\u201cThe Croatian Army will not participate in the military parade in Paris,\u201d confirmed the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zoran Milanovi\u0107, during a press statement in Supetar. \u201cOrders are not issued by the HDZ cartel, nor Plenkovi\u0107, nor Anu\u0161i\u0107, but by me when I deem it necessary, in situations I evaluate as critical, heavily politicized, and detrimental to Croatia, to our reputation, and our dignity. So, I do not know whom Plenkovi\u0107 intends to send to Paris; perhaps the majorettes, whom I respect, but soldiers cannot go unless I permit it,\u201d said the President, noting that according to the Constitution and the law, the Croatian Armed Forces are represented by the Commander in Chief, both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlenkovi\u0107 received the invitation. He keeps it in a drawer, and does not discuss it with me. He must discuss it with me. My opinion is generally that of an observer, but when I evaluate something as unfavourable, then I am the arbiter and the VAR room, and that\u2019s it. Therefore, the army will not go,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 emphasized, further stating the reasons why the Croatian Army will not participate in the parade in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the reasons why the CAF will not participate in the military parade in Paris is the fact that France did not send its military to the military parade in Zagreb last year. \u201cLast year we had a military parade, once in ten years, to which we invited all of our NATO allies. Not everyone came. The Americans, the British, and another group of countries did come. They sent a flag and at least a few soldiers to carry that flag in formation, and salute the hosts. There is one country where we left over a billion euros recently, and that is France. Not only did they fail to show up, but they didn\u2019t even offer an excuse. This is a country, with which we don\u2019t have any serious military cooperation, but we are their customer. We have a commercial relationship. And then you expect them to come once in ten years on our national holiday. We bought goods from them for a massive amount of money, and they do not show up. Half a year later, there they are in Belgrade. That is why they did not come \u2013 because they were trading with Belgrade. I will not even get into that topic, we allowed it ourselves, they made their decision, and they are ignoring us and going to Serbia. A complete snub of Croatia,\u201d explained President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to the CAF’s departure to Paris, the President of the Republic reiterated that \u201cit will be as I decide, and Plenkovi\u0107 can change into a uniform and carry the Croatian flag.\u201d He emphasized that he expects \u201crespect, as well as reciprocal and mutual relations\u201d from France. \u201cPlenkovi\u0107 says that the French flew over Lake Jarun the other day. When it was time to bring the flag and stand among Croatian allies, they were nowhere to be found. Why aren\u2019t they here? They are trading with Belgrade using the exact same goods they sold to us,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107, emphasizing that he considers the US to be Croatia’s only true ally. \u201cI am soon heading to Slunj for the conclusion of Croatia’s largest military exercise this year. It is a military exercise of the Croatian Army, and out of all our allies, only the Americans are there. The people we do actual work with, those are my allies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the second reason why he does not want the CAF to go to Paris, the President highlighted the fact that the French are presenting the event as a \u201cpromotion of the Coalition of the Willing.\u201d \u201cWe are being invited by a military whose top soldier, the Chief of the French General Staff, sends messages of blood and death saying: prepare yourselves for your children to die,\u201d stated President Milanovi\u0107, emphasizing that a situation in which soldiers have the right to communicate politically in such a manner is unacceptable to him. \u201cWe are living in a time when several Western generals are speaking about politics, about the inevitability of war with Russia. When generals start talking about politics, it is time for us to pull the brake. Croatia will not only refuse to participate in such a coalition while I am president, but will do everything it can to distance itself from it,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Milanovi\u0107 reminded that, as Prime Minister, he supported the CAF’s attendance at the military parade in Paris in 2013, because the then-President of the Republic and Commander in Chief supported it as well. \u201cHad President Josipovi\u0107 said no, it would have been a no. But we all said yes and went there. Why did we go back then? It was a different world. We had just entered the European Union, and were the exclusive guest at that parade. Now, the French have invited absolutely everyone. They want a formation on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es as a monument to French greatness. I am not sure how many European nations will agree to that, but I know Croatia will not,\u201d concluded President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also commented on the revocation of Branimir Glava\u0161’s decorations: \u201cWhen I was returning his decorations \u2013 because the Constitutional Court had declared him an innocent person until the proceedings were completed again \u2013 I said that if it ended with a final and legally binding verdict again, I would act to revoke them again. I could agree with him or his lawyer on one thing \u2013 I am not the happiest either with a practice where decorations are revoked by someone who didn\u2019t award them to you. This agony has been going on for twenty years for the victims’ families, and even for Glava\u0161 personally, after all. The court ruled as it ruled, and I am acting strictly formally here. There is truth in the fact that Tu\u0111man gave him the decorations for something he deemed valuable at that moment, and Tu\u0111man is no longer alive and cannot revoke them. I acted as I acted \u2013 I announced this, and I cannot and will not walk back on it,\u201d said President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe Croatian Army will not participate in the military parade in Paris,\u201d confirmed the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zoran Milanovi\u0107, during a press statement in Supetar. \u201cOrders are not issued by the HDZ cartel, nor Plenkovi\u0107, nor Anu\u0161i\u0107, but by me when I deem it necessary, in situations I evaluate as critical, heavily politicized, and detrimental to Croatia, to our reputation, and our dignity. So, I do not know whom Plenkovi\u0107 intends to send to Paris; perhaps the majorettes, whom I respect, but soldiers cannot go unless I permit it,\u201d said the President, noting that according to the Constitution and the law, the Croatian Armed Forces are represented by the Commander in Chief, both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43820,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-43821","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n