ZAGREB, 10 April 2022 - The Croatian War Veterans Ministry on Sunday distanced itself from its envoy Matko Raos' statement, made at an event marking the 31st anniversary of a Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) unit in Split, when he said that "today's Croatia would not exist if there had not been for 10 April 1941."

On 10 April 1941 the establishment of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was proclaimed.

"We emphasise that Mr Raos gave the statement on his behalf and not on behalf of the Ministry and we distance ourselves from it," the ministry said, noting that Raos had not been scheduled to speak at the event.

Earlier on Sunday, during a ceremony at which wreaths were laid at a memorial to members of the HOS 9th Battalion "Rafael vitez Boban" killed in the 1991-95 Homeland War, Raos said: "You have to know, if it had not been for 10 April 1941, today's Croatia would not exist."

The War Veterans Ministry said Raos' address at the event had not been envisaged in the first place, and that he was supposed to just lay a wreath and light a candle.

The ministry's response ensued after earlier today the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) condemned Raos' statement and called on the government and the ministry to distance themselves from it.

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ZAGREB, 27 Aug 2021 - The government has allocated 19.4 million kuna (€2.6 million) for a public works programme for the removal of consequences of the December 2020 quakes in Sisak-Moslavina County, whereby 520 people will be employed.

Labour Minister Josip Aladrović presented the programme in Sisak on Friday, noting that these public works would contribute to the positive trends on the labour market and economic recovery.

"This is one of the measures which the government and the ministry have been implementing since the (December 2020) earthquakes. Apart from this activity, the government has disbursed 300 million kuna to 3,000 employers in this area for grants to 15,000 employees," Aladrović said.

War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of last year's earthquakes in the Banovina area of central Croatia, said employment in public works would contribute to the economic revitalisation of the area.

The measure is part of a set of measures and programmes the government has been implementing in cooperation with the county and local authorities, he said.

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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.

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ZAGREB, 21 May 2021 - Five people, whose remains were unearthed in Croatia's Danube region after they had gone missing in the 1991-1995 Homeland War, were identified in an Osijek hospital's forensic department on Friday.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, accompanied by War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved, attended the final identification and after that he told the press the government was committed to shedding light on the fate of all the war victims.

Plenković said that the issue of missing victims was raised on every occasion and at every formal and informal meeting with Serbia's representatives.

Minister Medved said that Serbia still made no contribution to efforts to find the victims who went missing in the war.

After today' identification, the number on the list of missing people has fallen to 1,864. Of them, 401 are presumed to be dead and the fate of the remaining 1,463 victims is still unknown.

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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.

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