ZAGREB, November 14, 2018 - During question time in parliament on Wednesday, independent Mirando Mrsić warned about "the spreading of fake news and hysteria about migrants", inviting Prime Minister Andrej Plenković that they visit migrants together and make a statement that they were welcome in Croatia.

"How many crimes were committed by migrants over the past year? How many persons have applied for asylum and how many have been granted it?" Mrsić said. He in particular called out Živi Zid MP Ivan Pernar over spreading fake news about migrants.

Plenković agreed that there was a wave of hysteria and panic over illegal migration and urged politicians and the media not to spread hysteria unnecessarily. "We will continue to protect the border from illegal migration and when it comes to legal migration or a humanitarian approach, when it comes to people seeking asylum, we will act in line with our and European regulations, pursuing a responsible policy and eliminating the existing hysteria, drama and panic," he said.

Mrsić called on parliament's speaker and presidency to distance themselves from Pernar's statements and on the government not to allow the spreading of untruths in the media and rampant intolerance in society.

Miroslav Tuđman of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) asked about the security aspect of illegal migration. Interior Minister Davor Božinović recalled that Croatia has the longest external land border in the European Union, bordering on non-EU states, which he said was a challenge which no state could resolve alone. "Illegal migration is also a security issue," he said, adding that the government had asked that the states south of Croatia be included in dealing with the issue.

MP Bruna Esih of the Independents for Croatia party harshly criticised Prime Minister Andrej Plenković because of the UN Global Compact for Migration, claiming that he had “long ago shown” that the fate of “hysterical” Croatians isn't one of his priorities, while the prime minister retorted that the point of that document is to manage regular migrations and called on Esih to state what she found problematic in that document other than her impressions.

Esih questioned why so many EU member states were opposed to the U.N. pact on migrations. "Why all the heated debate, for God's sake, when its contents, as Mr Jandroković instructed us, are undisputed and unbinding," said Esih.

Plenković ironically responded that he gives her a "plus for her effort with her second query," hinting at the fact that she has only once raised any issue during question time in parliament so far. "The document you are referring to is the UN's response to a phenomenon that has occurred in Europe and the world in 2015 and 2016. And Hungary alone has expressed reservation to that document," Plenković explained.

Not one expert, he underscored, views it as a dramatic bomb, apart from certain actors and political parties with similar worldviews, who are trying to gain some points from this issue, he said. MP Esih said that she wasn't satisfied with Plenković's response.

Responding to a question by SDP MP Josko Klisović with regard to Croatia's foreign policy about the UN Global Compact on Regular Migrations, Plenković said that at not one moment in the past two years did he hear anyone say there were any problems with that document.

"I didn't hear that from the president either except that she intended to go to Marakesh and then said she wouldn't go. I didn't hear that any particular sentence was a problem, any formula or anything in the Global Compact about legal migrations. So as far as I am concerned, there is no disunity here," Plenković said in his comment on the recent statements made by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on the Global Compact that is to be endorsed in Marrakesh, Morocco, in December.

"As far as state policy on migrations is concerned, be it regular or irregular, the policy is based on three points: to prevent irregular migrations, fulfil the Schengen Area requirements and to support all international efforts whether they are related to regulating legal or preventing illegal migrants," Plenković said and added that the government would discuss the Compact this week and then forward it to parliament.

For more on Croatia’s migrant policies, click here.

ZAGREB, November 14, 2018 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday evening that there was no opposition within the parliamentary group of his HDZ party to the Marrakesh migration agreement.

"Earlier today at the meeting of the parliamentary majority and here at the meeting of the HDZ parliamentary group, we have received unanimous support for this document. It is not an international treaty, it is not binding and it leaves every country, including Croatia, the sovereign right to conduct its own migration policy," Plenković told reporters.

The prime minister said it had not been decided yet who would represent Croatia in Marrakesh. "We haven't decided that yet. We will see how other countries respond," he added.

Plenković also spoke of his meeting earlier in the day with Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava, saying that they had discussed preparations for Vukovar Remembrance Day, the participation of government officials and members of parliament in the Remembrance Procession, and projects for Vukovar.

"Nothing has changed in our relationship. Vukovar is very important to this government. We have increased allocations into the Vukovar fund by 50 percent and we support many projects," the prime minister said when asked to comment on his relationship with the mayor following a protest rally in this eastern town over inefficiency in prosecuting war crimes from the early 1990s.

Asked about the fake texts affair and Franjo Varga as the chief suspect and his connections with presidential adviser Vlado Galić, Plenković said that the case was being investigated. "What is important is that in our records there is no evidence of any formal cooperation between Mr Varga and the HDZ during the relevant period, and that is 2014 and 2015," Plenković said, adding that he had no knowledge if there had existed any informal cooperation with individuals.

For more on the HDZ activities, click here.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2018 - The Ministry of the Interior on Monday rejected the accusations by the Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) that the Ministry denied its volunteers access to the reception centre for asylum seekers in Zagreb.

The ministry dismissed as "completely untrue and unacceptable" the claim by the CMS that the ministry's refusal to renew the agreement on cooperation in providing support to seekers of international protection accommodated in the reception centre for asylum seekers is a political decision aimed at intimidating, marginalising and distancing an organisation that has drawn public attention to the unlawful treatment of refugees by police.

Given that the Centre for Peace Studies does not have a valid cooperation agreement with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry cannot grant CMS volunteers entry to the reception centre for asylum seekers, the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry currently has cooperation agreements in place with the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Croatian Law Centre, Croatian Baptist Aid, the Baptist Church of Zagreb, and Are You Syrious.

Considering the reports submitted by the CMS about its activities, which included teaching Croatian and conversations with seekers of international protection, as part of which CMS volunteers informed them about the asylum system and integration, and having examined the valid agreements which the Ministry has in place with other non-governmental organisations and ongoing projects, it has been concluded that the CMS offers the same or similar activities that are already being conducted by the other organisations operating at the reception centre, the statement said.

The Ministry noted that assistance to asylum seekers was also secured through projects led by the Croatian Red Cross and the Belgian organisation Medecins du Monde.

The Centre for Peace Studies free to conduct its activities on its own premises

The Ministry said it was in no way trying to prevent the CMS from providing support to seekers of international protection and persons who have been granted protection, adding that the organisation was free to conduct its activities on its own premises.

Seekers of international protection are entitled to free public transport and their access to the CMS or contact with any other non-governmental organisation is in no way limited, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said it had never considered the CMS an undesirable partner, but added that insistence on the claim that the Ministry was responsible for the death of Afghan migrant girl Madina, despite the fact that a criminal complaint against unidentified border police officers was dismissed in June, was unacceptable.

In conclusion, the Ministry noted that this year alone it had received 998 claims for international protection and granted 226.

For more on Croatia’s NGOs, click here.

ZAGREB, November 12, 2018 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) said on Monday that as of September the Interior Ministry was preventing it from entering the reception centres for asylum seekers in Zagreb and Kutina, refusing to extend a cooperation agreement with CMS, which has been working in such centres for 15 years and pointing to the ministry's unlawful conduct.

The ministry's explanation is that there is no space for CMS activities and that enough organisations are active in the reception centres, representatives of CMS and the Human Rights House told reporters.

CMS said other organisations were not available to all refugees, notably those in the Kutina centre. This is a "political decision aimed at intimidating, marginalising and distancing organisations which are publicly speaking about problems faced by refugees and the unlawful treatment of refugees by Interior Ministry staff," said Julija Kranjec of CMS.

"A few months ago, the ministry asked in court that the Are You Syrious? organisation be banned and now it's trying to obstruct the work of CMS and organisations which are warning about human rights violations," said Ivan Novosel of the Human Rights House.

CMS and Are You Syrious? are pushing for prosecuting those responsible in last year's death of Afghan migrant girl Madine Hosseini, whose case is currently before the European Court of Human Rights, said Kranjec.

CMS has been supporting refugees for 15 years, facilitating the integration of people in the reception centres and thus far over 1,000 asylum seekers have participated in CMS activities.

Its representatives said CMS was participating in the Interior Ministry's Integration Action Plan and its implementation was now in question.

The plan's education measures are necessary to build a better society and prevent hysteria and fact manipulation against migrants, said Kranjec.

Croatia, the Interior Ministry and the police have the duty to respect the rights of human rights organisations and defenders, added Novosel.

CMS demands that the ministry extend the agreement allowing them access to the reception centres.

For more on migrant crisis, click here.

ZAGREB, November 11, 2018 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Saturday that the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs should send someone to Marrakesh to attend an intergovernmental conference on adopting the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adding that this was not the first time that she couldn't respond to an invitation and that she had cancelled her attendance at events for a variety of reasons before.

"I have estimated that in the circumstances that have emerged in the meantime and because of the theme of the conference itself, it would be better if someone else attended the migration conference, someone from departments that are directly involved in this matter, possibly the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, which was in charge of the process of negotiation of this convention. Prime Minister Plenković has said that the government will discuss this and decide accordingly," Grabar-Kitarović told reporters in Paris, where she had arrived to attend a ceremony marking the centenary of the end of the First World War.

This week disputes emerged between the president and the government, notably the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, over the president's decision to cancel her attendance at the Marrakesh migration conference. The president had confirmed her attendance to the UN secretary general in August.

Grabar-Kitarović said in Paris that the cancellation of the trip was not the first or last time that she would refuse an invitation for some reason and that during her term in office she had cancelled her attendance at many events for a variety of reasons. "My assessment at this point is that it is better for someone from the relevant department to attend, and I should emphasise once again that this migration convention is not signed and is not binding. Any country can choose that part that suits its organisation. I don't want it in any way to be a matter of dispute either in Croatian society or in international relations," the president said.

She noted that she had made the decision on her own and that she had considered it since August. "As you could see, I publicly spoke about it in New York because I had reservations already then and I suggested to my advisers then that in their statements they should indicate that my opinion is that we should attend at department level, but the government will decide on that," Grabar-Kitarović said.

The main ceremony commemorating the end of the Great War will be held on Sunday and will be attended by many heads of state or government, including French President Emmanuel Macron as the host, US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"Unfortunately, Croats also fought in the First World War, defending the Austro-Hungarian monarchy which they didn't like. A lot of people were killed, and for us the end of the war is an event that should be celebrated. However, economic and political circumstances in Croatia didn't improve much after the end of the First World War, and the Second World War followed. Obviously, issues had not been resolved at international level," Grabar-Kitarović said.

The ceremony in Paris is symbolic and will unite a large part of the world in paying tribute to the war dead. It will also have a concrete dimension, primarily at the Peace Forum which has been launched by President Macron. A lot of resources and energy have been invested and it could result in good projects because people from around the world have been invited, Grabar-Kitarović said.

Also attending the ceremony will be representatives of international and non-governmental organisations, corporations, trade unions and religious groups. Introductory remarks will be made by Chancellor Merkel together with President Macron and UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres.

Grabar-Kitarović began her visit to Paris by visiting Croatian photographer Davor Rostuhar's exhibition at the Louvre, entitled "Croatia, Full of Colours".

For more on the migrant crisis as it relates to Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 10, 2018 - Human rights ombudswoman Lora Vidović said on Saturday the authorities must do much more to prosecute those spreading fake news about migrants and to create a feeling of security by giving citizens true and objective information.

"Fake news about violence committed by migrants and their conflicts with the local population show how important it is to communicate with citizens in a timely manner. I believe the authorities have missed many opportunities there," Vidović said on Croatian Radio.

She said the security of citizens was very important and wondered in whose interest it was "to spread fear in the media without any arguments, in which some politicians are participating too." "The information in question can often be checked and once one checks it, one can see that it's not true," she added.

Speaking of the Global Compact for Migration, Vidović said the document was about migrants and not refugees, that it was not legally binding or signed, and that it gave countries political commitments.

"In terms of human rights, it is a very good and welcome document... which answers many questions and can help a lot in protecting migrants' rights, while at the same time not encroaching on any country's sovereignty. It recognises and confirms the countries' right to regulate this matter themselves, even what is called irregular migration," Vidović said, adding that she was glad the Croatian government supported the Global Compact.

She reiterated that security was very important but that it was imperative to manage migration by respecting the human rights of all migrants.

She also reiterated that there was no effective investigation of migrants' complaints about police brutality and that it was worrisome that the Interior Ministry was nor giving concrete answers. "The answers we have received from the ministry aren't convincing and we haven't been told what exactly happened to a specific person in a specific place at a specific time. The ministry only replies that it respects human rights and that police are trained, but there's been no concrete answer."

For more on human rights in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 9, 2018 - The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry will prepare a report on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which has recently caused many disputes among politicians, and the report will be discussed by the government next week after which it will be forwarded to parliament, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday.

The Global Compact aims to boost cooperation to address the world's growing number of migrants. "The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry, which has been coordinating the process of drawing up the report, will submit the report to the government next week, in order to shed light on the topic and explain what exactly this is about," Plenković said at the start of the government session on Friday.

"After that, we will forward the document to parliament. I believe this topic deserves to be discussed by at least two parliamentary committees so that MPs could also know what this is about," Plenković said, adding that it was critical for everything surrounding the U.N. migration pact to be transparent.

The document, which is to be endorsed in Marrakesh, Morocco next month, has recently stirred up a conflict between President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who first announced she would support it but then backed out, and the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry which sees nothing contentious in the document.

Plenković reiterated on Friday that the Global Compact was not an international treaty nor it was legally binding. "This is a catalogue of measures which is being worked on over the past two years, ever since the way was paved for it at the UN General Assembly," Plenković said.

"The document has been in its present form since July and it is expected to be politically endorsed in Morocco in mid-December," Plenković said. He, however, did not say who would represent Croatia in Marrakesh after the president backed out of the trip.

For more on Croatia’s migration policies, click here.

Two alleged migrants which an elderly lady “caught” in a Samobor store recently were actually employees of the Rimac Automobili company, where they worked with a residence and a work permit. Samobor Mayor Krešo Beljak denied the fake news being spread on the social networks that the Samobor region is besieged by migrant groups, reports Jutarnji List on November 8, 2018.

The fear of unknown and increasingly unwanted migrants from the east has turned into a hysteria in the last several days. Everything started with migrant protests and the blockade of the Maljevac border crossing. Although more than 6,000 migrants have passed through Croatia to Slovenia in recent months, the only criminal offenses they committed in the Karlovac area are breaking and entry into abandoned houses in search of a shelter (with the exception of one attempted attack on a policeman). However, on social networks, Croatian women are warned not to wear short shirts because they will allegedly be raped and their partners slaughtered.

One woman reported the news that near the Plitvice Lakes National Park six migrants raped a 13-year-old girl, which was allegedly told her by a waitress in Slunj. However, the news is completely false.

There are also no serious criminal offenses in the Una-Sana Canton in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina where the largest Balkan migrant hot spot is located. The vast majority of the 300 criminal offenses which were committed by migrants there refer to property crimes. There were one murder and one rape, but both of these terrible offenses were committed by the same man, an Algerian, and in both cases, the victims were other migrants.

With the blockade of the border in the Karlovac region, migrants are turning to the south in an attempt to reach Slovenia, seeking a softer border to enter Croatia. This is why a new route is being created through Croatia, going from Lika and to Gorski Kotar.

Local media reported that two migrants have entered the centre of Gospić and also published statements by anxious citizens of Lika. In the village of Kosa, a report allegedly found a person who has discovered 12 migrants, “but has refused to speak on the record due to the fear.”

The police are trying to calm down the tensions by issuing statements, but they have no effect. The locals have a hard time realising that the two Afghans whom they saw walking in Gospić entered Croatia legally and stayed in a local hotel for several days because they came to visit their cousin, a migrant smuggler, who was arrested and is now in prison.

Tomislav J. from Otočac almost ended up as the main story in the national news when he wanted to describe how a group of migrants had beaten him, but it turned out that he was drunk and came up with the story to explain to his employer why he was late for work. The police have said that they have reported him for “spreading fake news which disturbs the peace of citizens.” This is the first such report resulting from the migrant crisis hysteria.

According to the information of the Lika police, they have registered 228 illegal migrants and arrested some 30 smugglers. There has been no increase in the number of thefts. In fact, this year there has been only 333 thefts committed, which is 146 fewer than in the same period last year. There is just one case linked to migrants; an Algerian stole a bicycle in Korenica.

However, the fake news continues.

For more on the migrant crisis, click here.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Mario Pušić).

ZAGREB, November 7, 2018 - Varaždin police on Wednesday said in a press release that border police had noticed damage to the fence around the cemetery in Cvetlin and that the search was on for unidentified perpetrators. The police issued the press release in response to an earlier statement by the local municipality, which assumed that migrants were involved, and said that there had not been any significant increase in the number of illegal crossing of the border in that area.

The police said that an on-site investigation disclosed that unidentified perpetrators had cut the wire fence around the cemetery, bending it toward the ground, and that the damage is estimated at a hundred kuna and that police were looking for the perpetrators.

"We also note that the police have not recorded any theft or break-in that would indicated that the perpetrators are illegal migrants," the press release said. "The Varaždin police administration has not recorded any increased number of illegal crossings of the state border in the Cvetlin and Jamno area. However, the border police are acting in accordance with their own assessment of risk and covering the area along the state border and at all access routes," the press release said, adding that in the past two months, 10 people were identified as attempting to illegally cross the border and that they had been dealt with in accordance with the law.

The local municipality reported earlier in the day that the cemetery fence had been damaged and that local residents assumed that this was done by migrants attempting to cross the border into Slovenia. Even though residents are aware that the route toward Slovenia passes through Cvetlin and Jamno, no one has anything against migrants, but residents are concerned with the security aspect, the municipality's press release said.

For more on the migrant crisis as it affects Croatia, read here.

ZAGREB, November 6, 2018 - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić said on Tuesday that she still could not see what President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović found disputable in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and expressed regret at the nervous reactions from the Office of the Croatian President to this document.

Minister Pejčinović Burić, who was attending an international conference on building democratic security at the Mediterranean in Dubrovnik, responded to the criticism which President Grabar-Kitarović voiced against the foreign ministry accusing it of failing to do its part of the job concerning the Marrakesh document. "The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry has done its part of the job well. I, as the person at the helm of the ministry and somebody who has an insight in it, can say that the job in the negotiations has been well done," the minister said today.

The Global Compact is actually not a treaty and is not meant to be signed, it is not a legally binding document and enables each country to regulate the issue of regular migrants the way it sees fit, removing all insinuations that something could be imposed on Croatia, the minister reiterated.

"This is the first document since the establishment of the United Nations that is intended to regulate the important matter of migrations and regular migrations. It offers a catalogue of measures and best practices that can be applied and facilitates the efforts of countries to handle regular migrations," the minister said.

The point is that the document can enhance the communication and cooperation among countries so as to lessen migratory pressures. After the finalisation of the Global Compact document, Croatia can choose what corresponds to its national interests, the minister added.

She said that Croatia had been already implementing some of the measures from that catalogue and that it would like also to contribute to the establishment a better system to address the issue at the global level. "We are persistent in our position when it comes to this issue," the minister underscored, adding that countries that have scrapped the document, have done that for their specific reasons.

On Monday, the President said the foreign ministry that coordinated the negotiations, failed to do its job. "Instead of releasing my correspondence to the media, they had an obligation to inform the public what this is about. They did not do their job," Grabar-Kitarović said.

Although at first she, in her own words, had "enthusiastically" accepted the invitation of the UN Secretary General to take part in a Marrakesh conference on the adoption of the Global Compact in December, her position now is ambivalent. Grabar Kitarović said: "I neither support nor don't support the document."

During the Dubrovnik conference, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković also commented on this topic saying that the disputes in the Croatian politics regarding this topic were not the first conflict of this kind. He said that he wondered who was generating those disputes. "First we had conflicts over the Istanbul Convention, that over the Vukovar rally, and now Marrakesh document, and all those matters are not meant to cause disputes," he said, warning that the topics on which social consensus should be made, seem to trigger off discussions from the ideological points of view.

Somebody is intentionally sparking off such conflicts and is trying to provoke disputes between the president and the government, said Jandroković.

Grabar-Kitarović's participation in the Marrakesh conference has caused a new disagreement between her office and the government after a controversial TV host published on his Facebook wall an alleged reply from the Office of the President saying that she would not sign the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Marrakesh and that her office was not involved in talks on the document.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said this past Friday that the Global Compact regulated only legal migration and that he had been informed that President Grabar-Kitarović would go to Morocco in December for the ratification. He would not comment on media reports that the president would not go to Morocco, saying that, as far as he knew, she planned to attend the Global Compact ratification conference in Marrakesh because she was invited by the UN secretary-general.

Foreign Minister Pejčinović Burić told a news conference last Friday that she was surprised by announcements that Grabar-Kitarović would not attend the conference, and on that occasion cited Grabar-Kitarović's speech in the UN in which she expressed clear support for the Global Compact.

That prompted the Office of the President to say the president supported the completion of talks on the Marrakesh agreement but that she would not attend the ratification conference and that she had informed the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry of her decision.

To read more about the controversy, click here.