ZAGREB, January 17, 2019 – The government on Thursday relieved Assistant Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Nenad Križić of duty at his request, and Minister Tomo Medved told reporters Križić had committed an oversight with the best intentions.
Križić was relieved of duty after the Telegram web portal published text messages in which he suggested to veteran Mario Vrbanić, who asked him for help in finding a permanent home, to “break into a flat, and we will look the other way.”
Telegram published an article in which Vrbanić, who lives in Vukovar in a rented flat and has no fixed income, says he spoke with Križić countless times, and on several occasions with Medved too, asking them to help him find a permanent home.
Vrbanić claimed he received countless promises and that Križić told him he would talk to the state secretary at the central office for reconstruction and housing, Nikola Mažar, tell him “to look the other way a little” and let Vrbanić break into an empty flat.
The minister said Križić committed an oversight in corresponding with Vrbanić “with the best intentions” and that he tendered his resignation, which the government accepted.
A few days, when the scandal broke out, the ministry stated, among other things, that data provided from the registry of war veterans shows that Vrbanić was not granted war veteran status.
More news on the Ministry of Veteran’s Affairs can be found in the Politics section.
