President Milanović Congratulates Police Day and Says: You will have my support for protecting the border, abide by the law and human rules
“Croatia is a safe country, it always has been. It was so during the war, it is so today, with certain incidents which happen by inertia, by the nature of things. I think we can be satisfied with the situation in the state, the security situation, the general crime situation, safety in the streets of our towns and cities where our children and grandchildren walk freely,” the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović said at a reception held on the occasion of marking Police Day.
“It’s up to us to make police work, with the best training and wages possible, as interesting, attractive and rigorous as possible because this job is not for everyone,” added President Milanović.
Extending his congratulations to the male and female police officers on the Feast of Saint Michael, their patron, President Milanović singled out the protection of the Croatian border, especially towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, among all the tasks that police officers deal with. “There are problems there that you cannot solve. We cannot solve them at all and in the foreseeable future we will not be able to solve them in this manner. You will have my support in the public sphere when they attack you by saying that you are too brutal, inhumane. Abide by the law and fundamental human and God’s rules, by what a good and responsible man does. Don’t go below that,” President Milanović told the police.
“Unfortunately, our neighbouring state functions poorly on that front and the number of migrants coming with the clear goal to cross the border into the Schengen Area will only grow, and the number you prevent will be small. We can’t change that. We see that neighbouring states are rightfully taking certain measures, which are more measures of impression than actual effect. But they have to take them,” the President said.
“The problem can be solved only in Sarajevo, by talking and agreeing with the neighbours, or as I have been saying all along – by special treatment of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by integrating it into the European Union as soon as possible. Because, if it follows the procedure we followed, it will never enter the European Union,” President Milanović emphasized.
At a ceremony held in the Office of the President of the Republic on the occasion of Police Day, President Milanović decorated three police stations and male and female employees of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia.
The Border Police Station Imotski, Police Station Križevci and the 10th Police Station Sinj were decorated with the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski for deeds of valour by their members in the Homeland War.
Denis Dajak, Željko Grbin, Zdravko Lončar, Martin Lucić, Lazar Obradović and Drago Sertić were decorated with the Homeland War Memorial Medal for their participation in the Homeland War.
For their honourable and exemplary service, the Homeland Gratitude Memorial Medal was bestowed upon Darko Aleksić, Dragi Antić, Zrinka Arabadžić, Jasenka Bajt, Ante Baketić, Jasna Bartolin, Igor Barišić, Jadranka Bartulović, Alen Begović, Željko Bertović, Marija Bezer, Željko Bilopavlović, Dubravko Biško, Miroslav Blažotić, Željko Bošnjaković, Danijela Božikov, Zlatko Brkić, Goran Burčul, Tomislav Cigrovski, Damir Ciprijanović, Damir Culi, Ivica Čavlović, Maja Jelena Čop, Sandra Čop, Jela Čuljak, Dino Ćerlek, Mario Deriš, Dinka Despotović, Alen Domazet Lošo, Gordana Fazlić, Mario Findrik, Mirjana Gašpar, Josipa Gračanin, Milan Gržin, Mato Gudelj, Juraj Hergotić, Robert Hlatki, Jozo Hlobik, Nenad Horčićka, Radmila Horvat, Marin Ištvanović, Damijan Ivezić, Darko Jagić, Ivo Jakić, Goran Jakovljević, Vesna Ježovita, Ivica Jurašin, Renato Kalac, Željko Karaula, Tihomir Kalaus, Goran Karlović, Margita Karlušić, Anita Klarić, Zoran Klasnić, Angelina Kljajić, Ljiljana Kolarec, Dalibor Korenić, Marijan Kovačević, Roman Krajcar, Maja Kramarić, Branko Krikšić, Denis Kukec, Kristijan Kušter, Marin Kvesić, Snježana Loina, Jasenka Lacković, Branko Lacović, Zlatko Logožar, Željko Ložnjak, Zvonimir Lukačević, Dinko Ljubić, Jasminka Makarun, Otilija Mandić Trkulja, Ankica Marjanović, Ivančica Marinović, Josip Marković, Nada Marković, Ivana Markuz, Anto Martić, Berislav Martinuš, Luka Merćep, Nikola Milas, Romano Milovac, Miljenko Morović, Anita Nestić, Tomislav Oletić – posmrtno, Zvjezdana Omrčen, Ante Orlović, Mirko Oštrić, Terezija Pandžić, Vlado Papeš, Lucija Parlov, Nenad Pavlinić, Aleksandar Pek, Luka Perković, Tomislav Petak, Tatjana Peter Novoselac, Milan Pipić, Duje Podrug, Katica Porobija, Mario Požgaj, Tomislav Pranjić, Dubravka Princip, Josip Protulipac, Dragica Radoš, Sonja Raguž, Ante Ražov, Snježan Rogošić, Ankica Roso, Ante Rukavina, Marija Rukavina, Vesna Sić, Nikola Slamek, Jadranka Smilović, Jasna Smiljanić, Ladislav Söke, Goran Starčević, Željko Stipetić, Niko Stjepanović, Mladen Suknaić, Željko Šalamon, Ivan Šarić, Stela-Marija Šavorić, Čedomir Šinjori, Nevenka Škavić, Dalibor Šola, Mihaela Špehar, Goran Štrbić, Jasmina Šuprina, Rade Šuša, Dušan Šušak, Velimir Tišma, Anđelko Tkalčević, Kristijan Trokter, Dušan Turniški, Paško Ugrina, Darko Uršanić, Marko Ušljebrka, Zdravko Valenta, Ana Vasilj, Mladen Viltužnik, Davor Vinković, Dražen Vlaović, Božo Vučemilović-Šimunović, Marijana Vujnović, Marjan Vukušić, Danijela Vulić, Ljiljana Zrinić, Željko Zupčić, Tatjana Živković, Helena Žlimen and Milena Žuljević.
Apart from President Milanović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović congratulated Police Day to the male and female members of the Ministry of the Interior. In his address, Minister Božinović reflected on the work of the police in the past year and stated with satisfaction that, according to the report of the General Police Director, the Croatian Police achieved record results in all lines of work.
“According to all the research, not only national but also international, Croatia is one of the safest countries in Europe. Certainly, part of the credit for this goes to the Croatian Police for their work,” Minister Božinović said, thanking the Croatian Police for their dedication, expertise and everything they do in order to contribute to the favourable security situation in our homeland. He also thanked President Milanović for the awards presented to 122 police officers and three police stations, pointing out that it is a tradition worthy of praise.
On behalf of those who were decorated, police officer Paško Ugrina of the Split-Dalmatia County Police Administration expressed gratitude to the President of the Republic. “Frankly, this is a great honour for all of us, for our families and our colleagues who helped us to be good enough to deserve this recognition. We leave even more strengthened and emboldened, knowing that dedication to work, knowledge and professionalism is the only way in these security challenges, the only way to earn the trust of our citizens,” said police officer Ugrina.
Also attending the official reception held on the occasion of Police Day in the Office of the President, apart from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, were General Police Director Nikola Milina, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj, Head of the Office of the National Security Council Valentin Franjić, Director of the Military Security Intelligence Agency Brigadier General Ivan Turkalj, Vicar General of Military Ordinariate Rev. Marko Medo and associates, Chief Firefighting Commander Slavko Tucaković, officials and department heads of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Directorate, as well as heads of police administrations, former ministers of the interior, former general police directors, former employees of the Ministry of the Interior, and members of the Police Union of Croatia and the Independent Union of Employees of the Ministry of the Interior.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek, Filip Glas