Grlić Radman: What Serbs think of Croatia is best shown by the number of workers and tourists

“The increasing number of workers and tourists arriving in Croatia is the best evidence of what the people of Serbia think of Croatia,” said Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday, after a series of new inflammatory claims from Belgrade.

Grlić Radman: What Serbs think of Croatia is best shown by the number of workers and tourists

Serbia held local elections on Sunday, marked by numerous incidents and irregularities, and President Aleksandar Vučić declared the victory of his Serbian Progressive Party at all polling stations.

The pro-government tabloid Kurir wrote on Sunday that Croats had arrived to help the opposition and that Zagreb licence plates had been seen around the polling stations.

At a press conference on Monday after meeting with his Algerian counterpart, Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said that the elections were an internal political issue for Serbia, but he declared the statements about Croatia to be conspiracy theories and confabulations.

“It seems to me that the citizens of Serbia understand that this has nothing to do with Croatia,” said the head of diplomacy.

Grlić Radman expressed satisfaction that there were no victims in the excesses in Serbia and that everything ended peacefully, but he stressed that the electoral process in EU candidate countries must have integrity and legitimacy, that is, respect the principles of democracy.

When it comes to the attitude of Serbian citizens towards Croatia, the minister stressed that never before have more workers and tourists from that country come to Croatia, which speaks volumes about the relations between the peoples.

He told Serbian politicians to focus on reforms and fulfilling the criteria for EU accession instead of "confabulations".

Controversial historian

On Saturday, Vučić accused Croatia of "savagery" after it banned Serbian historian Miloš Ković from entering the country. He announced that the government would send a note of protest to Croatia.

The professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, who was traveling to promote the book 'Tesla, I am a Serb' in Banja Luka, told reporters that he was banned from entering Croatia on Friday because he "poses a threat to public order, internal security and public health".

Ković is a controversial Serbian historian from Serbian nationalist circles, often more radical than Vučić. In 2015, he was a witness in Ratko Mladić's defense in The Hague, denying the 'Greater Serbia' project.

Grlić Radman supported the Croatian police in their decision, saying that they certainly had good reasons not to let the historian in from Serbia.

Croatia protects not only its national borders, but also the borders of the EU. Therefore, anyone who wants to enter Croatia and the EU must behave in accordance with their laws.

He rejected Vučić's claim that this is savagery.

“He was simply denied entry. We have the right to allow or not allow anyone through,” the minister continued, and said that the savagery was the Greater Serbian aggression against Croatia and everything that came with it, from the destruction of Vukovar and the deportation of civilians to camps, to the torture and destruction of cultural and historical heritage.

Grlić Radman: The Israeli minister said that a mistake had been made

Gordan Grlić Radman also commented on yesterday's incident in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Israeli police banned the Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering and celebrating mass in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Grlić Radman said that such a decision was unacceptable.

“I have also been in contact with the Israeli Minister Gideon Saar, prompted by our priests who contacted me that they had not been able to access the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the minister told me that a mistake had been made and I received a promise that it would be corrected today,” said Grlić Radman.

Source: HRT