The Speaker of the Parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, held a media conference in the Croatian parliament after the Croatian delegation had abruptly departed from Belgrade, where it was on an official visit, following an incident where the leader of Serbian radicals trampled the Croatian flag and insulted the delegates.
“The visit was arranged and planned as the continuation of the dialogues between (the Croatian President) Grabar-Kitarovic and (the Serbian President) Vucic. We agreed to discuss a range of important issues between Croatia and Serbia,” Jandrokovic said at the beginning of a news conference, adding that the visit was supposed to be eventful.
“While we were leaving the parliament building, an incident occurred. In the part visible to us we could hear Seselj, a (Serbia’s) MP and a convicted war criminal, throwing insults our way. We found out that he had grabbed a Croatian flag, stepped on it, and tried to rip it, when the security stopped him. We all agreed, considering the revolting way in which the dignity of the symbols of Croatia was broken, to cut the visit short and go back to Zagreb,” Jandrokovic said.
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“We thought the decision through, but this was such a moment where you cannot decide otherwise because the nation’s dignity must come first,” he added.
“We have seen the initial reactions by the Serbian Parliament Speaker (Maja Gojkovic) and their Prime Minister (Ana Brnabic), who condemned the incident. We could debate about the way they did it, they tried to relativise it. We expect the president of Serbia to clearly condemn the incident,” Jandrokovic said, and added that there is no alternative to the dialogue between Croatia and Serbia.
“It is important that the situation gets cleared up and space opens for dialogue. The president of Serbia obviously has his own reasons for not reacting faster,” Jandrokovic said.
“The visit, that started well, was disrupted as was the development of the relations between Croatia and Serbia. Serbia was harmed as well. We need to stay cool-headed and do everything not to be held hostage by the people who trample national symbols of countries who are meant to improve relations,” said Milorad Pupovac, an MP who was part of the delegation.
“This is Serbia’s problem and they must solve that problem,” Jandrokovic said. “Regardless of today’s incident, we stand firmly with the Croats living in Serbia, and we will work to make their position as strong as possible,” he added.
