In Zagreb, Zadar and Split the anti-abortion protests “Walk for life, family and Croatia” were organised by activists, under the slogan “We need to protect the most endangered minority in Croatia – the unborn children”.
In Zagreb, the protest started on Zrinjevac Square, where the police estimate around 5000 people gathered to walk through the city center, all the way to Saint Mark’s square, where both the government and the parliament buildings are located. Unofficial estimates of the number of people partaking in the protest are much higher than the police estimate.
A stage was set up at Saint Mark’s square, and Marko Perković Thompson, a highly controversial Croatian singer, performed some of his greatest hits. During the protest walk itself, the protesters also sang his songs and other songs which could be described as patriotic, as well as a number of spiritual and religious pieces of music.
At the very beginning of the protest walk, things were interrupted by a group of anti-protesters, who sat on the road in Praška street, where the main protest group was supposed to pass. They demanded the protection of a woman’s right to choose and were swiftly removed by the police and charged with disorderly conduct.
So far, no estimates on the number of people who joined the protests in Zadar and Split have been published, but the numbers are also in the thousands. In Zadar, a small group of pro-choice anti-protesters were also making their statements, and they report that they were insulted by the passing anti-abortion activists and ordinary citizens who expressed their opinions on their protest.
One of the members of the organising board of the anti-abortion protests, Miro Vuković, said that they want to make a statement that life starts at the moment of the conception, that every life is equally worthy and that their aim is to support every mother, father and family in accepting life as a huge gift.
