Office of the President is Publishing Reaction of Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces to Ministry of Defence Press Release

The Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia has received the official reaction of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj to the press release of the Ministry of Defence regarding the participation of the Honorary and Protection Battalion in a commemoration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was addressed to the Minister of Defence and also sent to the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. The following is the full text of the official reaction:        

“Dear minister,

First of all, I believe that the communication between state officials through the official website of the Ministry of Defence is entirely inappropriate. We must resolve contentious issues, no matter how difficult and complex, in direct communication with each other and, if they cannot be resolved in this way, they should be raised to a higher level. In addition, it is absolutely unacceptable to state in this or in any other way gross untruths with the evident objective to defame the other party.

I therefore strongly condemn the press release published on the official website of the Ministry of Defence on 1 November 2021 (“Ministry of Defence on the participation of the Honorary and Protection Battalion in Bosnia and Herzegovina”) in which the situation surrounding the described event is completely distorted, based on a number of gross untruths. The Ministry of Defence press release, besides stating numerous untruths, brings an unnecessary dose of mistrust and casts a shadow on the good relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially their armed forces.

I remind that on 17 March 2021 (at 16:13) I received a written request from the Office of the President of the Republic (OPR) announcing the departure of the OPR envoy on 19 March 2021 to a wreath-laying ceremony in Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Promptly, at 18:48, by letter from the Chief of the General Staff Cabinet (dated 17 March 2021, Doc. Class: 803-05/21-01/10, Ref. No.: 512-06/0103-21-15) I informed your Cabinet about the OPR request (the OPR request was attached to my letter) and asked you to make a decision approving the dispatch of soldiers across the border, as required by the Defence Act.

After I did not receive a response from you, nor from your Cabinet, on 18 March 2021 at 12:55 I sent you a message informing you of my letter, asking for your decision and stating that our military envoy has already announced the activity to the Bosnian side and that it is planned that in addition to the OPR envoy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia and the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina will also participate in the ceremony. When you replied that you wanted the OPR to send a letter to you because you would not react without it, I contacted you again (13:15) and said that I had contacted the OPR, which said that they would not send new letters. You replied that you have no grounds for a decision and that I should then act as I think I should. I informed you (13:32) that the Chief of the General Staff must not send soldiers abroad without proper political approval, in this case the decision of the Minister of Defense, because this was a protocol-ceremonial activity (Article 69 of the Defence Act).

I note that Article 69 of the Defence Act, in addition to determining who makes the decision in this specific case and in similar cases, does not prescribe the decision-making procedure. Our correspondence ended with your message that this is not in accordance with the law and that I should then execute the Order if I received it.

In an attempt to obtain your decision, I also addressed you in person by letter (18 March 2021, Doc. Class: 803-05/21-01/10, Ref. No.: 512-06-21-17). Your decision came after all on 18 March 2021 at 15:14, on the basis of which I issued the written Order Doc. Class: 023-03/21-08/01, Ref. No.: 512-06-21-207 on 18 March 2021 (in which I refer to your decision) calling on 3 soldiers and 2 drivers of the Honorary and Protection Battalion to go to the wreath-laying ceremony in Bugojno. I note that in parallel and through the competent services of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic approval was requested for the entry of our soldiers into Bosnia and Herzegovina.”