Interior Minister: Incident on Wednesday was truly tragic

The police officers’ actions were justified and in line with the law, because their lives were in danger, and the use of firearms is allowed in such cases under Croatian law, the minister said.

“This was a truly tragic incident. I regret it, especially because children were injured. However, I still think of all the police officers who are protecting Croatian borders 24 hours a day, stopping illegal migrations, and implementing Croatian and European laws,” Bozinovic said.

The Interior Ministry is looking into all the circumstances of the events that took place, he said.

 Croatia is in continuous talks with the most important EU members and countries on the migrant route, and is trying to explain to everyone how important it is that each country protect its borders to ensure the migrations are legal and sustainable, and to prevent illegal migrations because they result in the growth of crime and international smuggling networks.

“Yesterday’s events in (the border town of) Donji Srb was an example of a foul attempt to profit from tragedy. The Croatian police will continue to fight these attempts, and I, as a minister, will always stand behind the police in everything they do in line with the law and protection of national interests,” Bozinovic said.

He confirmed that the migrants requested asylum, in line with Croatian law and the European asylum policy, which is a procedure that takes time.

He said the intensive manhunt for the van driver was ongoing, with the cooperation with Bosnia’s police forces.

“The police are doing their job. According to information available to me, some progress was made in the process of uncovering his identity,” he added.

On Thursday, the police union asked for an increase in police authority, including the use of force. Bozinovic said that the Ministry was taking measures in providing additional equipment and organising border patrol, and that a special post of Deputy Police Chief for border patrol was established for that purpose.

“I assure you that the Croatian police will certainly know how to protect our borders with their knowledge and equipment, for Croatian people and their guests. Yesterday we witnessed an example where the police used firearms only when their lives, or lives of other people, were in danger. That is a solution which proved good so far, and we are looking into ways to prevent these situations,” he said.

This morning, the head of the parliamentary committee for internal affairs and national security, Ranko Ostojic, said he had requested the Interior Ministry to look into all the circumstances of the Wednesday’s incident, and report to the Committee with their findings.

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