Admiral Hranj in Letter to President Milanović: Statements of Former Chief of the General Staff about Divisions in Army Leadership are Inappropriate, Potentially Dangerous and Inaccurate

Admiral Robert Hranj, until recently the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, sent a letter to the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, in which he resolutely rejects claims about divisions in the leadership of the Croatian Army, which were publically stated by the former Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Josip Lucić, who is now a candidate of the HDZ party in the Croatian parliamentary election. Since, as a responsible and honourable soldier, he never spoke publicly about politics, nor was he politically or party-aligned, Admiral Hranj sent a letter to President Milanović, along with his permission to publicize it exclusively for the purpose of protecting the reputation of the Croatian Army, in which he until recently served as the Chief of the General Staff.

Josip Lucić is the first retired Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces who is actively involved in politics and he deliberately, in the interest of the HDZ and Lucić’s personal interest, tells lies about the Croatian Army. His claims that “there are deep divisions in the system and the leadership of the Croatian Army” set a dangerous precedent because no one before him dared to involve the Armed Forces in such a corrupt way in the election campaign. Lucić’s political rampage exposes him as a corrupt man who, as one more in a series of HDZ non-honourables, lied in the Croatian Parliament, claiming that he is not a member of the HDZ.

He probably only concealed his loyalty to the HDZ, out of self-interest, when the then President of the Republic, Stjepan Mesić, appointed him as the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. The irony of the corrupt HDZ politics caught up with him, still. In 2011, he was dismissed from the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces at the request of the then HDZ Minister of Defence Davor Božinović. Lucić’s tenure ended prematurely and he was succeeded by Drago Lovrić. HDZ dismissed him, and now he is on HDZ’s candidate list. Only a man without honour can do that.

However, personal interests were put above honour, for Lucić knew very well that honour is not thought highly of in the HDZ. He bonded closely with his best man Tomo Medved, whom Lucić awarded the rank of brigadier general in 2009, even though Medved did not have the necessary education for that rank, but a provisional diploma he acquired with money. And when best man Medved got his hands on power and money, he paid Lucić back: he appointed Lucić as director of all veterans’ centres in Croatia. Shooting commercials for state companies is probably not profitable enough, so Lucić got a job from Medved where no work is done, but a pay is received. Not for long, because HDZ ties at the expense of taxpayers will disappear with the HDZ’s government.

In addition to President Milanović, Admiral Hranj also addressed his letter to Defence Minister Ivan Anušić. The complete letter is published below:

“I believe that it is never good when the army is mentioned in the public space in a political context, especially during the pre-election period. Therefore, I think that the statements of a retired general, a former chief of staff, about the divisions in the military leadership, which practically continue the recent speculations of some journalists about a potential military coup, are inappropriate, potentially dangerous, and according to personal knowledge, also inaccurate.

I am convinced that the Croatian Armed Forces and their leadership are united and that their only concern is to carry out the tasks prescribed by the Constitution and laws best and as efficiently as possible, primarily to defend the Homeland, in accordance with the orders and decisions of legitimately elected political authorities (President of the Republic, Parliament, Minister of Defence). The soldiers also committed themselves to this morally, by taking an oath. As the Chief of the General Staff until recently, I invested great energy in making the Croatian Armed Forces, on the one hand, apolitical, and on the other, unique. There were challenges in that context and, unfortunately, they will continue to exist.

I hope, however, that I have largely succeeded in this and I am convinced that this is one of the top priorities of the new Chief of the General Staff. He and the Armed Forces should be helped so that they are left out of the pre-election match and political debates. All actors should contribute to creating an atmosphere that will make it easier for the Armed Forces to carry out their already difficult tasks.”