President Milanović: Chief of the General Staff will carry out the command of the Commander in Chief
“The Chief of General Staff will carry out the command of the Commander in Chief. When a soldier is in doubt – and especially when not – he or she looks towards the highest link in the chain of command. That is the President of the Republic, and not a minister, with all due respect,” said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović on Wednesday, commenting on the dispute with the Croatian Government that arose after he banned the Croatian Armed Forces from participating in the military parade in Paris.
“Maybe it’s not a bad thing that this happened, since it had to happen sooner or later, so that people understand how the army functions, what the army actually is, and whom the highest-ranking soldier must follow in such situations,” the President continued, adding that the Chief of the General Staff had been harassed, but that it was not hard on him because he has an order to follow.
The President reminded that the then-Minister of Defence inserted the Article 69 into the act of law, even though the provision stating that the President of the Republic represents the Croatian Armed Forces at home and abroad remained in the act of law. “It is clear who represents the Croatian Armed Forces. It is the President, and this representation of the military carries a political message, as well. What did he achieve with the Article 69? That article turned the Minister into the commander in chief of a ceremonial platoon. It is an attempt to exclude the President of the Republic, as the Commander in Chief, from baseline operations. It is a complete failure. Because if a dispute arises, the President will always have the final say. Because that is single-headed leadership; that is subordination,” he explained.
Given that the Government is contesting this right of the President, President Milanović said: “My question to the loudmouths is: what am I even allowed to do? You have grabbed everything: the money, the jobs, procurement. The complete material and logistics system of the Ministry of Defence is yours, plus everything else I let slide and don’t question. What am I allowed to do? Write it down for me so I can see it. Then I will advise you to form a national guard or a gendarmerie, and you can command that. The military will be commanded by one person. And I don’t see what’s unclear about it,” emphasized President Milanović.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the Prime Minister had been silent about the invitation from France since the beginning of May because “the Prime Minister envisions himself in the stands of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’.” “I made the decision, and that’s the end of it. It is a ‘Coalition of the Willing’. That’s how it’s advertised. If we were a special guest there and if relations were more normal – because what they’ve been doing to us is not normal – I wouldn’t hesitate for a second,” said the President, adding: “Let Plenković initiate the process for my impeachment.”
“Who represents Croatia in the European Council? What does the Article 141 of the Croatian Constitution say? In the European Council and the bodies of the European Union, Croatia is represented by the Government and the President, in accordance with their constitutional powers. Are the positions that Plenković presents around the world completely privately positions of the state, or those of him and his cartel?” warned President Milanović.
“As far as the Constitution is concerned, let’s see who does what in this country, and whether the positions Plenković presents around the world completely privately are the positions of the state, or those of him and his cartel. With whom does he consult about that? This is a question of the constitutional competencies of the highest state bodies,” added the President, warning that Croatia’s representation in the EU is unconstitutional because “it is a purely private business of Croatia’s Andrej Vučić.” “If you interfere with my command of the military, then we are going to talk about it, every single day if necessary,” President Milanović concluded.