The fourth annual March for Life will be held in Zagreb on Saturday under the motto "Let's protect unborn children, the most endangered minority in Croatia", and on the same day pro-life activists will gather in the Adriatic cities of Split and Zadar.

“This is a walk for life, for the family, for Croatia,” Filip Djekic, a coordinator of the rally, told a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday.

The rallies in Zagreb, Zadar and Split coincide with the day of electioneering ban ahead of the 26 May election for the European Parliament.

The organisers of the event said today that flags and insignia of political parties would be banned during the march.

Asked by reporters whether politicians would be welcome at the march, Djekic said that everybody was welcome.

He also apologised to the general public for interruptions in traffic during the march that would start in the Zrinjevac sqzare and pass through Zagreb’s main square — Trg Bana Jelacica — to end in Saint Mark’s Square.

The march starts at 10 o’clock in Zagreb and in Zadar, whereas the Split march is due to begin a half an hour later.

One of the coordinators informed the news conference that singer Marko Perkovic Thompson would perform a few songs in St. Mark’s Square whereas singer Tomislav Bralic would give a concert during the Zadar event.

The coordinators dismissed media claims that there were some hidden agendas this year in the organisation of the rallies on the day just before the EP elections.

They insist that marches for life are usually held on the last or penultimate weekend of May.

Last Saturday, several hundred people took part in a March for Life in downtown Rijeka and Osijek organised the march on the same day for the first time.

Recently the State Election Commission (DIP) has stated that the marches for life on May 25 in Zagreb, Split and Zadar are not in violation of the electioneering ban, but that candidates running in those elections who will participate in the marches have to respect electoral silence rules.