Croatia sent a note of protest to Serbia

Croatia sent a note of protest to Serbia

"The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs strongly condemns the scandalous act of a member of the delegation led by the State Secretary in the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government of the Republic of Serbia during his visit to the Republic of Croatia and sending messages that insult the Republic of Croatia in the most rude way", Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs stated, after the visit of Miloš Stojković, the commissioner of the Orthodox monastery Hilandar for humanitarian work.

The protest note followed the publication of a video from the Knin fortress on which Miloš Stojković said "now we are in our Krajina, long live Serbia, long live Krajina, long live Serbian Krajina". The video was soon removed from social networks.

The video shows Stojakovic saying: "they are celebrating the so-called Storm here, they are celebrating the persecution of the Serbian people. And we are here to show them that this is Serbian Krajina after all. Their flag is on top here, and God will allow us to return ours one day".

Stojković stayed in Knin, Kistanje and Djevrske as part of the humanitarian action carried out by the "United Serbia" organization. It is a humanitarian caravan that aims to tour the Serbian population with an emphasis on promoting peace and tolerance.

The statement of the Croatian Ministry also expresses "regret that these unacceptable statements come from a person who was part of the official delegation from the Republic of Serbia, for which we expect an official apology". It was also announced that the Šibenik-Knin Police Department will conduct an investigation in order to determine the facts and circumstances for further measures within the competence of the police, and a protest note will be handed to the Serbian Embassy in Zagreb.

The mayor of Knin, Marko Jelic, also reacted and told Milos Stojkovic, "you should be ashamed of the hypocrisy that you live in." Jelic says that the flag on the Knin fortress symbolizes "the sacred ground of the Croatian people and their statehood from the 13th century, and it will continue to be so." The mayor says that Stojković brought his host into an awkward situation, first of all the parish priest of the Knin Parish, who, according to him, is "an exceptional man and a Christian", as well as the Bishop of Dalmatia. "Knin is a Croatian country and the cradle of our existence, it is sacred to us", concludes the mayor of Knin.

Stojkovic: I have nothing to do with the released video

"I have nothing to do with that post, nothing at all! As can be clearly seen, I am tagged in the post. I am nowhere on the video, neither my character nor anything. Marko Jelic and I gave a statement next to each other at the Fortress, they shook hands, hugged and I said what I think for RTS", said Miloš Stojković, Novosti reports.

Stojković claims that the disputed video from the Knin Fortress was recorded by someone else, and that it appeared on his profile because the author of the recording tagged him in the post. He said that political problems from the past, if any, should be solved outside of humanitarian associations. "Knin is just an example of good human relations, I said that clearly," Milos Stojkovic stated.

The video was removed from social networks, but Croatian media possess it, and published it further in order to refute Stojković, who previously said that it was not him on the video.