ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic said during a visit to Sisak on Friday that the SDP-led coalition would assume responsibility for the country after the July 5 election, and that President Zoran Milanovic's statement that he would not go to the polls was a symbolic gesture of neutrality.

Commenting on the political situation in Sisak, Bernardic said that its Social Democrat mayor Krstina Ikic Banicek was working miracles without any support from the state.

"Not only has the state not implemented the necessary reforms, but it also has not even let the town use the premises of the former steelworks for a technology incubator," he said, adding that nonetheless many local projects had been completed, bringing Sisak back to life.

Milanovic's statement symbolic gesture of neutrality

Commenting on President Zoran Milanovic's statement that after the elections he would not be receiving individual members of parliament for consultations in his office, Bernardic said that it was a responsible message and that the president acted in line with the Constitution.

As for Milanovic's statement that he would not go to the polls, Bernardic said that it was "important for as many voters as possible to go to the polls and show what they think about what we have been witnessing for the past four years - unprecedented political corruption and lack of reforms."

Asked whether the SDP's slates would also include party members who had been suspended, he said that all party members who were willing to work in the interest of citizens would be on the party slates.

He also noted that he would not be commenting on Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's statements until July 5, after which, he said, there would be no need to do so anymore.

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that President Zoran Milanovic's statement that he might not go to the polls to vote in the parliamentary election is a striking message to Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic and voters on the left.

"I didn't have time to see his interview because I was in Rijeka. I think that that is a striking message for Davor Bernardic, and for voters on the left," Plenkovic said when asked to comment on Milanovic's statement about considering not to go to the polls on 5 July for the reason of impartiality.

Considering Milanovic's statement that there would not be the usual consultations after the election, Plenkovic said that if voters give the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) their confidence, after the election the party would talk with potential partners.

"As usual, we will seek 76 signatures and when someone has 76 signatures regardless of the model of consultations, everything is clear," Plenkovic said.

Asked whether his position as prime minister was an advantage in the parliamentary election, Plenkovic claimed that in the last campaign he was not in government yet HDZ won then too.

"The theory of separating the party from politics does not exist. For example, after a president is elected he is no longer a member of any party hence he has the liberty to say he won't go to the poll and support Bernardic who had strongly supported him to become president," concluded Plenkovic.

ZAGREB, May 17, 2020 - No one in Croatia should feel like a second-class citizen because of their gender or sexual orientation, President Zoran Milanovic said on Sunday.

On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Milanovic said in a Facebook post that he had on many occasions expressed a wish for Croatia to be a solidary community of citizens who may be different but are all equal.

"Today, when democratic and civilised societies around the world mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, let me reiterate my firm belief that no one should feel like a second-class citizen in Croatia because of their gender or sexual orientation," Milanovic said.

He called for commitment to promoting equality, building an open and safe society, including the right to choice, non-discrimination and protection of all minorities, as well as zero tolerance to violence.

"That is the only way for Croatia to really be a country of equal people," he said.

Zagreb Pride: Around 64% of LGBTIQ persons experience violence

Around 64% of LGBTIQ persons in Croatia experience violence and one in three attempt to commit suicide or hurt themselves, the Zagreb Pride association said on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

The LGBTIQ community says that the joint message of the global LGBTIQ movement - Break the Silence - is a message and appeal to the authorities and society to make violence against the LGBTIQ community impermissible and punishable.

Zagreb Pride recalls that the Council of Europe on Sunday called on European countries to do more to help young LGBTIQ persons deal with the challenges they encounter, notably in the current times of crisis.

Zagreb Pride says that discrimination and hate crimes against LGBTIQ persons in Croatia "are not only due to active work by the right-clerical organisations and their campaign of spreading prejudices and hate against LGBTIQ persons but also due to the government's discriminatory policy, non-implementation of existing laws and court inefficiency."

The NGO called on President Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic to think about their own responsibility for the social status of LGBTIQ persons and what they can do to improve it.

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