Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic as well as Ptesident of Croatia Zoran Milanovic on Saturday issued separate messages offering their best wishes to all Croatians for Christmas.

“Dear fellow citizens, dear Croats in the homeland and abroad, on behalf of the government and my own behalf I wish you all the best for Christmas. May it bring you and your families joy, peacefulness and togetherness,” Plenkovic said in his message.

Christmas inspires helpfulness, understanding and generosity towards one’s neighbour, notably those who need help and solidarity, he said.

“May the most joyful Christian holiday inspire in us optimism and strength for further work on building an even more prosperous Croatia,” Plenkovic said in his message.

The prime minister also offered his best wishes for Christmas to the Archbishop of Zagreb and President of the Croatian Bishops Conference, Dražen Kutlesa, and members of the clergy.

Offering his best wishes for Christmas to Croatians in the homeland and abroad, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said he hoped for Christmas to bring peace and love to everyone and inspire more solidarity, understanding and respect.

“As in Croatia we await the coming holidays in peace and security, we must not forget those who await Christmas amidst destruction and war. So many people will spend these holidays far away from their families and home: From Ukraine and the Middle East to all the other places of suffering, pain and darkness in the world,” said Jandrokovic.

“It is our responsibility as Christians and humans to actively contribute to solving common problems and building a more harmonious society,” he said, adding that everyone was called upon to expand the space of dialogue thus helping prevent new fatal divisions and animosities in the future.

President: May holiday messages become reality

President Zoran Milanović on Saturday issued a Christmas message, wishing everyone a good life and a fair society, as well as peace and security for the homeland, noting that it is everyone’s responsibility but mostly the government’s, to make grand-sounding holiday messages become a reality.

In his message, addressed to his fellow citizens and Croats around the world, notably those in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, President Milanović said he wished them to celebrate Christmas “in peace and joy, with their families, their dearest ones and friends.”

He noted that the tradition of celebrating Christmas is deeply rooted among Croats, regardless of where they live. “They have carried that tradition with them, preserving not only the custom but also their affiliation with a small but proud and strong nation,” Milanović said.

“Nowadays, when all small nations are less and less listened to, when their voice is taken for granted even before they are asked about anything, it is even more important to protect and strengthen the awareness of that affiliation,” he said, noting that this had proven to be crucial for the protection of the Croatian state and identity also in the more recent history.

“Unfortunately, we have been witness to peace, security and solidarity not being a certainty, to their disappearing overnight and to how little it takes for those values to be denied or even trampled on. Croatia experienced what that looks like and that experience gives us the right to warn, to insist on fairness but also to be wise and take care of ourselves.”

Milanović went on to say that the worries of the Croatian people in the dramatically changing world order are of interest to few.

What is particularly frustrating is the indifference towards the worries of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with attempts to downplay or even abolish its equality and status of a constituent people, guaranteed by the Dayton Agreement, he said.

Croatia and its government must not allow that, he noted.

“I am confident that the rights of BiH Croats can be defended more strongly and they must be advocated more vocally in places where decisions are made. That can be done only by us, and we are not doing it sufficiently. We owe a debt to the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is my wish for them to be able to, in the near future, fully exercise their rights,” Milanović said.

Christmas provides an opportunity to send one’s wishes for peace, goodness and unity among people to one’s friends and neighbours as well as all people around the world who suffer because of war and violence, he said.

Many lack social security, what bothers the most is injustice, corruption

“In Croatia today we live in peace and security… but many of our fellow citizens lack the financial conditions for a good life, they lack social security. The concerns of Croatian citizens are justified and understandable, and those in charge must not ignore them or – and we have witnessed this also – cover them up with statistics that frequently fail to reflect the actual quality of life in Croatia.

“But I am confident that almost all of us are bothered the most by injustice and inequality before the law and state institutions. The widespread corruption and abuse of public money have taken on such proportions that one cannot but mention that scourge at this holiday time as well. No one can close their eyes before that fact and I am certain that exactly that – corruption, favouritism and injustice – cause dissatisfaction among Croatians the most. Such phenomena, which are occurring on a daily basis, without adequate sanctions, destroy people’s faith in state institutions and are, more than anything else, the reason why people are leaving the country,” Milanović said, noting that it is everyone’s responsibility, but mostly the government’s, to make the grand-sounding holiday messages become a reality and for people in Croatia to be truly happy about a better life and a more just society.

“Let us do all we can to ensure for Croatians, regardless of where they live, a good life and a fair society, and peace and security for our homeland. Those are my biggest wishes for everyone in Croatia ahead of the coming holiday. In the hope that they will come true, I wish all Christian believers a merry Christmas, and a peaceful and joyous holiday season,” the president said, also wishing everyone all the best in the New Year.