Head of President’s Office Miljenić: The President of the Republic did not and will not allow abuse of the military for political purposes

“What the HDZ and the Government of the Republic of Croatia are doing is downright politicization or an attempt to politicize the Croatian Army. Namely, the only proposer of this decision is the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the proper Ministry. The Chief of the General Staff is not a political person and he must not participate in deciding and in making political decisions. According to the logic of the Minister, who ran away from this meeting, it would turn out that the Chief of the General Staff is his adjutant. The Minister was attending meetings of NATO and other bodies, making all the arrangements about this and it is shameful that today he as Minister and Deputy Prime Minister is not able to explain the proposed decision without the Chief of the General Staff”, the Head of the Office of the President of the Republic Orsat Miljenić stated at the Parliamentary Defence Committee meeting when commenting on the conduct of Defence Minister Ivan Anušić who asked that the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces be present at the Committee meeting which was to discuss the Government’s decision related to the participation of Croatia in the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine mission (NSATU).  

The Chief of the General Staff was not invited to the Committee meeting, Head of the President’s Office Miljenić explained, but the Minister told him – “you will come with me”. “By this logic, the President of the Republic too could have told the Chief of the GS to go the Committee meeting today. But not before or now will the President of the Republic allow politicization of the military. This is a decision that the Government proposes, as a political body, exclusively a political body, to which the President as a political institution consents or does not consent, and on which you as MPs decide. The army does not make the decision”, Miljenić said, adding that the army will carry out every task it gets because that is how the army operates in a democratic society.

“Therefore, what the HDZ is trying to do is an attack on democracy, which is unacceptable and unthinkable – abuse of the military to explain your political positions. You force the army to say whether a political decision is good or bad. That’s something that the army must not say. And that’s why the Chief of the General Staff has no place here and that’s why the President decided as he has in this case and will decide again. The Minister hides his political decision behind the army, it is cowardly and out of the question”, the Head of the President’s Office Miljenić said, explaining why the President of the Republic ordered the Chief of the General Staff not to turn up at the Committee meeting.

The Head of the Office of the President of the Republic warned that “once again this demonstrates the HDZ’s tendency to occupy all institutions, to capture the Croatian army and to turn the army into their henchmen”. “That must not be allowed. This is a democratic country. In a democratic country, if you are a politician – and I’m saying this to the Minister, the Prime Minister and everyone from the Government – be accountable for your decisions. So where is your courage? Come here and explain what is happening, and don’t hide behind the Chief of the General Staff”, said the Head of the President’s Office and repeated that the attempt to bring the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces to the Committee meeting was a manipulation to politicize the Chief of the General Staff.

At the Committee meeting – where the members of the ruling party walked out – Head of the President’s Office Miljenić talked about Croatia’s role in NATO. “Croatia is not just a loyal partner, but one that expects its partners and allies to respect all commitments, and in case of us being attacked that they help us as we would help them. Within that, the President gave his consent to increase by 80% the presence of members of the Croatian Armed Forces in NATO countries that border with Russia. To wit, the number of members of the Croatian Armed Forces is increased from 300 to 520. Why? Because they are in the Alliance. But, Ukraine is not in the Alliance”, he warned.

In that context, he reminded that Croatia’s NATO and EU partners are not always loyal partners. “You have Operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Isn’t it a paradox and contemptuously rude on the part of the EU – because that is an operation launched by  NATO, and taken over by the EU – not to allow Croatia to participate in the operation with even one officer. As many as 23 countries are taking part in that operation, from Turkey and others, all of them can participate in the operation in BiH, but to Croatia they say – you can’t”, Miljenić noted.

Furthermore, Head of the President’s Office Miljenić pointed out the fact that, according to the Constitution, the President of the Republic is responsible for the defence of the country. “Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the Government has anything to do with defence. However, according to Article 94, paragraph 3, the President of the Republic is responsible for the defence of the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia. That’s the Constitution. Let someone show me where the Government is mentioned in the Constitution in terms of defence. Where is the Minister of Defence mentioned in the Constitution? Therefore, those are people who would want to be commanders in chief instead of the legally and legitimately elected person as provided for by the Constitution”, he noted. Since HDZ MP Ante Deur called the advisers of the President ‘a herd’, the Head of the President’s Office underlined that this proves “the whole time, they relate not to us, but to the Constitutional order, because they think that the country is theirs”.

Asked by an MP on President Milanović’s participation in the NATO Washington Summit, the Head of the President’s Office said that President Milanović “clearly said before and after that Croatia would not participate in the NSATU mission”. “He told the Defence Minister, I was present, that he would not sign that a Croatian soldier goes to the mission. So, the Government knew that and they are taking on the obligation anyway”, he stated.

He warned that first of all a systematic violation of the Constitution by the Government should be pointed out. “The Constitution clearly prescribes the separation of powers between the Government and the President of the Republic, elected by a huge number of citizens, who has full legitimacy in co-creating foreign policy. The problem is that ministers travel around the world, attend a number of conferences, meetings and take on obligations for the Republic of Croatia – some of which concern both defence and foreign policy – without consulting the President of the Republic beforehand. So they say “we will do that”, yet they didn’t ask for the opinion of the one who makes the decision, Head of the President’s Office Miljenić said, and added that this is the reason why the President has called on the Prime Minister several times to convene sessions of both the Defence Council and the National Security Council.

That is why he stressed, at the Defence Committee meeting, that the Government is constantly violating the Constitution and usurping the Constitutional order. “What is provided for by law and what is the express letter of the Constitution, they violate it and say – ‘we won’t do it because we don’t like it, we don’t recognize Milanović’. “So that’s what they do all the time. And that’s why they avoid those meetings where this should have been discussed, “concluded the Head of the President’s Office.