ZAGREB, August 18, 2019 – Being prompted by a growing interest of the public in the case of diplomat Elizabeta Mađarević and xenophobic views expressed on her Facebook profile, the Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday afternoon that diplomats accept the responsibility of representing their country abroad and are supposed to comply with Croatia’s official policies.
According to the index.hr web portal, Mađarević, who became the first secretary in Croatia’s embassy in Berlin in January 2019, has spread racist and xenophobic views on her Facebook profile and advocated anti-migrant and anti-LGBT attitudes.
Following this report made by the web portal, the Croatian ministry promptly responded on Friday evening when it “strongly distances itself from the views which its employee Elizabeta Mađarević, a staff member of the Croatian Embassy in Berlin since January 2019, has posted on social networks, as reported by index.hr”.
The ministry said last night that the diplomat had been recalled to Zagreb and that all the facts regarding the case would be established without delay.
On Saturday, the Mađarević case made top news in electronic media outlets.
A growing public interest in this case has prompted the ministry to state on Saturday afternoon that “diplomats are aware that all they do during their diplomatic mandate, both privately and in their free time, can be connected and is connected with their diplomatic job.”
The right to a different opinion and freedom of expression cannot mean that Croatia’s Constitution and other laws as well as international conventions can be disrespected, the ministry explains.
People who have chosen a diplomatic career accept the responsibility of representing their country and all institutions and people of their homeland abroad during their diplomatic mandate both officially and privately and they are supposed to adhere to the official policy of Croatia, the ministry noted.
The ministry distances itself from any statements or behaviour marked by xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance, made by anybody in the diplomatic service regardless of the rank of that person in the diplomatic hierarchy.
Under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, interfering into the internal affairs of the Receiving State, which includes comments of foreign diplomats on office holders in the Receiving State, is unacceptable, the ministry underscores.
“Diplomats are sent to missions abroad to strengthen the reputation of the Republic of Croatia and not to harm its image and do political damage.”
According to the index.hr web portal, Mađarević has criticised German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her migrant policy.
The ministry reiterated that the procedure is under way to establish all the relevant facts in connection with the case.
In the meantime, the diplomat has stated that her Facebook profile is hacked.
“My profile is hacked. I am shocked with contents cited by media. Being a professional, I fully share the policy of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. None of those media outlets have contacted me to ask me about that statement,” Mađarević told on Saturday afternoon the Fenix Magazin, which is published in Frankfurt by the Croatian expat community.
She went on to say that she is currently vacationing outside Croatia and is now thinking of filing lawsuits against those who are disseminating the untruth.
Mađarević does not believe that she is the target of those accusations but that they are directed against the Croatian government and the new Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Radman Grlić who was until recently Croatia’s Ambassador to Germany.
More news about relations between Croatia and Germany can be found in the Politics section.
