President Milanović: Military exercises must be held according to plan, not to the detriment of Croatian citizens and tourism

The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović was informed on Monday, 29 July, that the Ministry of Defense requested that a one-day military exercise of the Croatian Navy, south of Dubrovnik, urgently be held on 1 August instead of in October, when a HARPUN exercise, the main three-day training event of the Croatian Navy, was planned to take place.

It is unclear why the Ministry of Defense wanted to hold the military exercise of the Croatian Navy on 1 August, during the peak tourist season, instead of at the beginning of October, when the main three-day training event of the Croatian Navy was planned to be held. This is especially unclear because, during the tourist season in July and August, no major military activities at sea or on the coast, nor the movement of military convoys on major roads, have been carried out for 25 years.

As soon as President Milanović was informed of the plan to urgently hold a display of capabilities of the Croatian Navy on 1 August, and after consulting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, he decided that the three-day HARPUN exercise would take place according to the already adopted annual plan, within the framework of the approved financial resources, in the scheduled time at the beginning of October in the waters of the central Adriatic.

Military exercises must be held, and the President will, within the framework of his powers, ensure that military exercises are held smoothly and regularly, but they must be properly planned and prepared, and not rushed to the detriment of Croatian citizens and the economy, in this case Croatian tourism.