In spite of the pressure on Plenković, the ''Regatta for Reason'' in Savudrija has been abandoned.
The arbitration decision on the increasingly uncomfortable border situation between Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia has been the cause of a lot of tension in recent months, picking up even more wind in its feathers over the last few days.
Threats of legal proceedings have been issued by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, the EC's Jean-Claude Juncker has voiced his desire for the arbitration decision to be respected and has stated he doesn't want conflicts, Croatian fisherman have required police escorts in order to simply do their jobs in Piran Bay without being harrassed by Slovenian authorities who claim it is ''their water'', and despite all this Croatia continues to ignore the arbitration decision.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković found himself under pressure from an unlikely source in recent days, namely in the form of a Vukovar war veteran who gave him a 72 hour deadline to come to some agreement with the Slovenes, the deadline was extended and then of course expired. Many worried that the war veteran was planning an unsavoury approach to the issues between Croatia and Slovenia, but he in fact announced something quite unexpected.
Petar Janjić Tromblon stated that he was planning a ''Regatta for Reason'' in Savudrija, read more here. It seems however, that the idea has lost its novelty and Tromblon has stepped back from his plans.
As RTL reports on the 10th of January, 2018, Croatian Army veteran Petar Janjić Tromblon told HINA on Tuesday that he has given up on the planned "Regatta for Reason'' action which was planned for February the 3rd, due to various practical obstructions such as the lack of support from the heads of defense associations.
Noting that he is unhappy with the government's actions in regard to the issue, he claims that is also bitter at the leaders of the veterans' associations who aren't offering adequate support. He stated that because of this, he doesn't want to endanger the people who supported him and planned to join.
To be more specific, Petar Janjić Tromblon sent a letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković last week stating that because of the border dispute, he would "give him 72 hours'' to solve the problem with Slovenia, or he would "organise 100 fishing boats and boats carrying Croatian war veterans who will protect the Croatian maritime state border with Slovenia from the illegal entry of foreign police into Croatian territorial waters."
Subsequently, after the expiry of the deadline, Tromblon announced that the action would take place on February the 3rd, beginning at 10:00 in Umag.
Numerous figures from Croatian War Veteran Associations have stated that they find the idea unacceptable and would not involve themselves in such things.
