September the 1st, 2023 – This week in Croatian politics, Milanovic and Plenkovic have continued their war of words, the elections were touched on, and the saga goes on for the Croatian detainees in Greece.
President Zoran Milanovic discusses everything from th elections to the Croatian detainees in Greece, oh and Yugoslavia…
Zoran Milanovic took part in the swearing-in ceremony of the 39th generation of conscript soldiers undergoing voluntary military training in Požega this past week, Index vijesti/news reports.
He touched on a multitude of topics affecting Croatian politics this past week, which included speaking about the upcoming elections. He says he hopes to stick to the norm of having new elections every four years. When it came to the idea of holding both parliamentary and European parliamentary elections on the same day, he simply said: “God forbid, no way.”
Of course, it wasn’t long before he turned his attention to the ongoing situation with the group of detained Croatian hooligans currently still being held in Greece. To briefly recall, the group were arrested after violence broke out and a Greek AEK fan tragically died after being stabbed by an alleged Dinamo Zagreb fan in the Greek capital. The incident saw the schedule match between AEK and Dinamo Zagreb pushed back.
“You can’t keep doing this every time, you keep claiming that I’m doing harm to Croatia’s reputation, that I’m harming Croats in Greece. All of that is incorrect, it’s senseless. Give me evidence of me doing that. What am I doing harm with? In what way am I causing damage? HDZ and Plenkovic are the ones continually cretinising the state, not to mention killing people’s sense for humour,” he continued.
“Even Aristotle wouldn’t have been able to imagine all this in a better way. Gordan Grlic Radman’s brain can’t even manage to remain consistent for two seconds in a row. Going on about me having angered the Greek judges… well, this Greek thing is just great.”
He then began discussing the period on the table for the Croatian hooligans, which is eighteen months: “This EU member state has custody… that’s some bullshit. Eighteen months for your run of the mill, ordinary hooligans!? What must happen in those eighteen months, comrades? Your basic military service in Yugoslavia didn’t even last for eighteen months!” he said, before continuing:
“Come on, try to enact such a law in Croatia and justify it with the fight against hooligans. They’re scumbags that need to be suppressed. Take a walk around Zagreb, you’ll see tonnes of graffiti that shamelessly destroys other people’s property. Do people go to prison for doing that?” asked Milanovic, adding that football hooligans harm themselves first and foremost.
Plenkovic has been more than clear when it comes to his own views
Milanovic had previously rather oddly referred to the Croatian hooligans currently detained in Greece as “prisoners of war”, adding that they’re “being raped and beaten in different Greek prisons” and that the Greeks are “treating them as if they were mere weeds”. Plenkovic believes making such controversial statements does nothing for Croatian politics on the international stage, nor does it help those currently being held in Greece, regardless of what they’ve allegedly done. He has flatly denied any ideas of them being “prisoners of war” and that this group of hooligans “intentionally went to Greece fully aware of what they were about to engage in”, and what they intended to engage in was an illegal act.
Justice Minister Ivan Malenica says the investigation is still ongoing in Greece
It seems like every person in Croatian politics has an opinion on the situation with the hooligans, but Justice Minister Ivan Malenica has simply stated that the investigation is still ongoing.
Greek police are still investigating who killed a 29-year-old Greek AEK fan during hooliganism in Athens around three weeks ago. 102 members of the Bad Blue Boys (Dinamo Zagreb hooligans) are still in remand prisons across Greece awaiting the outcome of the situation. Prime Minister Plenkovic held a meeting with his Greek counterpart Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a week ago, during which he requested that the group be given a fair trial and that those found guilty of misdemeanors only should be allowed to return home to Croatia.
Here is what the Minister of Justice said had to say:
“Actually, we’re still at the stage of it being investigated. The Greek authorities first must determine which criminal or misdemeanor offences are involved in this case, if they exist. It’s still too early to talk about their transfer back to Croatia, because the investigation into precisely what occurred is still ongoing.
What I would like to point out is that the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is doing its job very well. They’re providing support for the group of Croatian citizens who are currently being held in Greek prisons and are ensuring they have everything they need. We’re taking good car of that part and waiting for the end of the investigation to see what’s going to happen next,” said Minister of Justice and Administration Ivan Malenica, according to HRT.
The Croatian Government set up four new air ambulance locations
Much of Croatia’s terrain is rugged and dangerous. Unfortunately, many serious accidents occur on very difficult and sometimes almost inaccessible ground.
Owing to all of the above and more, the Croatian Health Ministry recently gave its consent for the state budget to carry the obligation of expenses in the period from 2024 to 2030 for the conclusion of a contract for the public procurement of air ambulances in Croatia. Helicopter emergency medical services will therefore be established at four new locations.
As Index writes, the Croatian Government undertook the task of establishing an adequate system of helicopter-provided emergency medical services. Through the instrument for technical support of the main administration of the European Commission (EC) for the support of structural reforms, it succeeded in obtaining and realising technical assistance and programming partial financing of this project from EU funds, noted Minister of Health Vili Beroš.
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The recently clarified law on maritime property has been fruitful
The public had awaited the proper and final clarification of the previously confusing Croatian Law on Maritime Property (sometimes referred to as maritime domain). That clarification finally came not so long ago, much to the relief of those in Croatian politics and for members of the general public. Now comes the removal of properties and other constructed facilities built where they shouldn’t have been.
The State Secretary in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Josip Bilaver, announced that usurpers of maritime property in Croatia now have a relatively tight period of a mere eighteen months to entirely remove previously constructed facilities of all kinds from areas defined as maritime property by the new and much clearer law.
“This new law (on maritime property and seaports) provides that within eighteen months from its adoption, local self-government units must clearly define, catalogue, and report to the Port Authority and the construction inspection every individual usurping the maritime property law in Croatia. Then we will know exactly what these violations are, how many such objects there are, who built them and where, and within eighteen, months they must be removed from what is classed as maritime property.”
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