President Milanović: State Institutions Should be Appropriately Protected

“First of all, I extend my support, my best and sincere wishes to the wounded police officer and his family. I called the Prime Minister to hear what he knows; he should have wider and deeper knowledge than I in line with his overall responsibility, but I am not referring to his responsibility in this case,” said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović in his remarks to the press, following an attempted murder of a police officer in front of the main Government building in St. Mark’s Square.

“On the occasion of this unfortunate incident, something that has not happened before in front of a state institution at that location, I will repeat what I said a month and a half ago when one other incident occurred. The central, highest state institutions are there; they are not a tourist destination. Those state institutions should be appropriately protected. Ultimately, if they decide to do that in the Government, they have my support. I even invite them to do it. That is the only way to physically prevent incidents like this from occurring. The circumstances that preceded this horrific event still need to be investigated; that’s the job of the police, that’s the job of Croatian security and intelligence services, to be aware of what is happening and to try to prevent such things from happening in the future because there has always been and there will always be acts of violence. We must tightly control the amount and dispersion of firearms in Croatia and know as accurately as possible how much is illegally possessed by the citizens. The firearm used in the incident this morning is usually used by the Croatian Army, and such firearms must not be part of anyone’s privately owned weapons. In that regard, the Government, the police and SOA enjoy my full support,” said President Milanović.

Asked by reporters whether he suggests that St. Mark’s Square should be closed off completely, President Milanović replied: “This issue should be addressed by experts in the field and it is also a matter of common sense. Although not completely, having this sort of access to the entrance to buildings that house the Government and the Croatian Parliament is unacceptable and this can no longer remain like that. We will not convene a meeting of the National Security Council,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović concluded in his press remarks.