President Milanović: Indictments from Serbia are a reason for convening the National Security Council, we must agree on Croatia’s response
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović estimates that a National Security Council session should be held because of the Serbian indictments against the Croatian pilots and the announcement of further indictments against Croatian generals. An agreement should be reached at the National Security Council, he stated, on how Croatia will respond to those indictments.
“We have further reason for a National Security Council session being convened. What official Belgrade has done, and by no means is it the work of an independent prosecutor in Belgrade. The matter is very serious. I go to Plavno, Grubori, Varivode, Jasenovac, there is good will, readiness and friendliness for this horrible story – in which Serbia attacked Croatia, and not the opposite – to be finally stabilized, and then this indictment. This has been organized by the Serbian president. The topic is important for the National Security Council, to harmonize our position as to how we will respond”, President Milanović stated in Varaždin where he attended the cultural and tourist event “Špancirfest”.
“We must agree on how to respond, we have instruments to respond to this. Therefore, Belgrade, President Vučić and his aides have decided that it is now an opportune time for them to issue an indictment against four Croatian wartime commanders. I personally know two of those pilots, and I can absolutely guarantee that they are not nationalists and are not responsible. However, I refuse to take part in such a dispute because Serbia has no right to hand down such indictments. Tomorrow Croatia can indict their current president for going on a rampage on Croatia’s territory in 1995, not on Petrovačka road as in Branko Ćopić’s poem where some children were killed. This is regretful, but Croatian Homeland War commanders will not answer for that”, President Milanović said.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with the Croatian government’s reaction to the indictments that said they don’t agree. “What does it mean that we don’t agree with the indictments? What will Croatia undertake to protect its commanders? These people cannot leave Croatia now. This situation is similar to an earlier one with other individuals”, the President went on, and warned that a serious state doesn’t react like this. He feels that the timing of the indictments is to divert the attention from some problems the authorities in Belgrade are facing now. “It’s Serbia’s fault. But Croatia must respond. Yet Plenković’s, the Croatian government’s and HDZ’s reaction is that we don’t agree! That’s not enough! How will we protect our people? The fact of the matter is that Serbia is giving itself the right to hold trials for all the events that happened in the area of former Yugoslavia no matter where and when they happened. Croatia does not do such things, although it is in a much stronger political position than Serbia. We therefore try to play fair.” No way!”, President Milanović remarked.
He reminded that every once in a while a topic appears that is important for the National Security Council. However, this one is more important than the war in Ukraine “where we couldn’t do anything, here we can – we must react, we must protect Mikac and Borović and the other two, and Miljavac and Domazet Lošo”.
“That’s an attack against the Croatian state, then against them too. The state must decide how to protect them, and uphold its principles, and the principle is – you won’t try for crimes committed outside Serbia. If something happened in Serbia, it happened in Serbia, put someone on trial. But this happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And I don’t want to start naming all the things that happened near Zagreb in which Vučić personally took part, events that have elements for criminal responsibility that have no statute of limitations. Why are you provoking us?”, President Milanović concluded.
President Milanović visited the cultural and tourist event “Špancirfest” in the company of Varaždin’s mayor Neven Bosilj, the president of Varaždin County assembly Josip Križanić, deputy mayor Miroslav Marković, the president of Varaždin City Council Zdravka Grđan, and the director of the City of Varaždin Tourist Board Jelena Toth.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas