ZAGREB, April 16, 2018 – The parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday called on the government to nominate the next chief state prosecutor as soon as possible as the term of the incumbent Dinko Cvitan expires next week.
Under the law, the procedure for the appointment of a new state prosecutor must be initiated three months before the end of the incumbent’s term, SDP MP Peđa Grbin told a press conference, urging the government to nominate the candidate so that Parliament could complete the procedure in time.
Grbin stressed the importance of this appointment, saying that the state prosecutor prosecutes all perpetrators of criminal offences in the country, protects its economic interests and represents Croatia in arbitration proceedings.
Commenting on the performance of the present state prosecutor Dinko Cvitan, Grbin said that, despite some of his gaffes, such as one when he and the prime minister together commented on an ongoing legal case, he would not object to Cvitan staying on in this role for the next four years. Grbin said he hoped that some of the politicians from the ruling coalition who were currently being prosecuted would not influence the government in nominating the candidate.
Grbin expressed regret that the Croatian Parliament had declined the patronage of Victory in Europe Day and Victory Over Fascism Day ceremonies. “I don’t understand this at all because we wanted to join the European Union, and today the Croatian Parliament does not want to commemorate Victory in Europe Day which coincides with Victory Over Fascism Day in Croatia. This is a very negative message, especially in light of the government’s treatment of the Ustasha symbols,” Grbin said.
“Janroković’s hiding behind formal reasons is ridiculous,” Grbin said, recalling that Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković had said that, as long as he was the Speaker of Parliament, the Croatian Parliament would not sponsor V-E Day and Victory Over Fascism Day ceremonies. “That’s tragic!” Grbin concluded.
