Ante Gotovina talks Croatia’s position in Europe, wars and more  

Ante Gotovina (Photo: HINA/ POOL/ Damir SENČAR)

ZAGREB, 18 February 2025 (Hina) – Retired General Ante Gotovina, who attended the inauguration of President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday alongside Generals Mladen Markač and Ivan Čermak, emphasised the importance of listening to what Milanović said in his inaugural speech.

Commenting briefly on the speech, Gotovina stated: “It is the speech of the President of the Republic. We should listen to it and pay attention to what he said.”

Regarding the absence of the Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament from the inauguration, he remarked that the country is made up of institutions. “In the times we live in, they won the elections and have taken on the responsibility of leading our country,” he added.

When asked whether Croatian peacekeepers should be sent to Ukraine, Gotovina responded that the defence and national security system would make that decision.

“The Croatian military is available, it does its job, and it must carry out its duties. Orders must always be followed, wherever and whenever necessary,” he stated.

(Photo: HINA/ POOL/ Damir SENČAR)

Gotovina expressed confidence that the President and the Prime Minister are discussing Croatia’s position in Europe. When asked what advice he would give them, he replied that it was not his place to offer recommendations, stressing that both President Milanović and Prime Minister Plenković are responsible individuals.

Regarding concerns over the possibility of new conflicts, Gotovina stated: “We pray for peace, but in times of peace, we prepare for war. That has always been the case. We do not seek war, but God help us.”

Given his experience, Gotovina affirmed that he remains available to serve his country and its institutions whenever needed.

(Photo: HINA/ POOL/ Damir SENČAR)

Zoran Milanović was officially sworn in on Tuesday for his second term as President of the Republic of Croatia, pledging allegiance to the Constitution and to carrying out his duties for the benefit of the Croatian people and citizens.

(Photo: HINA/ POOL/ Damir SENČAR)

Below is the full text of the Croatian President’s inaugural speech:

“Dear Croatian citizens, Croats and Croat women, dear guests and dignitaries,

In the life of a nation or state, as in the life of an individual, the alternation of good and bad times, gloomy and bright days, is inevitable. We must navigate with the awareness that life is not just calm seas and wind in the sails. Let this awareness guide us: it is a firm guarantee of dignity and composure, regardless of the direction and strength of the winds and waves.

The fundamental task of state institutions is to preserve the peace and security of citizens, not only in the most basic, physical sense. Another, almost equally important goal is to ensure that difficult times do not also become dramatic times. Furthermore, we must ensure that the hardships are not carried disproportionately on the backs of the weakest and most vulnerable, and that the good years are not only enjoyed by those closest to the centres of power, the most aggressive, or the most competitive. Inequality and corruption insidiously erode the social structure like a malicious disease.

It is necessary to build and refine legal and social mechanisms that will ensure that, in difficult times, we do not collapse either materially or spiritually, and that, in prosperous times, we maintain a sense of reality and our connection to solid ground.

In recent years, I have often repeated that only we, and no one else, truly care about our country. I believe that all well-meaning people have understood this statement as I intended and felt it. Other states and nations, as a rule, do not wish us harm or work against us, but in the choice between their own interests and our well-being, when such a choice arises, they will always opt for their own interests. Even our friends and allies.

This is neither a lament, nor a criticism, nor some narrow-minded isolation. This is the reality of the world in which we live. This is a call to stop deluding ourselves with the illusion that someone from the outside will take care of us when we face hardship or when we truly need help. Maybe a little, but realistically: it never has been and never will be.

Nothing has ever been given to us. Everything that Croatia has achieved is the result of our people’s efforts. Above all, those who gave their lives and health to defend our freedom. We will be forever indebted to them, and no matter how hard we try – and I swear we will try! – we can never fully repay that debt. Only we, I repeat, and no one but us, care about the people who saved us from the aggressor’s subjugation through their bravery, selflessness, and skill.

Our eternal gratitude to these people is not the glory of war, nor triumphalism, nor the enjoyment of the misfortune of others, the defeated. It is an ode to freedom and a reminder of what we, as a nation, are capable of when we are guided by noble motives and united by the highest ideals.

Only we truly care about the quality of our education at all levels, the state of our public healthcare, and the functioning of our justice system. Only we are concerned with how our people live. And despite GDP growth, low unemployment, and even an improved credit rating, far too many of our citizens today live on the brink of dignity or suffer some form of humiliation, despite honest work or a fairly earned pension. Only we have a vested interest in ensuring that our institutions are independent, professional, and accountable, just as the media – or, as it is more appropriately called, journalism – must be. This is, among other things, a prerequisite for the stability and functionality of our constitutional order and our democratic system. Simply put, it is a shield against arbitrariness and tyranny.

Who, other than us, cares about Croats in the friendly and neighbouring country of Bosnia and Herzegovina? Who, other than us, will advocate for their endangered political rights and defend their constitutional status? No one but us will take on this thankless task, which is our historical, constitutional, and above all, moral obligation.

It is crucial that we remain self-critical, both as individuals, as a government, and as a society. Strength lies in recognising our own weaknesses and admitting our own mistakes. And there is almost no greater weakness than hatred, chauvinism, or mistrust towards those who are different from us in some aspect of our many-layered identities, towards those who are weaker, temporarily or permanently weaker. Few things are as wrong as glorifying the darkest episodes of one’s own history, and every nation has them.

Few acts are more cowardly than questioning patriotism, based on differences of opinion, on differences in national, religious, or racial affiliation. As I said in this place five years ago, this is a house for all of us.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, dear citizens, the world today is almost unrecognisable compared to the world of 40 or 50 years ago, when I and many of us grew up and formed our identities. In fact, it is unrecognisable even compared to the world just five, at most ten years ago. Change is ongoing in this moment. One thing is fading, while something else, still unclear, uncertain, confusing, and frightening, emerges on the horizon. It sounds like a convincing description of chaos. It hints at an interesting and challenging era, from a Chinese curse.

It seems that new centres of global power are emerging, and they cannot be ignored in shaping the future world. It is up to us to devise a national policy that will best serve our interests in this new world, in this new context, and in this new paradigm. In this task, we must not have any, or at least not too many, prejudices or dogmas. Peace, security, and the dignity of the Croatian people cannot and will not be sacrificed to anyone’s private ambitions or fixations.

There is no need for us to recklessly push ourselves to the front lines in matters we cannot significantly influence, cannot change, and very often do not fully understand, not due to lack of intelligence, but because of circumstances. Political adventurism and blind following have cost Croats dearly in the past.

Our duty to Croatian history and Croatian future, to our ancestors and our children, is to advocate for peace in international relations, for good neighbourly ties, and for diplomatic resolution of conflicts between states and peoples. This is not naivety, nor betrayal of Western political and military alliances, to which we belong and will continue to belong, and which was a good decision. This is simply the fight for our own interests. It is especially not a betrayal of Western or European values, no matter how unclear those values may be or who represents them.

War is the deepest and most poisonous social disruption, there is nothing worse. It is not said without reason that victory is the second worst thing that can happen in a war. I will quote President Kennedy’s words: “We must never negotiate out of fear. But never, ever fear to negotiate.”

Peacemaking and peacefulness are not synonyms for naivety. There is no doubt that we must strengthen our armed forces in every way. The Croatian military must be able to stop any attack on our independence and territorial integrity and fulfil the obligations we have assumed within all the alliances we belong to, interpreting those obligations honestly, loyally, but in our own interest. However, I disagree with the thesis that “security has no price.” This thesis is practically unsustainable and inherently unclear.

The military and modern weaponry, even not the most modern, require astronomical costs, ever more astronomical, which we cannot influence, and our resources are limited. We should not allow defence spending to swallow up money for everything else that makes our lives meaningful and fulfilling. Will we give up public investments in science, culture, artistic creation, sports, and new technologies in exchange for military spending? What will we actually be defending with arms, which are always limited, if we neglect what has made and still makes the Croatian name famous worldwide, what makes us a modern and self-aware, small, yet historical nation?

I want us to be perceptive and calculated. Healthy scepticism, no more and no less. I call for a discussion, involving all the most responsible people and the best experts. Let us strive to understand the nature of potential future wars, so that we consider the acquisition of arms and equipment from that perspective. Let us not be gullible and panic-stricken: these are never good allies, never in decision-making, especially not in interesting and turbulent times, such as those in which we live and participate. Let us harness and stimulate Croatian intellect and industry, so that we do not import what we can objectively produce ourselves. Maybe it’s not much, but it exists. And this is not only about weapons and military equipment.

Ladies and gentlemen, during the 19th and 20th centuries, individualism became established as one of the main characteristics and engines of the Western capitalist world, and, of course, our society in the past 35 years. It is my deeply held belief that an individualistic society is more humane and healthier than one based on any forced form of collectivism, because it is freer, more democratic, more inquisitive, and more prosperous. However, there is a flip side, and we know very well what that flip side is. Individualism inevitably leads to the breakdown or weakening of our social bonds, and without them, there can be no active solidarity. Social networks are, not only an inadequate substitute, but in many ways, a danger.

It is important that we stay connected with family, friends, relatives, neighbours, colleagues, and the community in which we live. That is the strongest defence against social exclusion and lethargy, apathy, and soullessness. The well-being of our country depends largely on our willingness to care for each other, regardless of the differences and disagreements that exist, but which, in essence, are not that significant. Let us make it clear to those close to us that they can rely on us. Troubles will pass more easily with the knowledge that we are not left to fend for ourselves, that we are not forgotten on some cold, windblown place. This is the most effective means of dispelling the fear of an unpredictable tomorrow, of the horror of anonymity.

With this belief, the belief that we will not leave each other in critical moments – let us live, and long live our Croatia!”