"You fought hard and bloody in the recent war. You had no weapons, no equipment, no money. The Croatian state helped as much as it could, Croatia gave a lot, however, the Croatian Defense Council also gave a lot", said the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, on Saturday in Tomislavgrad at the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the "King Tomislav" Brigade.
In an appropriate address, President Milanović recalled how he awarded the Croatian Guards Brigades of the Croatian Defense Council, the Military Police Brigade and the "King Tomislav" Brigade with Nikola Šubić Zrinski decorations. "It is an exceptional award that shows how I, as the current Croatian president, see things. And I can see that your contribution is the same as the contribution of the Croatian Army, that you fought and died in the same way and that you are part of one combat corps and one idea and defense, one defense and one liberation", said the President.
"Without the Croatian Army, there would not be today's free Bosnia and Herzegovina, which we respect, which we do not reach for, but in which we demand equal rights for Croats as stipulated in the letter, and that letter is the Dayton Agreement. And he is not respected. The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve to have their rights respected", added President Milanović, pointing out that the Croatian brigades of the Croatian Defense Council were awarded for these great services. "If the war was fought on the basis of an agreement and a letter that we, our army and you in a neighboring country were legally at war, then it is not nice to hear complaints about some kind of joint criminal enterprise or that the Croatian army was an occupying army", He said.
Furthermore, in his address, he spoke about the treatment of members of the Croatian Defense Council and their rights. "Their rights have not been fully resolved, and I am sure that this is not because someone in the current Croatian executive has something against the Croatian Defense Council. This is something that the Croatian state will have to take on even after 30 years because these people are still alive and they are not satisfied", President Milanović pointed out.
He expressed his belief that Croatia will very soon be able, in a symbolic way, to help Croats to get their rights through amendments to the Election Law. "It is a symbolic thing and it is important. It is important to Croats who and how elects representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this means that this country is also important to them. Croatia could have done this several times in the last few years, but some other interests were taken into account, some calculations were made. But, now that the European elections are over, when the functions have been divided, now is the time - without fear of resenting someone - to say: this is Croatian and it will be won", explained the President.
He repeated that Croatia wants, as well as Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina, "for BiH to enter the European Union, but in a proper and dignified way, and not as a social case, because the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina were never a social case", and said that the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Zagreb and from him personally will never hear words or gestures that would instruct them to work against the country they belong to, which is Bosnia and Herzegovina. "But, that you will hear about your rights, you will hear that, and I will advocate for that all the time because it is a constitutional duty", he pointed out.
"The best symbol of your belonging and feelings was the moment, not only here, when after the playing and intonation of the Croatian national anthem - which you announced here as the national anthem of the Croatian people - you applauded. This shows a special kind of spiritual devotion and solidarity, so just clap after the Croatian national anthem. It is the anthem of the Croatian state, the Republic of Croatia, a modern state, open, tolerant, a state that remembers but does not forget what has been done. It is your song and the song of Croats all over the world", President Milanović concluded.
Before the ceremony, President Milanović and his delegation laid a wreath at the memorial to the fallen Croatian veterans. The delegation of President Milanović included the ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Bosnia and Herzegovina, M.Sc. sc. Ivan Sabolić, head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic Bartol Šimunić, special adviser to the President of the Republic for veterans of the Homeland War Marijan Mareković, consul advisor at the Consulate of the Republic of Croatia in Livno Božo Vodopija and military envoy of the Republic of Croatia in Bosnia and Herzegovina Davor Kiralj.
Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia
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