The Croatian Prime Minister's foreign policy advisor, Mate Granić, stated today that the incidents in Split, Zagreb and Rijeka, related to a part of the radical right, are extremely damaging to the Republic of Croatia in the world, and that the Belgrade media and Aleksandar Vučić are the happiest.
"The radical left has been declaring everything Croatian as Ustasha for the last six months, no matter what it was about, and then you have reactions like this," Granić said, as reported by the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) on its website.
He assessed that the real goal is to transfer the current situation from Serbia to Croatia.
Granić said that Croatia has the best protection of minorities in Europe, but also that "minorities, especially Serbian ones, must take into account the place, time and content of events." "Unfortunately, there were mistakes in that," Granić added, as reported by HRT.
He stressed that Andrej Plenković's government is pursuing a "prudent and responsible policy." "It is quite certain that the only way to reduce tensions is to focus on real problems," Granić pointed out.
Minister of Justice Damir Habijan again commented today on incidents related to cultural events of the Serbian community in Croatia, in Split and Zagreb.
"Democracy, patriotism, the values of the Homeland War that we should respect are one thing, but political violence that has no color, is neither red nor blue, neither left nor right, is something completely different," the minister said.
Several dozen hooligans, mostly masked and dressed in black, prevented the opening of a cultural event for the Serbian national minority in Split on the evening of November 3. Some of them shouted the Ustasha salute "For the homeland, ready." Among them were several members of the Torcida fan group, and they told the crowd that they could not perform because this was the month in which the suffering of Vukovar was commemorated.
Organizers from the Serbian Cultural Society "Prosvjeta" immediately stopped the event, which was supposed to include young people from Novi Sad and other cities, and left the city premises so as not to endanger the safety of the performers and guests, including children. There was no physical violence or injuries in the event.
The incident in Split was strongly condemned by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Croatian President Zoran Milanović, who expressed their belief that the perpetrators will be quickly found and punished. Numerous politicians from both the government and the opposition joined in the condemnation.
The court in Split sentenced nine suspects in the attack to one month in pretrial detention for the criminal offense of violent behavior and violation of freedom of expression of nationality. The others are being sought.
On the other hand, the Torcida fan group held a protest on Saturday demanding the release of those arrested and expressed dissatisfaction with the "hypocrisy and lynching that has been taking place in the public and political space in recent days, which culminated in the detention of defenders."
In Zagreb, on Saturday, dozens of masked men gathered in front of the Serbian Cultural Center, ahead of the opening of the Serbian Culture Day, but they soon dispersed after special police arrived.
Those gathered chanted "Croatia, an independent state" and "Call, just call." Most wore black clothing, hoods on their heads, and masks over their faces.
Zagreb police announced that they had prevented "possible unlawful behavior" by men gathered near a space in downtown Zagreb where an exhibition was opening as part of the Days of Serbian Culture.
Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević condemned the celebration of the "Independent State of Croatia" and the atmosphere of threats bordering on political violence by a group of masked individuals.
"Zagreb and Croatia do not like each other by referring to the NDH, which passed racial laws and systematically killed people in concentration camps because they had different religions, nationalities or political views," Tomašević wrote on social media.
The president of the Independent Democratic Serbian Party, Milorad Pupovac, stated that the police will in future secure all events of the Serbian community in order to avoid incidents.
Some media outlets reported that police in Rijeka over the weekend found a group of about ten minors near a karate competition hall, allegedly targeting young karate athletes from Serbia. The police statement stressed that there was no verbal or physical attack.
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