CROATIA: President Milanovic – You Are Fired! An Open Letter To The President Of Croatia

President Zoran Milanovic,

Were I confident that this letter would not end up in a wastepaper basket in your office then this letter would not be an Open Letter, but sadly my confidence is justifiably shaky. Were the matters I will address in this letter not matters that are of utmost importance for Croatia and its people in the 21^st century then this letter would not be written.

I am writing to you to add to the public awareness that you, as President, must do everything in your power to ensure that the values, the victims and the meaning for Croatia and its people of the 1990’s Homeland War receive the full respect they deserve. After all, that is one of the most important roles of the President of the Republic of Croatia under its Constitution! When you do not do what you should be doing then you have no place to sit in the Office of the President; the highest office in the land representing Croatia and all it stands for, so to speak.

Article 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia includes the clause that says: “The President of the Republic of Croatia shall be responsible for the defence of the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia.”  Adding from the Historical Foundations of the Republic of Croatia in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia that  Croatia’s foundations lie “in the new Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (1990) and the victory of the Croatian nation and Croatia’s defenders in the just, legitimate and defensive war of liberation, the Homeland War (1991-1995), wherein the Croatian nation demonstrated its resolve and readiness to establish and preserve the Republic of Croatia as an independent and autonomous, sovereign and democratic state,” it follows that the President of the Republic of Croatia must act and show morally, politically and in every way adherence to and promotion of the values of the Homeland War and must not compromise them in any way for, such compromise jeopardises independence. Otherwise, if the president does not act in accordance with set principles and expectations, he or she has no place sitting in that office and if the appropriate authorities do nothing to impeach him or her from the Office when he or she has breached his or her duties as President then the people must act towards that goal. After all, the people directly elect their President in Croatia!

The Homeland War and those who lost their lives so that Croatia may be free and independent, so that it can carve its own future in a democracy, far removed from communist Yugoslavia heritage, cannot and must not be bullied, ridiculed, insulted, belittled, threatened or intimidated! And you do and have done that exactly that! Accordingly, you have in mine and many other eyes committed treason; betrayed the modern Croatian nation!

It is, of course, your latest public statements at Jasenovac on 22 April 2020 when you, regarding the plaque dedicated to 11 Croatian Homeland War of Independence defenders from HOS unit, which fought under the slogan “For Homeland Ready”, said that “the plaque should be moved to somewhere else, thrown away…it has no relevance to the Homeland War… Those who fought in 1991, thought they were fighting under the salute For Homeland Ready (Za dom spemni), did not fight only for the Croatian state but for the restoration of the 1941 Croatian state,”  shined a spotlight on your incompetence and your despise for the Croatian state, you are supposed to protect and uphold.

These statements of yours unequivocally demonstrate that you disregard and betray purposefully the fact that almost 94% of Croatian voters (among which you evidently were not) voted in May 1991 for independence and that this fact and national resolve gave the mandate and legitimacy to those fighters and defenders who fought under whatever slogan and salute reinforced their loyalty and self-sacrifice to independence they were defending, fighting for. This May 1991 referendum had nothing to do with NDH and everything to do with the long-standing oppression at the hands of the Yugoslav communist regime.

You, President, should be ashamed of yourself and the Croatian people must have no other alternative but to remove you from the position they recently elected you for! I am quite certain you will not willingly resign from it all by your own self.

Your denial of the legitimacy Croatia’s Homeland War defenders, including those fighting under the slogan “For Homeland Ready” has turned into deception and lies — lies to a nation of frightened people. For it has, due to statements like yours, become increasingly scary to express pride in the independence of Croatia and its war veterans, leading to a generalised fear of being labelled as some unwanted extremist because of one’s expressed pursuit of joy and pride for what Croatia had achieved via its war of defence against Serb-led aggression!

Why do you need to prostitute the way you do the outcome of the 1991 vote for independence by almost 94% of Croatian voters? What drives you, President Milanovic?  Hatred for the independence of Croatia? Contempt for the independence of Croatia? What!?

You were a professed Communist before you saw possibilities for personal advancement within the League of Communists of Croatia Party/ Social Democratic Party that would set itself up to benefit personally from the blood lost from those whose names are written on that HOS plaque in Jasenovac and thousands of others fighting for and defending today’s independent state of Croatia. I’m not writing about your obvious infatuation with the dictatorship of Josip Broz Tito.  It’s obvious that you salivate over the thought of you being able to exercise the same unbridled power when it comes to degrading the will of the Croatian people for independence and secession from Yugoslavia.

But, President Milanovic, the buck does stop at your door; therefore, “you’re fired.”

Will the “shipping clerks” (the people) please come forward!

Ina Vukic

Sydney, Australia

9 May 2020