The President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zoran Milanovic, said on Friday that Defence Minister Mario Banozic was "an abuser of the military" and "a person who strayed into the system," in a continuation of a spat that began last week after Banozic decided to send Colonel Elvis Burcul, commander of the Honorary and Protection Battalion, into retirement.

The latest incident between Milanovic and Banozic happened after a voluntary conscripts’ oath-taking ceremony in the eastern Croatian town of Pozega, when Milanovic told the press he had ordered the Chief of Staff, Admiral Robert Hranj, not to allow Banozic to address the ceremony.

After the incident, Banozic told the press he had requested that Hranj be sacked, to which Milanovic responded that Hranj only did what he, as the commander-in-chief, had ordered.

“He (Banozic) gathered the generals together before my arrival here and threatened them. He said he demanded the resignation of the chief of staff. Who is he to demand anyone’s resignation? Do you want me to demand his? Who is he? He is a party installation,” said Milanovic.

“I am the commander-in-chief elected by the people, while he has a guardian,” he continued, alluding to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. “His (Banozic’s) conduct is against the law, he is lying.”

“Until he reinstates Burcul, this is how things will go on,” Milanovic said, adding that Banozic was punishing and arbitrarily retiring honourable army officers.

“You will hear in the days ahead… about all that is being done and what criteria this minister has,” he said. “The minister is under pressure from a score of his party colleagues who have friends in the army, all of whom are reaching an age when they should retire.”

Milanovic said Banozic was completely unprepared for his position, full of frustration and a desire for revenge. “But my position is much higher than his and I, in order to protect the military from partisanship, will take measures which I consider to be in the interest of the Armed Forces.”

The minister has brought the military to the brink of poverty with “his economising,” Milanovic said, adding, “The military doesn’t have money for essentials, (Banozic) is occupied with the HDZ (party) and (PM Andrej) Plenkovic is letting him do all of this.”

“The army won’t be run like the HDZ. Generals won’t be threatened. No one will lie that a general banned them from speaking,” Milanovic said, telling Banozic to “take it out on his local HDZ members.”

He reiterated that he and Banozic had nothing more to talk about and that the only person he could talk to was the Prime Minister.