President Milanović: A National Security Council session is long overdue, but Plenković is persistently ignoring it
“A National Security Council session is long overdue, but Plenković is persistently ignoring it thus violating the Constitution”, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović told reporters on Friday.
Asked to comment on the voting by the Croatian representative to the UN on the resolution calling for a truce in Gaza, he stated: “He voted by listening only to Plenković, but the decision was made fraudulently and deceitfully, behind the back of the President of the Republic and without consulting him”, President Milanović reminded, and disclosed that the Permanent Representative of Croatia to the UN received instructions to vote against it, and to abstain only if the Canadian amendment was accepted.
“Canada proposed an amendment which would include a condemnation against Hamas, which is understandable, it wasn’t accepted and Canada abstained. The Croatian Mission was given instructions from the Croatian Government (Banski dvori) to abstain only if the Canadian amendment was accepted. What would be sufficient for Canada to vote for the resolution wasn’t sufficient for Croatia”, President Milanović warned, disclosing that under no circumstances would Croatia vote for the resolution according to the Government’s decision.
“Why such radical views when at the same time no storm is being stirred up in institutions in which we are members, such as the EU, to help the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, President Milanović wondered.
Since Prime Minister Plenković earlier stated that the President of the Republic does not either consult the Government in foreign policy matters, President Milanović rejected this and explained: “I presented views on expanding NATO and in which way Croatia should take advantage of this in order to improve the status of Croats in BiH, but I never bound Croatia with my vote as Plenković is doing. At the NATO Summit a year ago, I stopped the final document from being adopted, but the Croatian Mission to NATO was fully involved in that as well as the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Zrinjevac). I requested that the Dayton Accord be mentioned in the document. Therefore, I presented my views in public – should I ask Plenković for his opinion and his permission?”
President Milanović further stated: “If Plenković would just demonstrate one tenth of enthusiasm for the defense of Croats in BiH as he is for the defense of Israel’s policies, which are indefensible, the status of Croats in BiH would be as it should be. It wasn’t until yesterday that we heard the Permanent Representative of Croatia to the UN deny the legitimacy of Željko Komšić in the UN Security Council, for the first time a year after the election. Why did they wait a year?”
Asked by a reporter whether he will be going to Vukovar, President Milanović said that he would go to Vukovar. “Once again I am calling for a bit more flexibility and reason. The situation should not be aggravated the way it is being aggravated now”, he replied. As for the views of the mayor of Vukovar, he said: “Mayor Penava’s views are exaggerated even though I understand with whom he is having problems. HOS’s (Croatian Defense Forces) flag was there every year. HOS was in Vukovar”.