PM: I'd like to send a clear message to all citizens that we will do everything to protect those who are in danger

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday the criminal proceedings against and recent arrest of Croatian Army officers in Orasje, BiH, had been prepared for a long time, that the timing of the arrest was significant. 

"I'd like to send a clear message to all citizens that we will do everything to protect those who are in danger," he said at the start of a cabinet session.
 
He said everything was being done to provide legal aid to the former members of the HVO Bosnian Croat forces arrested in Orasje earlier this week. "I ordered the ministries to gather all relevant information and provide legal, operational and consular assistance to the arrested Croatian citizens with whom we are in contact through the embassy."
 
Plenkovic said he was in contact with the president and the parliament speaker about this case and that he had notified the international community.
 
"A whole series of activities took place between relevant institutions of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) before the election of our government which, due to their complexity, are yet to be clarified. Our government will do its utmost to protect Croatia's legitimate interests, but also the human rights of all that could be in danger at this moment," Plenkovic said.
 
"Croatia will do everything, after the victory in the Homeland War, to support Croatian war veterans, stop attempts at historical revisionism and protect Croatia's national interests. This case won't stop us in the implementation of the political goals of the programmes with which we won the election."
 
He recalled his visit to BiH last week and the talks he held there, "followed, unfortunately, by an event which has, justifiably, made the Croatian public worried again."
 
He said a European future was the only path to stability and prosperity for BiH, a country of outstanding importance to Croatia, as well as "a pledge for the equality and survival of our fellow men, Bosnian Croats."
 
At today's session, the government adopted a decision to appoint new members to the Council for Cooperation with International Criminal Courts. Plenkovic, who chairs the council, said this was done in order to coordinate the activities of relevant institutions and establish facts regarding access to classified documents.
 
He said it was very important to avoid any institutional or political manipulation with these very important and complex issues. "We fully respect the independence of the judiciary. All war crimes should be prosecuted independently of the ethnicity of the perpetrators or the victims. However, I want to be clear, the political formulations being included in some acts of BiH's judicial bodies which contain the concept of a joint criminal enterprise in relation to Croatia are unacceptable."
 
In the tough times of the military aggression against BiH, the HVO ensured the protection of Croats in BiH and protected BiH's sovereignty, and Croatia's independence and territorial integrity were defended at battlefields not just in Croatia but throughout BiH, Plenkovic said, thanking all Croatian veterans, independently of which Croatian armed forces they had been part of.


Text and photo: Hina 

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