Conservative activists rally in Split against Istanbul Convention

Tens of thousands of conservatives rallied in Split today to oppose the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on combating and preventing violence against women. According to organizers, 70 thousand people turned out for the protest.

As lawmakers prepare to vote on the convention on Friday, speakers at the rally expressed concern that ratification of the document would erode traditional values and lead to the breakdown of the family unit. In a fiery opening speech, a Homeland War veteran spoke about his time as a POW and the battles he took part in. He then asked, “Who has the right to forget all that and destroy the Croatian family as the foundation of our homeland by forcing the Istanbul convention and gender ideology upon us, claiming it is a better and more natural way to live.”

Conservative groups with support form the Catholic Church have been rallying support for their push to stop the ratification of the convention. Their concerns center on the document’s differentiation between sex and gender, which they claim will introduce “gender ideology” into Croatian law. The convention, which aims to protect women and children from domestic violence, defines gender as “the socially constructed roles socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men.” These groups fear this language, if adopted into law, will open the door to legalizing same-sex marriage, the recognition of a third sex, and other changes they find unacceptable. Assurances from Prime Minister Andrej Plenković that none of this was true, have done little to assuage their fears.

Conservative MPs Miro Bulj, Hrvoje Zekanović and Željko Glasnović, and prominent conservative activists Željka Markić and Vice Batarelo participated at the event.

As the crowd was gathering, chants of “We want elections,” could be heard. Later, several of the speakers appeared to veer away from the ratification of the convention, addressing a slew of grievances against the government, such as the pollution problem in Slavonski Brod. Activist Ivana Pudić accused the government of ignoring the will of the people.

“I’m here to send a message to the prime minister that I am against any kind of violence, whether it is against women, children or citizens or the children in Slavonski Brod, us, the people, whom the prime minister considers illiterate and whose will he ignores,” she said.

Another activist said Croatia should follow in the footsteps of countries like Hungary, Poland and Austria. In all three countries, far-right parties are in power.

The police department in Split said the rally was peaceful but did not release an official figure on the number of people who attended the event. They have scheduled a news conference for Friday where more details will be released.