ZAGREB, 21 April, 2021 - Commenting on a commemoration for the Jasenovac victims and his non-acceptance of President Zoran Milanović's invitation to pay tribute to them together on Thursday, PM Andrej Plenković has said the Public Health Institute has recommended that visiting delegations pay tribute successively.

Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Plenković clarified his recent statements on the topic.

"I was referring to my position on the president's office contacting the government and parliament to lay wreaths together. I made it clear that there is no reason to put on an act and that the government and the parliament will lay their wreaths on their own. There is no need to fake friendship, cooperation or unity considering what has been said and what has happened," Plenković said.

There will be no joint wreaths because "that is something that we benevolently wanted and attempted to do several times," he said, recalling that President Milanović laid a wreath in Vukovar on Vukovar Remembrance Day on his own.

Plenković added that the Jasenovac Memorial Area had scheduled visits by five different delegations, of the government, parliament, the office of the president, the victim peoples and foreign embassies, who were all given different time slots.

"We have gone there for years, and will go in the years to come. Not to spend time in somebody's company there but to pay tribute to the victims of the Ustasha camp of Jasenovac," said Plenković.

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ZAGREB, 20 April, 2021 - There will be no joint commemoration for victims of the World War II concentration camp Jasenovac on Thursday, representatives of the victims will lay wreaths separately from the state leadership while President Zoran Milanović will do so separately from the prime minister and parliament speaker.

President Milanović's spokesman Nikola Jelić confirmed to Hina that Milanović and his delegation will lay wreaths at the Stone Flower monument at Jasenovac at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Office of the President did not receive reply from gov't, parliament

"President Zoran Milanović and his delegation will pay tribute to the Jasenovac victims on 22 April, at 11 a.m., as agreed with the organiser, the Public Institution Jasenovac Memorial Area," Jelić said.

He added that the Office of the President had not received a reply from the government or the parliament to its invitation to pay tribute to the Jasenovac victims together.

"As early as last Friday the President of the Republic proposed to the Prime Minister and the Parliament Speaker that they all pay tribute to the Jasenovac victims together, but we have not received any reply," Jelić said.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said today that a government delegation would lay a wreath at Jasenovac at 9 a.m., again dismissing the possibility of paying tribute together with Milanović, noting that "there is no reason for us to put on an act."

"As regards any joint laying of wreaths or flowers, I said yesterday.... there will be no putting on an act," he told reporters during a visit to Rijeka.

Plenković: We were not the ones to start with insults

"The President of the Republic or his staff are now launching an initiative for the Parliament Speaker and myself to lay a wreath with him in Jasenovac. We were not the ones to start with the 'animal farm', we were not the ones to start with insults or a number of other things that are most inappropriate, so there is no reason to put on an act, let that be clear to everyone," said Plenković.

He added that the organiser of the commemoration was the Jasenovac Memorial Area, not the government or anyone else, and that this year's commemoration would be held in line with epidemiological restrictions.

The government's delegation will arrive at 9 a.m. and the parliament's delegation at 10 a.m., he said.

"This has nothing to do with representatives of the victim ethnic groups. We met with them last week, we hold meetings regularly, we respect the victims and went to Jasenovac in the past four years as well. We will go this year again, next year, in 2023, 2024. This has to do with the protocol, but putting on an act is out of the question," he said.

Reporters asked Plenković if he should ignore his relationship with Milanović, regardless of how bad it may be, in situations such as commemorations, to which he said: "No, there's no need for that. In this case it is not envisaged and is out of the question."

Representatives of Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascists to form separate delegation

The Serb National Council (SNV) said earlier in the day that representatives of ethnic groups that were victims of the Ustasha terror would have a separate, four-member delegation in Jasenovac.

SNV president Milorad Pupovac, the leader of the Coordinating Committee of the Jewish Communities of Croatia, Ognjen Kraus, Roma association "Kali Sara" representative Veljko Kajtazi, and the leader of the SABA association of antifascist fighters and antifascists, Franjo Habulin, will lay a joint wreath at the Stone Flower monument at noon on Thursday.

Kraus confirmed to Hina that this decision was made yesterday, after it became evident that there would be no joint delegation comprising top state officials.

"After we realised that there would be separate delegations, we decided on a separate delegation as well. As you can see, a single delegation does not depend on us. We cannot support the use of commemorations for political one-upmanship," said Kraus.

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April 17, 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Saturday blasted an alleged document on changing the Balkan borders, saying he hoped it did not come from Slovenia.

In the past few days, the public in the region has been focusing on an alleged non-paper on changing the borders of the Balkan states and reorganizing them along ethnic lines. The media say the authors are Slovenia's highest officials, which they have denied.

"Regarding a peaceful break-up in Bosnia and Herzegovina - that's such a flippant and dangerous topic that it shouldn't be put even in a non-paper, regardless of who did that," Milanović told the press.

"Any peaceful break-up, Croatia all the way to the Drina river, Belgrade to the Una river - that's out of the question. And in that sense, that paper is a big shit," Milanović said.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor told the press on Friday that he was committed to BiH's integrity, that he was against changing the borders in the Balkans, and that he was pushing for stepping up the inclusion of all states in the region into the EU.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša denied sending Brussels any non-paper on that. Media close to him say such accusations are an attempt by the Slovenian opposition to compromise him before Slovenia takes over the EU presidency in July.

Milanović said he hoped the unofficial diplomatic document did not come from Ljubljana because "objectively, I respect them a lot and don't think they are that thick."

"Whether this is coming from (Janša) or not, I don't know, but I would tell the author of that to keep their fingers off Bosnia and Herzegovina," he added.

Speaking of Janša, Milanović said, "he can be an enfant terrible and something else along with that. This Janša was actually, I won't say, benevolent towards Croatia, but you could see that behind him, there was some support that was continuous in Slovenian politics, and that's why he sometimes surprised me with some of his constructive views."

Milanović dismissed the possibility of BiH breaking up and asked that Croats there were given back the fundamental constitutional rights stemming from the Dayton peace agreement, rights he said: "have been denied to them, even stolen from them."

He said, "it's a fact that nothing will come of BiH's break-up," adding that BiH Presidency chairman Milorad Dodik would not like that but that he believed Dodik too was aware of that.

Milanović said he did not believe that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić would back the idea of Kosovo and Albania uniting.

The Slovenian web portal Necenzurirano has run the content of the non-paper, written in English and without header or signature, and it was carried by many other media in Slovenia, underlining that it was not confirmed either by the European Council or the European Commission.

The unofficial diplomatic document, entitled "Western Balkans - A Way Forward," concerns the division of BiH, the annexation of its Serb entity to Serbia, and the unification of Kosovo and Albania, the web portal said.

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ZAGREB, 8 April, 2021 (Hina) - President Zoran Milanović on Thursday extended greetings on International Romani Day, saying that equality must not be a constitutional abstraction.

Today, in independent Croatia, the Roma have their state, a state which wants them as equal fellow citizens, but also a state which, aware of the unique fate and living conditions of the Roma, besides formally recognising their minority status, must also assume special responsibility for improving their living conditions, the president said in his message.

The problems which have always plagued the Roma minority have not disappeared, somewhere they have been alleviated, but somewhere they are still very evident. What can help the most in solving them is patient and organised common work, he said.

The education of Roma children and youth, from kindergarten to university, is closely related to employment, housing, healthcare and access to culture, Milanović said.

We can clearly gauge equality by the number of Roma children who attend school and university, by the social and municipal standard of Roma families, and by the possibilities of employing Roma in various segments of social and economic life, he added.

The cultural promotion and scientific affirmation of the Roma language as well as the political affirmation at every level are the components of the same mission and goal. That's why observing International Romani Day in Croatia is culturally and politically important for the entire Croatian society, and not just symbolically, the president said.

Milanović's advisor on human rights and civil society Melita Mulić was his envoy at a ceremony held at the Zagreb National and University Library to mark International Romani Day.

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ZAGREB, 7 April, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday that people in charge of the social care system should admit mistakes and take the responsibility for the death of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl caused by domestic violence, adding that there should be a separate government department for social care.

"Yet another tragedy, the death of a girl from Nova Gradiška, caused by domestic violence, has again raised the issue of the efficiency and quality of the social care system in Croatia, in particular care for children," Milanović wrote on Facebook.

He said that this case, for which full responsibility is yet to be established, requires a "serious, systematic and immediate intervention" in the regulation governing social care for those most vulnerable, the children.

"It is questionable whether the present system, which is neglected, can achieve that. The fusion of government departments to give an impression of efficiency has brought about even greater negligence and an absence of supervision from the political, ministerial level," the President said.

He expressed hope that the people in charge of the social care system would have the strength to admit mistakes and take the responsibility, adding that this would be a clear signal that they recognised the problem and wanted to deal with it.

He said that the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy should finally start listening to and respecting the opinions and advice of educated and experienced people in caring for the wellbeing of children. The laws and regulations that will be enacted in the future must give priority to children's safety, Milanović said.

He concluded by saying that he was deeply convinced that social care should be a department unto itself rather than integrated into a "non-functioning mega-ministry" as was now the case.

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ZAGREB, 31 March (Hina) - The State Judicial Council (DSV) on Wednesday issued a new public call for applications for the post of Supreme Court President.

All interested candidates are required to submit their applications over the next 30 days, DSV president Darko Milković said.

President Zoran Milanović informed the DSV in a letter last week that he would not propose any of the candidates from the previous call and called for the repetition of the procedure. He said he had no intention of influencing the procedure but wanted to help improve the functioning of the judicial branch of government and ensure the functioning of the State Electoral Commission after the expiry of the term of the current Supreme Court President.

The incumbent Supreme Court President Đuro Sessa, whose term expires in July, and attorneys-at-law Šime Savić and Lidija Horvat responded to the first public call. Horvat has in the meantime withdrawn her application.

Insisting on his constitutional right to propose a candidate, Milanović proposed Professor Zlata Đurđević as his candidate for Supreme Court President, but Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković refused to include his proposal on Parliament's agenda, saying that it was unlawful. Milanović claimed that lawmakers would have to vote on his candidate anyway.

Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled that the President of the Republic can only propose a candidate who has responded to a public call issued by the DSV. The court said that this does not restrict the constitutional right of the President of the Republic to propose his candidate for Supreme Court President.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Đurđević, although a criminal law professor, had agreed to be part of an unlawful procedure and could therefore not lead the highest judicial authority in the country. Parliamentary right-wing opposition parties also announced that they would not support Đurđević.

Đurđević confirmed last Thursday that she would not give up on her candidacy and would respond to a new DSV call. Sessa has announced that he will not run for another term because he does not have the President's support.

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ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021- President Zoran Milanović, acting in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces,  on Tuesday decorated participants in 1991's Operation Plitvice, describing them as heroes to whom Croatians owe lasting gratitude.

Milanović presented the decorations at a formal reception in his office, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the operation and in memory of Josip Jović, the first Croatian police officer killed in the 1991-95 Homeland War. 

Jović, 22, was killed and nine other police officers were wounded in a police operation on 31 March 1991 after Serb insurgents occupied the Plitvice Lakes National Park and blocked the D1 state road that connects the country's north and south. Jović was a member of the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit.

Addressing the participants in the operation, Milanović said that as the Commander in Chief he would pursue a non-partisan policy.

"A policy that does not recognise either of the two big parties or third parties, a policy that recognises only our interests. And for Croatia and us Croatians to be able to define and realise those interests, the state had to be defended and created first. Without you, none of that would have been possible. May the memory of Josip Jović live, to you we owe our gratitude. Long live Croatia!" Milanović said in his address.

In a statement to reporters after the reception, Milanović noted that no government representative attended the event.

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ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that with his posts on social networks, President Zoran Milanović "has stepped out of the framework of normal conduct for a president," adding that his hate speech has "practically drawn a target on MP Milorad Pupovac."

Milanović wrote on his Facebook profile on Monday that "before he runs away to Brussels," Plenković would have to render his accounts, with Plenković saying that the President was continuing his ranting and insults.

"These are threats in fact, accusations of political corruption, robbery, criminal conspiracy. I will say once again, he has entirely stepped out of the framework of normal conduct for a president," Plenković told a press conference during a visit to Osijek-Baranja County.

That is not just his style or his being rude, as the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Peđa Grbin tried to downplay, said Plenković who considers that Milanović has resorted to that because he was legally and politically badly defeated in the incorrect procedure which he, without any cause, began with the recommendation of the president of the Supreme Court.

Plenković said that the President's spokesman Nikola Jelić was flustered and warned that he was attacking Hina reporters. Jelić publicly called out Hina reporter Sandra Bartolović on his Twitter account because of her sharp private comments regarding Milanović's behaviour and said that Plenković had referred to anyone who did not think like him as being the "dregs of social networks."

Milanović's posts are the "dregs of social networks"

"That is frightening and striking. I will now explain that to his flustered spokesman who attacks Hina reporters when I said "dregs of social networks," because I see that he and his partners in Bridge do not understand what that means. For me that is hate that is developing and damaging, poisoning society," said Plenković.

"Milanović's statements are the dregs of social networks. What he is writing is hate speech and I will be absolutely explicit - he has practically drawn a  target on MP Pupovac, and Pupovac confirmed that this morning on the radio," underscored Plenković.

He once again called out SDP's candidate for Zagreb mayor Joško Klisović and Milanović's chief-of-staff Orsat Miljenić to stop hiding and say if  they agree with Milanović's "drawing a target on the leader of the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serbian Party)."

"Do we all think that we need to wake up from what he is doing or will we just say 'he's like that.' That cannot be. He can rant on as he likes but he will come across sharp responses from us all who have sound reason," said Plenković.

Asked whether he was referring to hate speech in the legal sense, Plenković answered affirmatively. "What is this, what does this look like? We need to wake up. We have become a little too tolerant," he said and called on reporters and editors to "watch and see who is saying what and make it clear who is who."

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ZAGREB, 30 March, 2021 - MP Milorad Pupovac has accused President Zoran Milanović of dangerously spreading cultural racism, to which Milanović responded on Monday by saying that Pupovac was denouncing Croatia to Sarajevo and Belgrade media but kept quiet when it came to denouncing corruption in Croatia.

"President Milanović is belittling almost everyone who disagrees with him, from women, minority representatives, representatives of the gay population, representatives of the academic community, to neighbouring peoples and states," Pupovac told the radiosarajevo.ba web portal.

He said he was especially concerned about Milanović's "cultural racism speech which can be felt in communication towards Bosnia and Herzegovina (...) and Serbia."

"That's very, very dangerous," said the Serb minority MP and president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party, which is part of the ruling coalition. "We are peoples and states that still haven't healed the horrors of war we went through."

"The rhetoric of cultural racism towards peoples who are east of Croatia, and in that sense religiously, culturally or partly culturally different from the Croatian people or the Croatian state, is an act of verbal insulting and verbal humiliation."

That is not good for Croatia and its democracy, which is fragile, but it can't ben good for the Croats living in BiH or Serbia either, Pupovac said.

"And I'm quite sure it can't be good for the president either. Because if this continues, it won't reverberate only in Croatia and across the borders of the neighbouring states which are mentioned in his speeches with derogatory and frequently racist language, it will certainly spread wider."

Milanović urges Pupovac to do something for Croatia

Milanović responded in a Facebook post, writing that Pupovac "is raising his price on the international market again."

"As his currency loses value at home, he is spreading his constitutional concern for Croatia in the region via Sarajevo media. It's not news that, if necessary, he bargains for himself internationally as well."

Milanović said Pupovac was denouncing Croatia for Sarajevo media today and would probably do so for Belgrade media tomorrow.

He asked Pupovac when he intended "to denounce the corrupt work of the government you sit in" and urged him to "do something for your country" on that front.

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ZAGREB, 29 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday said that the President had stepped out of his constitutional authority, describing Zoran Milanović's statements in the context of the selection of the head of the Supreme Court as unacceptable political barbarity.

Plenković underscored that "the salvo of insults towards everyone" was not normal. "The media and society are almost getting used to this as if it were something normal and as if it were some sort of trading shots, a fierce reaction, a continuation of something - it isn't."

"This is political barbarity below the dignity of communication, showing spite over procedures and then using the methodology of insulting everyone who thinks differently. And that is unacceptable," Plenković told reporters.

Plenkovič believes that Milanović needs to apologise to MP Milorad Pupovac and the media.

Responding to a question, he did not reject the possibility of impeaching the President, but underscored that in the current situation it would be difficult to obtain the required two-thirds majority support for that in the parliament.

"If this continues, we can talk about that too," he said, warning though of the Bridge party's stance, which he said had helped Milanović to be elected president.

"They have already said that they are against (impeachment)", underscored Plenković.

Milanović's attack against Pupovac shameless

Referring to Milanović's statements, Plenković said that it would be particularly bad for society and the political scene if part of the public approved of such behaviour. "That would be disastrous," he said.

He hopes there are not too many like that and that they are in fact the filth of social networks which, he warned, is the basis for hate speech and then physical attacks against those being insulted.

"This primarily refers to Milorad Pupovac who was attacked as president of the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party) and long-standing MP in such a shameless way by the President and I believe that he should apologise to him and the pubic for his words," said Plenković.

Plenković wonders why the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Peđa Grbin, the SDP's candidate for Zagreb mayor Joško Klisović and the President's chief-of-staff Orsat Miljenić haven't reacted.

"Do they approve of these barbaric and vulgar attacks on MP Pupovac?" asked Plenković. 

The President is also attacking the media and that too requires an apology, he said.

Plenković also referred to, as he said, Milanović's personally calling lawmakers regarding the selection of the head of the Supreme Court. 

That same parliament, Plenković underscored, in which that same president did not want to come as an invited guest when the parliament was inaugurated.

"That is a new dimension in how the president sees his role and duties," claimed Plenković, saying that the president's constitutional duty is to recommend a candidate for Supreme Court president. "It is not his constitutional duty to call people from the parliamentary majority or others and turn them into his assets. That is not the president's duty," said Plenković.

Plenković also believes that Milanović overstepped his constitutional authority when he 'expressis verbis' articulated that his political activism is against the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) as a political party.

We could also say that someone is disgusting

Plenković also touched on Milanović's description of Plenković as ugly, Pupovac as dirty and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković as evil.

"We could also say that someone is disgusting," he said in Italian, adding that he will not lower himself to that level but will "stand in defence of other colleagues, in defence of reporters and the freedom of the media," and finally refute the "incorrect argument" that the selection of the head of the Supreme Court is equal to a reform in the judiciary.

That is not the same, underscored Plenković and added that reform of the judiciary is up to the government and parliament by amending legislation, digitising the judiciary and reducing the number of cases, providing a precise action plan for judges as to how many cases and in what timeframe they need to be resolved for them to receive positive performance reports.

"There is no hiding here behind some sort desire to reform the judiciary. That is not the case here. This is an effort to sell a political pamphlet to the public. However, there are enough of us who can see very well, hear and comprehend, and we know how to position ourselves in such a situation," he added.

Plenković reiterated that his HDZ will not support Zlata Đurđević's nomination for Supreme Court president because she allowed herself to be a candidate in a procedure which the Constitutional Court considers was not in accordance with the law and as such it was not in accordance with the Constitution.

"What you are seeing now is exclusively and solely the President's fault. It is not the fault of the government or parliament and the public has to hear that clearly and understand. Everything else is just a salvo, a method that is based on spite and insults. That is not our political style and we will not agree to it," he concluded.

Commenting on the initiative by HDZ member Vladimir Šeks to have Milanović impeached, Plenković said that Šeks was speaking on his own behalf.

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