President Milanović at 35th anniversary of the Tigers: In 1991 Europe didn’t know what was happening to it and doesn’t know it today either
“When it comes to the year 1991 and what you have experienced and accomplished, it is a unique success story that doesn’t exist anywhere in Europe. It never happened that a small, yet an old European nation of constitutional law – the Croatian people and Croatian nation – is thrown into a situation having to defend itself, doesn’t know what tomorrow brings and can’t count on anybody’s help”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović told the former members of Special Tasks Unit of the Ministry of the Interior – Rakitje at a ceremony held on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the foundation of this Unit known as the Tigers.
The main ceremony took place in front of the memorial home of the Tigers in Rakitje, and in his address, President Milanović said that “in 1991, Rakitje enters a spiritual and mental map of the Croatian people as some kind of small Croatian Sparta”. “And those of you who started from here, you are Croatian Spartans. You won the war in conditions and circumstances that were impossible”, the President pointed out.
“You armed yourselves and they armed you as they knew how and could, as a rule illegally from the point of view of international law, but the only possible way from the point of view of the Croatian national interest and the question of survival”, President Milanović noted. He added that Croatia as a society, national framework and as a territory has existed since 1945 and that it had everything except a democratic political system, army and diplomacy, “and those two things – army and diplomacy – are like two hands, they complete the state”. “Without an army, no one takes you seriously. Without diplomacy, no one will listen to you. Those two things needed to be built, an army and diplomacy, but an army is much more difficult to build so eternal glory and thanks to all who started from here”, President Milanović stated.
Saying that in 1991, “Europe didn’t know what was happening to it, and doesn’t know it today either”, President Milanović recalled that “the Croatian political leadership was aware of where we were and who we were dealing with at the time.” “It was aware that we were dealing with people outside Croatia who may not be malicious, but who did not understand much, and aware that we had to mind for ourselves, to define for ourselves what mattered to us. The same is true today,” he indicated.
“Disaster doesn’t threaten us, it’s not immediate, it’s not straightforward, I don’t see it, but times are murky and leaden. In my opinion, the leading positions in Europe are held by people having less capacity than those in 1991. And in 1991 they didn’t understand very well what was going on and didn’t have any understanding for us. I don’t consider recognition to be understanding. That was our right, as is the right of other states, including Palestine, to be recognized. Not a reward, but a right, that is where it all begins,” President Milanović believes.
“I think children should come here too, to learn how everything started from Rakitje when it comes to armed struggle and resistance. And we, as a political nation, within the framework of common sense, reason and unity, should be rational, but aware that this is our country. We are, first and foremost, the Croatian state, and everything else, all these alliances that we have advocated and fought for, worked for years, is all a nice frosting and superstructure. The facade will change, but the house remains. This Croatian house remains and you built it, registered it, founded it and put up its roof. Thank you and faithful to the homeland!”, President Milanović concluded his address.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the Special Tasks Unit of the Ministry of the Interior – Rakitje, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces bestows the Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski for valour in the Homeland war on Marko Dogančić. For special merit for the Republic of Croatia during the war, the Order of the Croatian Trefoil is bestowed on Ivan Bago, Ivan Biočić and Renato Angelo Jerković.
The Special Tasks Unit of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia was founded on 5 November 1990 in Rakitje, near Zagreb, and was the core of the organization of the 1st A Brigade of the National Guards Corps, and subsequently of the 1st Tigers Guards Brigade. Approximately eighty students who attended “The First Croatian Police Officer’s” course (Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik) were among the first members of the Special Tasks Unit of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia.
After the formation of the 4th Company, the Unit had 450 members by mid-November 1990, and with the formation of the 5th Company in early 1991, it had 570 members. The Special Tasks Unit of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior took over the role of a transitional training centre and operated together with the Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Ministry of the Interior in Lučko.
The first intervention of the Rakitje Special Tasks Unit was in Pakrac at the end of December 1990, and by the beginning of January 1991, it was deployed to defensive positions in the Zagreb area. In early March 1991, an operation followed in Pakrac, where, together with ATJ Lučko, members of the Unit from Rakitje established public order and peace, followed by successful operations in Kutina, Novska and Jasenovac.
In the Plitvice operation, known as “Bloody Easter”, on 31 March 1991, Josip Jović, a member of the Rakitje Unit, was killed, becoming the first Croatian defender to die in the Homeland War. In addition to their first experiences on the battlefield, members of the Rakitje Special Tasks Unit of the Interior Ministry provided support in the organization of other Interior Ministry units and the formation of the National Guards Corps.
Alongside President Milanović was the Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas