The Ustasha Salute Has Never Before Entered State Protocol
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović gave an interview to RTL Television in which he commented on his departure from the official ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Military and Police Operation “Flash” in the town of Okučani: “This was necessary because for the first time in the history of Croatia, as far as I remember, someone allowed such an act of sabotage at the state protocol level.”
“The Ministry of Croatian Veterans was the organizer for the first time. Before it was the Ministry of Defense. I will emphasize: Apart from some events that took place on the sidelines, the ‘Za dom spremni’ [For the homeland ready] salute – and we know what that is – has never before entered the official state protocol. Even the wreath. Someone is responsible and those who are responsible should be found. I am glad we agree that the responsibility for this exists and my reaction is in accordance with that – it was calm. After all, it was clear that I was discussing this with the Prime Minister before the start (of the ceremony),” said the President of the Republic, answering questions about who is responsible for today’s events.
“It’s over with the pretences. We have to put an end to this. I neither can nor want to accomplish this by repression, although I do believe it should be forbidden by law. After all, Prime Minister Plenković brought that man to the police after everything ended. It was foreseen that the wreaths are laid – before the President of the Republic, who is also the Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, and before the Prime Minister – by the victims and the commanders, which is normal and often was the case. A very important man was there, Mr. Marijan Mareković, wartime commander of the 1st Guards Brigade, together with some persons who were lance corporals at that time. But they were Croatian defenders. And these are the persons whose actions are tolerated, as if they are being encouraged to perform them. We need to react to this and that’s all. My reaction was, in fact, composed,” President Milanović asserted.
The President of the Republic also commented on the fact that his Special Adviser for Homeland War Veterans stayed at the ceremony: “I told him to stay there. Marijan Mareković was commander of the 1st Guards Brigade. I asked him and the Chief of the General Staff to stay.”
“In the future, I will keep an eye on where I am going and who the organizer is,” President Milanović said, pointing out that he does not see today’s events as deliberate. “It’s just politics. Someone thinks – and goes too far – that they can reap political benefits. However, in itself, this is a reason for which the Croatian police are interrogating people and keeping records on them. How is it possible that fifteen minutes earlier such an identified person could stand in front of the Prime Minister, whom I personally alerted to this before ten witnesses and asked that this be resolved?”
Responding to comments on the Croatian Defense Forces (HOS) symbols displayed at a military parade in Zagreb in 2015 at the time when he was Prime Minister, the President pointed out: “It is possible that in 2015 there were such insignia. I didn’t see them, it was my mistake. But I do not believe there were ‘Za dom spremni’ salutes. But these are miserable attempts at avoiding responsibility. Does this mean that this is not wrong? Does this mean that if I failed to see something or react at one time that I agree with it? We now had the opportunity to see that the Prime Minister – who is the head of the party, and his associates, upon seeing this and after being warned – showed fear and a lack of understanding. And after that, they took that same man to the police.”
The President of the Republic concluded this matter by emphasizing that it is necessary to reach a solution through a legally-sponsored ban. “We see that the police, in my opinion, are doing the right thing. The most difficult thing for them is when they do not know exactly what they should do, so they work by intuition.”
“Growing inequality is a horrific problem that no government alone can solve. This Government has adopted a package of measures, which was necessary and they will help primarily entrepreneurs – we will see how much and I have no further objections to the measures. Now the beneficiary list will be in the spotlight and it will be visible who has received all this help, but I cannot blame the Government for it was simply such a situation. This will lead to further stratification and not just in Croatia,” the President remarked, given that today is International Workers’ Day and due to an increase in the number of unemployed persons resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.