President Milanović on the Use of the Banned Salute: We Don’t Need It; Black Has Nothing to Do with the Croatian Army

“‘For the Homeland – Ready’ – we don’t need that. It’s a salute deliberately chosen in that context; it was a challenge to the Croatian National Guard and to Tuđman, above all, which is why he abolished it – he even physically clashed with some people over it. It’s ugly, but that’s how it was. If you don’t know what happened, it’s all written down; we know everything,” said President Zoran Milanović, commenting on the use of the banned salute from the era of the Independent State of Croatia and recalling that President Tuđman abolished the HOS (Croatian Defense Forces) because of it.

After attending a session of the Čazma Municipal Council, President Milanović answered journalists’ questions about Thompson’s concert and the events surrounding it. “The concert was huge, with a lot of people. It went smoothly. Maybe there were even too many people. That is, of course, a success for the organizers – congratulations – but perhaps it was a bit too much for Zagreb. It’s a good lesson if such a concert is repeated. It probably won’t be repeated because the moment was unique. Everything was summed up in those few hundred thousand people, even a kind of defiance. There was a bit of everything, but the concert itself is not controversial, and it’s not trivial either – it was huge,” he said, commenting on Marko Perković Thompson’s concert at the Zagreb Hippodrome in early July.

He pointed out that certain things happened in downtown Zagreb that should not have happened, referring to Ustasha songs sung on the eve of the concert. “The police should have acted – removed those people, written them up, fined them on the spot, not a week later. Why didn’t they? Some caterers even encouraged it to make a few extra euros. This should not happen in the centre of Zagreb, nor in the centre of Imotski,” he said, recalling that he was the first to react when the same thing happened in Imotski a year ago.

Speaking about World War II and the controversial ‘For the Homeland – Ready’ salute, President Milanović said: “We can agree or disagree on who the winner was. Some things are obvious to some people, but not to everyone. People are subjective. We can disagree about values – you cannot and should not impose values on anyone. But what we cannot disagree on, because it’s simply a fact, is that the HOS and all the black symbolism around it are not Croatian national colours.” He reminded that many HOS fighters in the Homeland War mostly wore camouflage uniforms.

Commenting on HOS’s role in the Homeland War, he described it as “a volunteer militia within a political party that ceased to exist in January 1992 when Tuđman abolished it.” He added: “The HSP (party) didn’t use the HOS name by accident, and it didn’t choose the ‘For the Homeland – Ready’ salute by accident either.”

“Forbidden fruit is attractive. Maybe the solution is to start ignoring it. It’s been almost a hundred years. I have a problem with the colour black – it has nothing to do with Croatia or the Croatian Army,” the President said.

Regarding the upcoming military parade, President Milanović reminded that it is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff, while the Commander in Chief – the President – is responsible for granting approval. He emphasized that the Ministry of Defense, the Government, and the Croatian Parliament are co-organizers of the accompanying cultural and artistic programme, but that the parade itself is “a military event, a line-up of Croatian Army units on the streets of Zagreb.” He recalled the 2015 parade, noting that “not a single NATO country attended,” and stressed that Croatia won its 1995 victory on its own – something that should be shown clearly.

On the planned purchase of two corvettes worth around 500 million euros from Turkey, President Milanović called for a thorough, professional, and transparent analysis of all offers: “The main criterion must be the Croatian Navy’s ability to conduct modern patrols and – God forbid – wage war, within a reasonable budget.”

He noted that the Navy lacks capabilities and that the previous project to build five patrol ships “stalled,” which is why it’s now important to “take a cautious approach” and consider offers from several NATO manufacturers, including – but not limited to – the Turkish one. He added that price should not be the decisive factor, but just one of several elements.

Asked about the recent incursion at the Udbina barracks, President Milanović said the report should first be reviewed before he comments.

Speaking about the Honorary and Protection Battalion member accused of murder, the President once again expressed regret over the tragic incident and announced organizational changes: “The conclusion from all this is that we will have to change certain things, perhaps introduce a permanent psychological service and tighten some procedures.”

He added: “Unfortunately, we learn from such situations.” Some security checks were previously lacking due to formal restrictions, he noted, but this will now be corrected, and verification procedures will be extended “by a month if necessary.”

Commenting on the European Commission’s proposal to increase defense and security spending in the next EU budget period while reducing agricultural subsidies, President Milanović stressed that Croatia would not lose much because “agriculture has been systematically neglected anyway.” He emphasized the broader picture: “The European Union is self-sufficient in food. The defense budget can grow, but without enough soldiers, it means little.”

He warned that, unlike the US, the EU does not have “the exorbitant privilege of its currency” or nuclear deterrence, and concluded that the key challenge for European countries will be manpower, not money.