ZAGREB, August 23, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Friday reiterated his condemnation of the Knin incidents and called on the relevant agencies to spare no effort to identify and sanction the perpetrators.
Plenković said that the assaults against ethnic Serbs in the two villages near Knin were evidently premeditated and all should be done to detect and sanction the perpetrators.
Plenković also insisted that he and his cabinet had clearly and promptly condemned all the incidents against ethnic Serbs.
The premier recalled that the ruling majority in the parliament included representatives of ethnic minorities, including the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) and other ethnic minority lawmakers, at the initiative of his cabinet.
We included them at the moment when, perhaps, it was not necessary for the formation of the government. It was my wish that minorities be a part of the parliamentary majority, Plenković said.
Croatia has accomplished all its strategic issues such as freedom, democracy, reintegration of the occupied territories, peace and its positioning in the European Union and NATO, the functioning of institutions. We must act as a self-confident nation that appreciates the efforts of minorities in its country an protects their rights, Plenković said.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Friday that she condemned every violence, and explained that she would comment on the August 21 incidents in Knin when she was provided with the relevant police report on the case.
"I condemn every violence, and I am going to comment on that Knin incident, when I receive a detailed police report," the president said in a brief address to the press when she was asked about the incidents in which bar-goers, including a 9-year-old child, were injured and exposed to insults in the two cafes in Knin while they were watching a TV broadcast of the football match of the Belgrade-based Crvena Zvezda club.
Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said today that the police had taken all necessary steps so far and arrested two suspects in connection with the incidents.
"The state leadership clearly condemns the attack, and our message is that we expect the relevant institutions to find the perpetrators and punish them in judicial proceedings so as to send a message to others," Jandroković said.
Jandroković said that trends showed that in Europe as well in Croatia radical right and left elements had political strength.
"However, the dominant climate in the Croatian society very clearly condemns violence and promotes tolerance, peace, cooperation and mutual respect," Jandoković said.
He advocates that younger generations should be taught that peace, freedom and democracy do not come easily and that they have to be built and bequeathed to coming generations. He also called for eliminating the promotion of both right or left extremism.
More news about Knin incidents can be found in the Politics section.
