President Milanović at promotion ceremony of new Croatian Army officers: For years Croatia had to fight the phantom of the Hague Tribunal and defend itself from false accusations
“We owe nobody nothing, neither the left nor the right, neither Washington, nor Berlin, nor Moscow. Croatia defended and liberated itself in the military and political sense. This is something that should be repeated because it’s the truth. We built by relying on our own strength, semi-illegally, without arms because of an embargo, and arms were purchased in expensive and impossible conditions. Today we can at least purchase them legally as a free country, but are still expensive. Political support was such that Croatia, until its membership in the European Union, was in a never-ending state of nervousness and fear of being penalised or pushed aside. All of us who experienced it are well aware of it and remember it. For years after its liberation Croatia had to fight the phantom of the Hague Tribunal where our people had to defend themselves and Croatia from false accusations. In that war many crimes and acts of retaliation were committed, and there was responsibility for them. However, that path was generally clean the whole time, it was based on international law and human and Christian foundations. That is the Croatian path and no one in Europe has that, that experience has made us unique”, President Milanović stated at the promotion ceremony of new officers of the Croatian Armed Forces held at the “Dr. Franjo Tuđman Croatian Defence Academy”.
Speaking about the current situation in the world, the President underlined: “The order that we have been used to is disappearing before our very eyes, and the new one has not yet appeared. Those are the most dangerous moments in human history”.
Congratulating the cadets promoted to Croatian Army officers today, President Milanović stated among others: “The word ‘časnik’ (officer) is connected to ‘čast’ (honour). In your service and calling, this honour plays a constitutive role and it will always have to lay on solid foundations”.
On the basis of his Constitutional and legal powers, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces reached a Decision on awarding the rank of ensign to one female cadet and 18 male cadets having successfully defended their final paper in their graduate and undergraduate university study programmes of the 15th, 16th and 17th generations in Naval Services, Military Engineering and Military Leadership and Management. Alongside President Milanović at the ranks awarding ceremony were the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj and the Commander of the “Dr. Franjo Tuđman” Croatian Defence Academy Major General Slaven Zdilar.
Receiving the rank of ensign of the Croatian Armed Forces at the promotion ceremony are: Mislav Beraković, Domagoj Biljaka, Domagoj Bočina, Petar Čotić, Dino Fuštin, Karlo Ivanković, Luka Krizmanić, Franjo Krstanović, Marin Miljak, Petra Mitrović, Ivan Mrkonjić, Petar Odrljin, Antonio Puškarić, Toni Rašić, Fran Slemenšek, Vivana Stanić, Gabriel Šimić, Tomo Šimunović and Ivan Šugar.
Alongside President Milanović at the promotion ceremony at the Croatian Defence Academy were the Adviser to the President for Defence Ivica Olujić, the Head of the Military Office of the Military Cabinet of the President of the Republic Colonel Ivica Kranjčević and the Aide-de camp to the President of the Republic Vlado Čulina.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta