President Milanović: Police can’t act like that, it’s good measures are being taken

“I believe it’s an isolated case because otherwise that would be seen and known. The police must not act like that and this is obviously a case of overstepping one’s authority. It’s good measures are being taken”, President Milanović commented in Osijek today on police officers’ treatment of migrants.

“But we must also talk about the police officers who are doing a very tough job each day year-round for a modest pay and are protecting the Croatian border. That’s a tough job in the interest of the wider community. I wouldn’t want the police as a service to be stigmatized because of this,” added President Milanović.

“Somebody has to protect the border, border equals state. People coming to the border without authorization and wanting to cross it are committing a criminal offence. Those are the facts. Therefore, let’s get to the bottom of this, and if accountability is established, there should be sanctions, but the problem remains. People, perhaps even families, gather on the Croatian border every day, who want to cross the border and go somewhere else, but that’s illegal,” President Milanović stated.

Asked if there was individual or command responsibility in this case, Milanović said he did not know. “I don’t believe anyone ordered that. It’s evidently an isolated case. I hope we have solved that. The border problem remains. We see that some states, our partners in the European Union further more to the east, would like the European Union’s border to have a fence. I wouldn’t want that. I find it inhumane”, President MIlanović concluded.