Milanović on Changing the Constitution, the Opposition, the Church, and King Kong

Prime Minister Zoran Milanović announced today that the Government’s proposal for the Law on Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU Member States, which is in parliamentary procedure, will proceed in the form proposed in order to protect participants in the Homeland War and announced that constitutional changes will be proposed to differently regulate the issue of sanctioning politically motivated crimes, while attacking the HDZ and the Church ‘for accusing him of protecting criminals’.

Milanović reacted sharply to the reactions of the HDZ and the Church – which followed after Germany, based on a European arrest warrant, requested the extradition of Josip Perković because he is suspected of the murder of Stjepan Đureković in the 1980s – stating that the HDZ and the Church accused him and the Government of protecting criminals.

“So, criminals, but not the ones they are talking about, because I cannot condemn people in advance, the Church and the HDZ have protected these criminals for the past 20 years, remaining silent and pretending that nothing happened and waiting for time to pass,” asserted Milanović at the beginning of today’s Government session, emphasizing that his Government enforces laws and announced that he will ‘propose constitutional changes’.

From his political competitors, the Prime Minister said, in a difficult economic situation ‘we have not heard a single coherent idea on how to solve them’.

“Nothing. Persistently, a few days before entering the EU, deep ideology and ideological divisions. Yesterday as well, the day before yesterday as well – from the highest people in the Church, from priests,” said Milanović, assessing that, evidently, they want to provoke his reaction.

“We will not react emotionally to that,” he stated and emphasized that the accusation of protecting criminals is “much more serious than when someone laments or talks about the sin of structures”.

“So, you are accused of protecting criminals. We protect criminals. I do not know which criminals are meant, I cannot point a finger at anyone, especially not at those whom the State Attorney’s Office says are not guilty and that this was determined together with the POA led at that time by a current politician,” said Milanović addressing the members of the Government.

“Four days before entering the EU and one day after it became public, authorized, that we are offering the introduction into the Constitution of a provision that there is no statute of limitations for such crimes, we are accused of protecting criminals,” he added and stated that the criminals have been protected by ‘the Church and the HDZ for the past 20 years’.

“We have come to power, we enforce laws and now we will propose constitutional changes. Because, the HDZ obviously does not want to, as they do not dare, to give an amendment to the extradition law, they are afraid,” he asserted.

“Let court proceedings take place, but I guarantee you that none of you will be a witness in those proceedings, let alone something more, but there will be plenty from the HDZ from other structures. Do you want that? You chased the fox – you will chase King Kong,” he stated.

“There is no hiding. As long as some people in the HDZ and the Church are willing to go this far, I am ready to go even further. They can talk whatever they want, our conscience is clear, none of us will see the court. But, for some, this just cannot get out of their genetic code. Now they will see,” said Milanović at the beginning of the session, and then, in its continuation, added that the Law on Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU Member States ‘will be voted exactly as proposed, with deadlines starting from 2002 with the sole aim of protecting people who participated in the Homeland War of the 90s’.

“If there were crimes, we will resolve them,” Milanović repeated, emphasizing that by doing so we are doing a service to ourselves and to the EU member states.

They deal with this, he asserted, out of necessity, including Germany (which is seeking Perković’s extradition) because we did not do it.

“This is about very clear interests and objects of protection for which the HDZ, and after this yesterday I can say also the Church, really ‘doesn’t care’. Because, if they cared at all, they would think in this way, and we are taking all possible actions into our own hands and doing a service to ourselves, we are taking on our burden,” he said and emphasized that it is about ‘long-term thinking’.

The fact that there are currently no indications, he explained, does not mean that there will not be any in six months. It is like disbanding the army because no one has attacked you for two months.

“Of course, this will again attract several lines and salvos of criticism, incomprehensible constructions, old stories about communism, but this is a struggle that does not cease,” concluded Milanović.