THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT IS PUBLISHING THE DOCUMENTS THAT NEGATE THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE

The Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Defense, a parapolitical body that should not be identified with the Ministry, and especially not with the General Staff, and whose duty is to cater to its party leadership, once again in its press release dated 31^st October did not explain why the Office of the President of the Republic was never informed or included in preparations for implementing the Decision on Observing the Feasts of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day, which provided for a joint wreath laying of the President of the Republic, the Government and the Croatian Parliament. They don’t even explain their (exclusive) role in preparations for the Programme for Observing the Feasts of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on 30^th October and 2^nd November 2020. They withhold key information, therefore we will once again refresh the Defense Minister’s memory.

So that there wouldn’t be any doubts, the Office of the President of the Republic is publishing three documents: “the Decision on Observing the Feasts of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day” signed by the Defense Minister on 23^rd October; the Order by (based on that Decision) the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces of 28^th October Admiral Robert Hranj and the “Programme for Observing the Feasts of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on 30^th October and 2^nd November 2020” prepared by the Independent Office of the Protocol of the Ministry of Defense.

First of all, about the minister’s decision: in the Decision on Observing the Feasts of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day article 3 clearly states that “the wreath laying and candle lighting ceremony is to be coordinated according to the protocols of the President of the Republic, the Croatian Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Croatia”. It is therefore clear that a joint wreath laying ceremony is provided for. In the same article it is written: “the Wreath Laying Ceremony will be drafted by the Independent Office of the Protocol of the Ministry of Defense in conjunction with the protocols of the President of the Republic, the Croatian Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces and the Independent Office of the Protocol of the Ministry of Defense are in charge of the implementation of this article. Once again it is clear who is in charge of preparations for the Programme: the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Minister, by your decision.

Let us repeat what we have already stated: the Decision of the Minister of Defense was never delivered to the Office of the President of the Republic, no one informed the Office of the President of the Republic of the Wreath Laying Ceremony, no one invited the Office of the President of the Republic to coordinate the protocols.

Based on the decision of the Minister of Defense and the Programme of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj issued the following order on 28^th October:

In his Order, inter alia it is stated: “The wreath laying and candle lighting ceremony of the President of the Republic of Croatia and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Croatian Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Croatia will take place on 30^th October 2020 beginning at 11:00 o’clock”.

Attached to the Order – AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT – is the “Programme for Observing All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on 30 October and 2 November 2020” prepared by the Independent Protocol Department of the Ministry of Defense, which is an ‘extended hand’ of the Minister of Defense. It is the Programme that the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces received from the Ministry of Defense, in line with a procedure that is constant. It is the same Programme that the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia should have received – but had never received it. Moreover, the document should have been finalized in collaboration with the Office of the President, but it wasn’t. And who had to do that but didn’t? The Ministry of Defense.

It is enough to look at the attached “Programme for Observing All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day on 30 October and 2 November 2020” of the Independent Protocol Department of the Ministry of Defense (i.e. the Minister of Defense) where it says: “The joint wreath laying by the President of the Republic, the Croatian Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Croatia is scheduled for 30 October at 11:00”. True, it was noted that only the timetable must be agreed upon with the protocols of the Office of the President, the Croatian Parliament and the Government. However, since the Programme was never sent to the Office of the President, the Office of the President was never asked about the schedule.

The only thing that is true in the last statement of the Ministry of Defense is the claim that the Minister’s Decision about Observing All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day does not mention the exact date or time of laying wreaths and lighting candles by the President, the Croatian Parliament and the Government. But the Office of the President had never said that. We said that the date and time of the joint wreath laying – 30 October at 11:00 – are noted in the Programme prepared by the Ministry of Defense, more precisely by the Independent Protocol Department of the Ministry of Defense. And let us now add what is even more important: Minister Banožić was personally acquainted with the same Programme, because it was submitted to him together with the aforementioned Order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces.

It is indisputable that the Minister of Defense knew that the joint Observing of All Saints’ Day on 30 October was in the works (he saw this in the Programme of the Ministry of Defense that was ‘independently’ prepared by his protocol department and he knew that the Honorary and Protection Battalion was being engaged for this purpose – he saw this in the Order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces). But the Minister of Defense clearly did not know that his party boss and Prime Minister was planning to break with the civilized tradition of jointly laying wreaths on public holidays. And when he found out, he had to explain himself publicly, even if it involved being untruthful.

We invite all those who want to know more to read the original documents: