SDP to Try to Establish Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Lozančić Case?

The case of the dismissal of the head of the Croatian Intelligence Agency continues to occupy the politiicians.

“When Tomislav Karamarko becomes the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Interior Affairs and National Security, then he will be able to decide what the Committee will do in the Lozančić case”, said one of the opposition members of the committee reacting to recent statements by the HDZ president which indicate that he wants the case of the dismissal of the Security Intelligence Agency Director (SOA) Dragan Lozančić to be concluded before becoming a subject of debate in parliamentary committees, reports Jutarnji List on February 15, 2016.

Karamarko told reporters that Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković would make his decision about the dismissal this week, that there is no need for debate in Parliament, and that time will show how Lozančić broke the law. Since it is not very common for a deputy prime minister to explain what a prime minister will do, such statements can be considered as pressure on Orešković to stop delaying Lozančić’s dismissal, which was initiated by the decision made by President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.

Ranko Ostojić (SDP), the newly-elected chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Interior Affairs and National Security, did not want to comment on the situation. “Those who make the decision and sign his dismissal may ask for our opinion, but they do not have to do that”, said Ostojić. At this point, it is not known whether the prime minister will ask the Committee for its opinion.

However, it is completely clear that the fate of the SOA chief will reflect the relations at the very top of government, within the rectangle of power which includes the president, the prime minister, and important members of the ruling coalition, HDZ and MOST. Some of them are in this case actually closer to the opposition than their coalition partners. The president’s decision on Lozančić’s dismissal has full support of HDZ president and First Deputy Prime Minister Karamarko. Both sides agree that there is no need to open a parliamentary debate about it. Insiders claim that Karamarko sees this as a chance to put secret services under his full control.

Prime Minister Oreškovic and MOST are seemingly of a different opinion. MOST leader Božo Petrov has already stated that he sees no reason for Lozančić’s dismissal. His party wants the SOA director to testify in front of the parliamentary committee. In this matter, MOST is much closer to SDP and the opposition than to its partners in government. Similarly, Prime Minister Orešković has already shown that he would not rush with his decision whether to agree to Lozančić’s dismissal. One of the reasons for his delay in making the decision is connected with the way the president humiliated the prime minister when she signed the dismissal without prior agreement with him. “He was completely shocked. He could not believe she did it”, says an insider from the government.

However, it seems that the opening of the Lozančić case in the parliament will not be avoided, since there are two possible options which the opposition can use to force the debate. It is expected that quite soon the Committee will receive a regular report on SOA activities, which can be used to open the debate on the dismissal. Another possibility is for the opposition to formally request the establishment of a special commission of inquiry, which could pass if it were to be supported by MOST. “The president and Karamarko are trying to prevent the public from knowing the real reasons why they want Lozančić to be dismissed, but they will fail”, said one high-ranking opposition member who has allegedly already had productive contacts with MOST representatives.

 

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