President Milanović Receives Association of 162nd Brigade “Zrin” Petrinja Delegation

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today received a delegation of the Association of the 162^nd Brigade “Zrin“ – Petrinja on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of their foundation.

The Association’s representatives recounted the unit’s service and deployment history to President Milanović, explaining that it was relatively short, yet successful. The Brigade evolved from a restructuring or merging of existing units on the Petrinja battlefield on 1 April 1992, and in its seven months’ existence, it was tasked to defend the area along the Kupa river’s right bank. The Brigade included 2,189 members, both women and men, and as a rule local people, displaced persons from Petrinja, Glina and Topusko reinforced the defense of the territory assigned to them, defending it until the arrival of UN peacekeeping forces.

At the meeting they also discussed the activities of the Association, one of the oldest associations of defenders that has been active since 1992, and today has more than 230 members. Even though their premises sustained damage from the earthquake, the Association’s leadership obtained and furnished new premises not only serving the needs of the Association but also the needs of the broader community.

In the delegation of the Association of the 162^nd Brigade “Zrin“ – Petrinja  were the commander of the 162^nd Brigade “Zrin“ retired Major Viktor Šprajc, Assistant Commander for territory coordination Zlatko Iskrić, Zvonimir Martinović-Mika from the Office of Defense of Petrinja, Company commander in the 162^nd Brigade “Zrin“  Ivica Pešut, and Assistant Commander for IT and political activity Zvonko Belošević.

Alongside President Milanović was the Special Adviser for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta