\u201cThe Chief of General Staff will carry out the command of the Commander in Chief. When a soldier is in doubt \u2013 and especially when not \u2013 he or she looks towards the highest link in the chain of command. That is the President of the Republic, and not a minister, with all due respect,\u201d said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 on Wednesday, commenting on the dispute with the Croatian Government that arose after he banned the Croatian Armed Forces from participating in the military parade in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s not a bad thing that this happened, since it had to happen sooner or later, so that people understand how the army functions, what the army actually is, and whom the highest-ranking soldier must follow in such situations,\u201d the President continued, adding that the Chief of the General Staff had been harassed, but that it was not hard on him because he has an order to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President reminded that the then-Minister of Defence inserted the Article 69 into the act of law, even though the provision stating that the President of the Republic represents the Croatian Armed Forces at home and abroad remained in the act of law. \u201cIt is clear who represents the Croatian Armed Forces. It is the President, and this representation of the military carries a political message, as well. What did he achieve with the Article 69? That article turned the Minister into the commander in chief of a ceremonial platoon. It is an attempt to exclude the President of the Republic, as the Commander in Chief, from baseline operations. It is a complete failure. Because if a dispute arises, the President will always have the final say. Because that is single-headed leadership; that is subordination,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given that the Government is contesting this right of the President, President Milanovi\u0107 said: \u201cMy question to the loudmouths is: what am I even allowed to do? You have grabbed everything: the money, the jobs, procurement. The complete material and logistics system of the Ministry of Defence is yours, plus everything else I let slide and don’t question. What am I allowed to do? Write it down for me so I can see it. Then I will advise you to form a national guard or a gendarmerie, and you can command that. The military will be commanded by one person. And I don\u2019t see what\u2019s unclear about it,\u201d emphasized President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, he pointed out that the Prime Minister had been silent about the invitation from France since the beginning of May because \u201cthe Prime Minister envisions himself in the stands of the \u2018Coalition of the Willing\u2019.\u201d \u201cI made the decision, and that\u2019s the end of it. It is a \u2018Coalition of the Willing\u2019. That’s how it’s advertised. If we were a special guest there and if relations were more normal \u2013 because what they’ve been doing to us is not normal \u2013 I wouldn’t hesitate for a second,\u201d said the President, adding: \u201cLet Plenkovi\u0107 initiate the process for my impeachment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho represents Croatia in the European Council? What does the Article 141 of the Croatian Constitution say? In the European Council and the bodies of the European Union, Croatia is represented by the Government and the President, in accordance with their constitutional powers. Are the positions that Plenkovi\u0107 presents around the world completely privately positions of the state, or those of him and his cartel?\u201d warned President Milanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs far as the Constitution is concerned, let\u2019s see who does what in this country, and whether the positions Plenkovi\u0107 presents around the world completely privately are the positions of the state, or those of him and his cartel. With whom does he consult about that? This is a question of the constitutional competencies of the highest state bodies,\u201d added the President, warning that Croatia’s representation in the EU is unconstitutional because \u201cit is a purely private business of Croatia’s Andrej Vu\u010di\u0107.\u201d \u201cIf you interfere with my command of the military, then we are going to talk about it, every single day if necessary,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe Chief of General Staff will carry out the command of the Commander in Chief. When a soldier is in doubt \u2013 and especially when not \u2013 he or she looks towards the highest link in the chain of command. That is the President of the Republic, and not a minister, with all due respect,\u201d said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 on Wednesday, commenting on the dispute with the Croatian Government that arose after he banned the Croatian Armed Forces from participating in the military parade in Paris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43883,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-43884","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n