maybe he should better order us to stop dying," said the president of the Croatian war veterans association, describing Mesic's remarks as "shocking."

"It is horrible when the one heading the state we created says that three rounds at our funerals are too expensive," he said, promising to launch efforts in a bid to question Mesic.

Croatia fought the Yugoslav army and Serb insurgents between 1991 and 1995. In a lawsuit against Belgrade, Zagreb said 20,000 people were killed in the conflict.

While there is a high suicide rate among the Croatian war veterans, in absence of reliable data it remains unclear whether Mesic's figure of five funerals weekly was a figure of speech.

It appears higher than what it really is in the nation of 4.5 million.

In addition, only half of the veterans say they want a military funeral, according to Jadranka Kosor, the deputy premier and minister in charge of veterans. She said military honours for those who want them are built into the law and would not be cancelled.

Mesic came under attack with his unconventional proposal to cut spending a week after the public ridiculed Prime Minister Ivo Sanader for proposing to cut costs of Christmas celebrations. (dpa)