President Milanović after Visiting State Border with BiH: I am satisfied with the work of the police; there is no need for the army at the border
“On this occasion, I can express my satisfaction and commend people on how they are doing their job, and I don’t think it can be done better than this. If we were to consider something bigger, it would be a completely new dimension that again would not solve the migrant issue,” said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović after visiting the state border of the Republic of Croatia with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Karlovac County, where officials of the Ministry of the Interior held a presentation to him on state border surveillance activities using a drone and a thermal imaging camera in an area which has recently recorded the largest number of illegal border crossing attempts by migrants.
Since the police are doing a good job of protecting the border, President Milanović believes there is no reason for soldiers to get involved. “As for the army at the border, it is neither realistic nor necessary. Once you start down that path of having the army at the border, it is hard to get out of it. The army will provide technical assistance as much as the police request. The police have enough manpower, although they could use a little more,” said President Milanović, further explaining that the problem of illegal border crossings can be reduced to two levels.
“First, there are the smugglers, those who get caught in the net here, who are caught by our police. They are basically small fry and they get ridiculous, friendly fines from our courts. They practically do not go to prison because they receive suspended sentences, and prison sentences are given out only exceptionally. This encourages the smugglers to continue, because what are those fines, of only a few thousand euros, compared to the profit they make. How to change this? The courts should judge differently. As long as smugglers get away with, at worst, only 30 days in jail, they will continue to do this,” warned the President of the Republic.
President Milanović believes that the second part of the problem lies in neighbouring countries. “Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are going through the motions. These countries are currently in a void that is uncertain and undefined, and they do not have a clear perspective of joining the EU. Since these are small countries, the EU must seriously get down to business as soon as possible and win these countries over, otherwise we will lose them. This is exactly why there is so much work for the Croatian police, who can do as much as they can and no more than that. The political problem is to the east of Croatia. Work must be started seriously and Sarajevo and Belgrade will not start doing it well until they see that it pays off,” he said.
Because of this, but also because of the more serious security issues facing Europe and Croatia, it is important, the President believes, “to take seriously the problem of our nearest east.”
Before visiting the state border in Cetingrad, President Milanović held a meeting with the representatives of the General Police Directorate and top officials of the Karlovac Police Administration. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Director-General of General Police Security Damir Barić, Commander of Interventions Command Vedran Augustinović, Head of the Karlovac Police Administration Darko Car, Deputy Head of the Karlovac Police Administration Darko Bratić, Head of the Cetingrad Border Police Station Josip Gagro and Head of the Karlovac Police Administration’s Department of Border Control Damir Butina. President Milanović was accompanied by the Head of the Office of the President of the Republic Orsat Miljenić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Defense Ivica Olujić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for National Security Dragan Lozančić and Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta