President Milanović: Croatian Army Has Made Possible Croatian Dream of Full Independence to Finally Come True
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović has attended the formal line-up of members of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the Croatian Homeland War defenders on the occasion of Croatian Armed Forces Day, Croatian Army Day and the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Croatian National Guard at the football stadium on Kranjčević Street.
On the eve of the ceremony President Milanović laid a wreath at the memorial plaque of the establishment of the Croatian National Guard, and reviewed the ceremonial presentation of war flags, reserve units, Croatian Homeland War defenders, the Ministry of the Interior and the Croatian army. The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Siniša Jurković invited the President of the Republic to review the line-up. An honorary gun salute by the artillery unit on Medvedgrad hlll and a flypast by MiG-21 aircraft followed.
“Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, daughters and sons of fallen Croatian defenders, sons and daughters of the Croatian National Guard that was lined-up here thirty years ago today blazing with hope and wish, and fearing for the struggle for the Croatian state. To make something come true that had been dreamt of for centuries. That moment finally came, which I remember as an observer”, President Milanović stated in his address. He noted that it never felt like a war atmosphere to him. “Neither the words of the first President, nor the general feeling, facial expressions and general atmosphere could lead us to think that some were already on the battlefield and couldn’t be here. That Josip Jović had already been killed, that our boys in Borovo Selo had been killed in an ambush”, President Milanović said, greeting and thanking “those who were here exactly thirty years ago and all those who couldn’t be here because they were in a battle somewhere else, where the Croatian state was being built”.
President Milanović talked about Croatian history and about the wars that were fought by the Croats in the course of history. “Finally in this state we are masters of our own destiny and we understand each other better than ever. We have to start forgetting the misconceptions, errors and crimes of our grandfathers. We’re not responsible for them. This Croatian generation knows better and, thanks to people such as you, like those before you, have accomplished more”, the President underlined. He reiterated that the path that Croatia passed was not passed by any other current member of the European Union. “This is our wealth, this is the burden that is sometimes difficult for us to carry, but after so many years we have to finally say that the Croats don’t have to and won’t be responsible anymore for the mistakes and misconceptions of our grandfathers. For me that’s the end of the story. We don’t have to apologize for their sins or their misconceptions”, the President remarked.
“Happy Croatian Armed Forces Day! The Croatian Army, the Croatian National Guard has made it possible for the Croatian dream and the Croatian name to finally be realized in full independence. Not in our statehood because our statehood is our state right that is centuries old. It simply was not realized until the arrival of this generation of Croatian people, it didn’t materialize as independence. Croatia is finally independent and sovereign. We have our state, we are happy and content in it”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces said in concluding his address.
Besides President Milanović, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj, Defence Minister Mario Banožić, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković addressed the members of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the Croatian Homeland War defenders.
Accompanying President Milanović was the Head of Office of the President Orsat Miljenić, the Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Croatia Bartol Šimunić, the Adviser to the President for Defence and National Security Dragan Lozančić and the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War veterans Marijan Mareković.
After the ceremonial line-up of members of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and Croatian Homeland War defenders, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces toured the Croatian army’s tactical and technical assembly of arms and equipment.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić, Marko Beljan