President Milanović: Croatia will not enter any war or conflict, but we will defend our home and be a loyal ally and partner to NATO members
“Croatia will not enter any war or conflict, without choosing. It will first of all defend its country, its homeland and its home, and be a loyal ally and partner to members of the large defence Alliance. But we know what the given word is and what has been signed, and we will act accordingly and build our children”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović told members of the Croatian Army Guards Armoured-Mechanized Brigade in Vinkovci marking its 17th anniversary today.
In his address, President Milanović underlined that he “will never allow the Croatian Army, its blood, its human and spiritual material to be wasted and spilled where we do not judge that it is in our interest – national, security, and ultimately economic.”
In that sense he shared some foreign political thoughts with members of the Croatian Army. “These wars, especially in Ukraine, demonstrate that after several decades of rambling, misunderstandings and erroneous conclusions the man, the soldier, the foot soldier is decisive. Without him, nothing! Man will always be decisive – his courage and the courage and intelligence of his commanders”, the President noted.
President Milanović told members of the Guards Armoured-Mechanized Brigade that they stand on the shoulders of giants, titans who defended Croatia. “Their shoulders provide a better view, those are broad shoulders that are committed and that represent our identity”, the President noted and added that Croatian soldiers in front and around them have three strongholds of the life of each and every soldier – duty towards the homeland, honour and personal freedom.
“The first is duty towards the homeland to which you pledged allegiance, which is sacred, has not been given to everyone and to which not everyone as a citizen has pledged allegiance. In accordance with this allegiance, you are protecting and will protect the Croatian democratic political order, human rights, the borders, the territory, the people, the Croatian citizens. After duty comes honour – a soldier’s honour, the honour to offer resistance, to fight. And, ultimately, there is personal freedom because – despite the fact of being soldiers – you are people with an identity and integrity. Each and every one of you who assumes a task, enters a mission that is potentially dangerous does not go into it as a mechanical part but as part of a community of people and souls. All of that is what makes Croatia”, President Milanović stated in concluding his address.
At a ceremony in the barracks of the 5th Guards Brigade “Slavonski sokolovi” in Vinkovci, President Milanović conferred decorations upon members of the Guards Armoured- Mechanized Brigade. For honourable and exemplary service, the Homeland Gratitude Memorial Medal is presented to Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Lončarić, Master Sergeant Dražen Medved, Sergeant First Class Vlatko Privara, retired Sergeant First Class Rado Salatović, Sergenat First Class Dragan Vidaković, and Private First Class Mato Jurić.
In the continuation of the ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of the formation of the Croatian Army Guards Armoured-Mechanized Brigade, President Milanović laid a wreath and lit a candle at a memorial dedicated to the fallen members of the “Slavonski sokolovi” 5th Guards Brigade in the Homeland War.
In attendance at the wreath-laying in addition to the President of the Republic was the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Croatian Army Brigadier General Valentin Skroza, the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Guards Armoured-Mechanized Brigade Colonel Davor Josip Babić, and the Adviser to the President for Defence Ilica Olujić, the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković, the Head of the Military office of the Cabinet for Defense and National Security of the Office of the President Brigadier General Ivica Kranjčević, and the Aide-de-camp to the President Colonel Vlado Čulina.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas