ZAGREB, 20 March 2022 - Construction and Zoning Minister Ivan Paladina and War Veterans' Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the national crisis management team for post-quake reconstruction, visited Petrinja on Sunday and on that occasion they said that the reconstruction process was at a turning point.

They held a working meeting with local authorities.

The lion's share of the administrative procedure, as a precondition for the start of building work on damaged structures, has been finished.

Now, the process of the post-quake reconstruction has reached a turning point.

During their stay in Petrinja, the ministers also met local activists who told the officials that local inhabitants expect the government to provide more accurate information about the reconstruction and to speed up the whole process.

For more on this, check out our dedicated politics section.

ZAGREB, 22 Jan 2022 - Croatian War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved said on Saturday that the Operation Maslenica in 1993 was a turning point in the Homeland War and that it had sent a strong message of the capability of the Croatian armed forces to free their country from the enemy.

Addressing the central ceremony marking the 29th anniversary of the Operation Maslenica in Zadar, the minister expressed gratitude to the participants in the operation and particularly to the families who lost their members in that liberating action.

Operation Maslenica was launched in the early morning hours of 22 January 1993, with Croatian forces regaining control of the Serb-occupied Zadar hinterland, the straight of Maslenica, the Zemunik airbase and later on the Peruca dam. Within 72 hours, nearly 100 square kilometres of occupied territory was liberated. Croatian forces regained control of key strategic points from Serb insurgents and re-established transport connections between the country's north and south. In the first three days of the operation, 19 Croatian soldiers were killed and 70 were wounded. However, by 31 March 1993 the number of Croatian fatalities rose to 127 as Serb forces fought back.

Minister Medved said that the Operation Maslenica sent a strong message that the Croatian armed forces and police were capable of liberating every occupied inch of the occupied territory, as it was later shown in the military and police operations in 1995.

Medved also pointed out the importance of commemorating this operation and other events from the 1991-1995 Homeland War as a reminder that freedom in the present-day Croatia should not be taken for granted and that the defenders and the Homeland War were the strongest pillar of the independent and sovereign Republic of Croatia.

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

ZAGREB, 2 Oct, 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved and representatives of the Hrvatske Vode water management company and local authorities on Saturday agreed models for dealing with the key issues in the reconstruction and development of Sisak-Moslavina County after last the December's earthquake, including flood protection.

Medved, who chairs the task force dealing with the aftermath of the tremor, said in Hrvatska Kostajnica that now it was important to build flood protection systems, ensure water supply, and rehabilitate sinkholes, notably those near family homes.

He also underlined the importance of projects within the remit of the State Reconstruction and Housing Office, saying the 500 reconstructed family homes in the county were the prerequisite for people to return to safety.

Medved said structural reconstruction would begin around the middle of this month, as would the construction of replacement family houses in which, he added, many companies were interested.

He also announced the start of construction on replacement apartment buildings.

Next week will see the start of works on a levee worth €29 million.

Hrvatske Vode director Zoran Đuroković said sinkhole rehabilitation would begin next week.

State Reconstruction and Housing Office state secretary Goran Hanžek said 592 houses had undergone non-structural reconstruction and that 300 projects had been contracted for structural reconstruction. He added that 200 heritage buildings would be fully reconstructed.

Sisak-Moslavina County head Ivan Celjak underlined the importance of a HRK 180 million interest-free loan that he said would be used to deal with the damage sustained by county-owned buildings and for development projects.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 23 Aug 2021 - War Veterans Affairs Minister, Tomo Medved, said on Monday at an event observing Black Ribbon Day that the government was creating a tolerant society that acknowledges and builds relations that guarantee Croatia's prosperity.

Medved laid wreaths and lit candles at Zagreb's central Mirogoj cemetery marking Black Ribbon Day, the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, which is an international day of remembrance for victims of specifically Stalinist, communist, Nazi, and fascist regimes.

"After this, I am travelling to Gospic where we are burying the remains of 102 WWII and post WWII victims, exhumed in the wider Lika area," Medved said at Mirogoj.

Asked why there will be nobody from the government in Jasenovac this year, Medved said government members were visiting Mirogoj, Macelj, and Goli Otok today, and that Jesenovac was for some other occasion. 

On this year's Black Ribbon Day, Interior Minister Davor Božinović will attend commemorations in Macelj and Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic on the island of Goli Otok.

Macelj was a site for mass executions committed by the Tito-led Partizans in the wake of the Second World War. 

The Goli Otok and Sveti Grgur prison camps operated first as hard-labor detention camps for people accused by the Communist authorities of supporting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin after Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito severed ties with the Soviet Union in 1948 or who for whatever reason were declared enemies of the state. They were later transformed into regular prisons and closed down in 1988. According to historian Martin Previšić, 13,000 prisoners were held in Goli Otok between 1949 and 1956, when it was transformed into an ordinary prison, and over 400 of them died there.

No difference between victims

Asked if the government was making a difference between victims, given that its minister mostly attends commemorations for victims of communism, Medved said there was no difference.

Asked about the ban on the 'For the Homeland ready' Ustasha salute, Medved said that the task force for dealing with the past had given guidelines on how to treat certain insignia and that courts were acting accordingly.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 4 Aug, 2021 - On the eve of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, War Veterans Day and the central commemoration in Knin, state delegations laid wreaths at Zagreb's central Mirogoj cemetery on Wednesday.

The government delegation was led by Veterans' Minister Tomo Medved and a delegation of the Croatian Parliament was led by Deputy Speaker Željko Reiner.

The delegations laid wreaths at the Wall of Pain monument, the Central Cross in the Alley of Fallen Croatian Homeland War Defenders, the grave of Croatia's first president Franjo Tudjman, and at the common grave of unidentified victims of the 1991-95 war.

Wreaths were also laid by a delegation of President Zoran Milanović, led by his advisor on defence and national security Dragan Lozančić, as well as a delegation of the City of Zagreb, led by deputy mayor Luka Korlaet.

Shortly after that, a delegation of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by member of the SDP presidency and MEP Predrag Fred Matic, laid flowers and lit candles at the Wall of Pain monument and the Central Cross in the Alley of Fallen Croatian Homeland War Defenders.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - The 26th anniversary of Operation Storm will be organised in accordance with epidemiological measures and the central celebration will be held at the football stadium in Knin, while the ceremonial part will take place at the Knin Fortress, Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved said on Tuesday.

Based on guidance from the Croatian Public Health Institute on compliance with coronavirus restrictions, it has been assessed that the Knin stadium is the best place to organise a dignified commemoration of this important date in our recent history while respecting the epidemiological measures, Medved told a press conference after a meeting of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and relevant cabinet ministers with representatives of the association of retired Croatian army generals.

Before the commemoration, senior state officials will lay wreaths in front of the monument to the casualties and the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

Asked whether he expected representatives of the Serb minority to attend, after Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević of the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS) attended last year's ceremony, Medved said that an agreement had not yet been reached as to which cabinet members would be attending.

Reporters were also interested in hearing whether anyone from the Croatian Defence Force (HOS), the paramilitary arm of the right-wing Croatian Party of Rights,  would attend, Medved said that the position of the Council for Facing the Past was clear and that all components of the Croatian army and police, as well as associations of Homeland War veterans and casualties, would be invited to attend that important anniversary.

Miljavac: The problem is that young people are being recruited with HOS insignia

The head of the association of retired army generals, Pavao Miljavac, said that the association supports the idea for the commemoration to be held at the stadium due to the COVID-19 situation.

As for HOS's participation in the war, Miljavac said that its members need to be honoured as they went to defend Croatia without any ideology.

"The problem to me is that young people, 19 or 20 year olds,  are again being recruited with HOS insignia," said Miljavac and quoted the late president Franjo Tuđman as saying: "Had we continued down that path, Croatia would hardly have been recognised."

During the meeting, the participants discussed disagreements over the Civilian Casualties of the Homeland War Act.

Miljavac underscored that the minister assured them that the law would be implemented in such a way that it will minimise any possible abuse of the law.

"Strict coordination will be conducted between the Interior Ministry and Croatian defenders. We have a list of who was where - almost 95%, so that it will be strictly implemented, and there shouldn't be any abuse," he said.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page

ZAGREB, 4 June 2021 - War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved said on Friday the 5 August 1995 Operation Storm would be commemorated across the country but that Knin remained the central place for the Victory Day celebration.

He was commenting on President Zoran Milanović's proposal that this year Victory Day be commemorated in Glina instead of Knin.

Speaking to the press in Petrinja, Medved said 50 towns and municipalities had been financed every year since 2016 where Operation Storm was commemorated, notably in previously occupied areas, adding that the Croatian Army's symbolic victory near Glina had not been forgotten.

That's why, he said, the government and he as the minister of war veterans stand by their position that Operation Storm will continue to be commemorated across the country, but that Knin, as the central point of the victory in the 1991-95 Homeland War, remains the central location for the commemoration.

Medved said Knin was a "symbol of our victory" and that "ours as well as all future generations have the obligation to value that symbol of victory."

Asked "what if veterans and generals propose commemorating at another location," Medved said someone was evidently always looking for a motive for discussions.

He recalled everything the Andrej Plenković cabinet had done for veterans since 2016.

Medved said a big commemoration was held in Glina two years ago and that the commemoration in Knin had been a tradition since 1995. 

He also said that there were 150 mass execution sites and graves in Croatia, including 44 in Sisak-Moslavina County, such as Baćin, the second largest mass grave after Ovčara.

Post-earthquake reconstruction

As head of the task force dealing with the aftermath of last December's earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, he said damaged and unsafe buildings were being demolished and that reconstruction had been stepped up.

He said the Central State Reconstruction and Housing Office had already reconstructed 60 houses, that over 100 were undergoing reconstruction, that studies for the reconstruction of 3,000 would be ready this week, and that contracts for the reconstruction of over 6,000 houses would be signed by 15 July.

For more on politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated politics page.

ZAGREB, 1 April, 2021 - War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of the 29 December earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, has said that local communities could take over, through local hospitality service providers, the preparation of meals for people affected by the quake.

This past weekend the Croatian Red Cross (HCK) distributed 21,000 tonnes of food, 14,000 warm meals and 5,675 litres of water, Medved said at a government session on Thursday.

He said that local government units had been suggested to take over, if possible, through local providers of hospitality services, the preparation of meals, which would help local employers and enable employment of local workers.

Medved noted that the state would continue to pay for the meals as long as necessary.

He added that water in the entire area was safe for consumption and that the HCK and the Croatian Firefighters Association were working on pumping out and rehabilitating wells, with 63 wells having been pumped out and 42 rehabilitated.

The local water supply network is being reconstructed and a new network of arterial water mains is being built, he said.

"Requests have been submitted for the removal of 560 buildings and 6,447 requests have been submitted for renovation work," Medved said speaking about the situation three months since the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

So far, 1,805 housing containers and small houses have been installed and 2,141 have been connected to the power grid.

Five new mobile network stations have been installed to improve mobile signal strength.

By 28 March, 37,954 facilities were inspected, and of them 4,602 were found to be unfit to live in, 8,180 were found to need repair work and 25,000 were found to be fit to live in, Medved said.

For more about earhquake in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 4 March 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved said on Thursday that inspections of the remaining 2,000 buildings damaged in the December earthquake should be inspected in the next 10 days, which would bring initial quick inspections to a completion.

"So far a total of 35,772 buildings have been inspected, 4,227 that were labelled red (unfit for use), as well as 7,743 buildings labelled yellow (temporarily unfit for use)," Medved said during a cabinet meeting.

Medved heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of the 29 December earthquake, underscored that a list was being updated of hazardous buildings and that documents for their demolition were being prepared.

He added that so far 2,883 people from earthquake-affected areas in central Croatia had temporarily registered their residence in other towns throughout the country.

He also said that 2,897 applications for reconstruction had been submitted.

Medved advised  that 51 polling stations in earthquake-hit areas have experienced damage and that in agreement with the State Electoral Commission the task force will arrange for alternative localities for polling stations for the local election in May.

Medved added that temporary accommodation is still being organised and to date 1,594 housing containers or mobile homes have been set up.

ZAGREB, 27 February, 2021 - The head of the task force dealing with the aftermath of the 29 December earthquake said on Saturday there would be lunch for everyone as long as necessary, refuting reports that only those whose homes were labelled as unfit for use in Petrinja would receive lunch as of 1 March.

"What the needs are is in the remit of municipalities and towns, which deliver this information to the task force," Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved told Croatian Radio.

According to some newspapers today, a notice saying that no one whose home was not given the red label in Petrinja would get lunch as of 1 March stood on the tent in town where lunch is distributed for several days but then disappeared.

Medved refuted those reports. "From day one, Croatia has been supporting its citizens and will do so as long as necessary," he said, adding that the task force would ensure as much food as municipalities and towns requested.

As for the drop in meal requests, he said it was due to the nicer weather, adding that Glina requested 2,200 meals on 20 February and 1,700 today. "Canceling or reducing the number of the necessary meals is out of the question."

Medved went on to say that since the earthquake 1,520 housing containers or mobile homes had been set up near damages homes, with 1,867 connected to electricity, and that 50 new transformer stations had been built.

More then ten container settlements have been set up, the biggest one in Petrinja with 83 housing and six technical containers, he said. The preparation of such a settlement in Glina is under way, with 46 containers ready, he added.

Medved said 11,510 buildings were so damaged in the magnitude 6.2 tremor that they were unfit for use. He added that 1,696 applications had been filed for reconstruction.