President Milanović: Defense budget must not be cut

The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović attended a ceremony held on the occasion of marking the Day of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces.

In his address at the ceremony, President Milanović extended special greetings to all the former Chiefs of the General Staff who were there, telling them that they are a war generation and that perhaps only the next Chief of the General Staff will come from the ranks of those commanders who fought in the war. “After that, we are entering a period when we will have to retell history – the historical truth that is important to us – to our children, even more intensely, because others will be writing history for us. We will have to write it as well, objectively, because in our history there is an abundance of things to be proud of and very few things to reassess. You have much to be proud of,” said President Milanović.

President Milanović pointed out that the Croatian Army is, above all, in charge of defending the homeland, its territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability. “Of course, the army is not on the border, as it was during the war, and at the moment I do not see any challenge that would require it to be positioned on the border. That’s the job of the police and the police should be given full support. That job is hard and poorly paid,” he added.

“The army cannot function without money and can only subsist without planned funding,” said President Milanović, adding that given the circumstances, it will not be easy to draft a budget for many reasons. He emphasized that he would publicly advocate that the budget for the Croatian Army not be cut. “Apart from the fighter jets we are purchasing, which should be commended, the army needs food and ammunition, and has costs that are not visible and for which press conferences are not held, as there is no political benefit from this being presented, but the army cannot manage without that,” the President said, noting that this is a challenging task for the government and the ministry.

“The Croatian Army is defending Croatia. We are currently on a mission in Poland and the Baltics. No one is on any mission in Afghanistan anymore. In the presidential campaign, I advocated for this and announced that I would not make a decision to extend Croatia’s presence in Afghanistan, completely unaware of what could happen. I saw things were coming to an end. A lot of experience came out of that for Croatian soldiers, which was useful for Croatia, as was a timely, smart and joint decision to slowly withdraw,” said President Milanović.

“When it comes to our mission in the east, we are seeing barbed wire being erected again towards some eastern neighbours who either are or are not a threat, and migrants who are or are not a threat. Tension is created. I know that it is not simple and easy to live throughout our entire history with a dominant, large and very often aggressive neighbour to the east. However, we live in the West, we are solidary and we will offer help, but we must also look after our own interests and not allow ourselves to be drawn into something over which we have no control,” said the President, emphasizing that these are the facts and that this is for the state’s sake. “The government of every country – both when it comes to that and the matter of supplying energy and natural gas – must first take into account its interests, and only after that some common interests elsewhere as much as possible and in good faith. Because, the sum of these interests and aspirations is very often not a synergy but in fact a regression, with each one pulling towards its own side. We will carefully observe what is happening and make sure that we are not drawn into something that we should never be involved in again, something similar to what we have been doing in our history for someone else’s benefit,” concluded President Milanović.

On the occasion of marking the Day of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović presented the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski to Brigadier General Željko Živanović and Colonel Ante Čokolić for deeds of valour in the Homeland War. For extraordinary services to the Republic of Croatia in a state of war and under special circumstances in peace, President Milanović presented the Order of the Croatian Trefoil to Colonel Ružica Pavić-Kevrić, Colonel Veljko Vukić and Master Sergeant Jurica Mikšić.

For extraordinary contributions to the development and the reputation of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to the welfare of its citizens, President Milanović presented the Order of the Croatian Interlace to Colonel Robert Suntešić, Colonel Vlado Baklaić, Colonel Tomislav Kaštelan, Colonel Darko Krajačić, Colonel Miroslav Kranjčec, Colonel Goran Poljančić, Colonel Dragutin Veseljak, Lieutenant Colonel Zvonimir Matković, Lieutenant Colonel Silvia Filošević, Commander Tomislav Sinjeri, Major Risto Ćamilov, Major Damir Petrinec, Major Goran Seretin, Major Branimir Zbožinek, Captain Veljko Žunić, Sergeant Major Marijan Grandverger, Sergeant Major Hrvoje Krajačić, Sergeant Major Damir Malkić, Sergeant Major Nenad Lambreščak, Master Sergeant Damir Rogošić and Master Sergeant Josip Kopi.

Speaking at the ceremony apart from President Milanović were Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj and Minister of Defense of the Republic of Croatia Mario Banožić.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan