ZAGREB, March 19, 2018 – Commenting on a call by some members of the HDZ party on the party leadership not to ratify the Istanbul Convention, HDZ secretary-general and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said that public and intra-party discussions on the matter had to be based on arguments, underlining that large and election-winning HDZ branches, such as those in Osijek-Baranja, Dubrovnik-Neretva and Split-Dalmatia counties, supported HDZ leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s policy.
Discussions about the ratification of the Istanbul Convention have to be based on arguments, Jandroković said while answering reporters’ questions in Grabrovnica, in Virovitica-Podravina County, where he attended an event commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of poet Petar Preradović.
“We have been discussing this issue publicly as well as within the party, and the most important thing about it is that we should use arguments in doing so. Everyone should say what they think is right, but one should refrain from using strong words or labelling or even slandering people,” Jandroković said.
He underlined that the Istanbul Convention protected women and children from violence, that that was its primary purpose and that it was not related to gender ideology.
The interpretive statement that is to accompany the law on the ratification of the convention will dismiss any possibility of accepting gender ideology, Jandroković added.
Asked what he thought of a proposal to let HDZ members vote on the convention in line with their conscience, Jandroković said the matter would be discussed some more in the party.
