Zagreb does not want to stir up emotions and tries to avoid anything that could give Belgrade an excuse to further tighten its rhetoric against Croats, the German writer and journalist of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Michael Martens learns unofficially.
He stated in a series on his X profile that the authorities in Serbia react nervously and make mistakes in dealing with the protests that have been taking place every day for several weeks. What is new, however, is that the government's moves are gaining i the first foreign policy consequences.
"Vreme" already wrote about the incident that happened earlier this week, when on Monday and Tuesday (January 20 and 21), after the Erste Academy for non-governmental organizations, a total of 13 foreign citizens detained without explanation and expelled from Serbia with a ban on entry for one year.
Among them were five Croatian women, who said that men in civilian clothes (allegedly members of the police or secret service) forced them into a car without license plates and took them to an interrogation that lasted until the early hours of the morning. After that, the women were ordered to leave Serbia and banned from returning, allegedly because they posed a threat to public security in Serbia.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia issued a warning to its citizens to avoid traveling to Serbia. The Ministry recommended its citizens to "postpone all non-essential trips, be careful, monitor the current situation and obtain detailed information before traveling" because of Serbia's "inappropriate and unfounded actions" towards Croatian citizens.
The Croatian Minister of the Interior, Davor Božinović, addressed his fellow citizens, advising them to carefully consider "whether now is the right time to travel to Serbia."
Anti-Croatian hysteria
As a German journalist writes, "the arrest of Croatian women using methods reminiscent of KGB practices was only the latest in a series of incidents." For weeks, Serbian propaganda media have been spreading hatred towards Croats. Among other things, the propaganda channels make absurd claims that the Croatian intelligence service is behind the mass protests against the government."
One such spin happened when "Večernje Novosti" published passport photos of two students, Lazar and Luka Stojaković, who have Croatian citizenship, with an attempt to present them as leaders of student protests. What is left out, however, is that young men are entitled to Croatian citizenship based on the place of birth of their father, who is originally from Knin.
"Blaming foreigners: a typical reaction of authoritarian regimes in a crisis," states Martens.
He adds that in Zagreb, on the other hand, concern is not limited to Croatian citizens traveling to Serbia, but also extends to possible attacks on the Croatian minority in Vojvodina.
"So far, nothing has happened, but systematic propaganda in Serbia can encourage potential attackers," the journalist points out.
Another diplomatic incident happened when the Serbian ambassador in Zagreb, Jelena Milić abandoned the traditional Christmas reception, after she heard words of support for students in Serbia, who have been blocked for more than two months.
Since the writer Jasminka Petrović and the director Radivoj Raša Andrić could not personally arrive in Zagreb for the reception, they sent a message that also said this: "Thank you to the children throughout the region who see further and more beautiful than us." And thanks to the young people in Serbia who are teaching us these days how to fly and how to shine."
These words led Jelena Milić to demonstratively leave the meeting, saying: "I absolutely do not support that."
Justification of the attack
Martens also referred to the political background of the current president of Serbia, pointing out that Aleksandar Vučić came from the Serbian Radical Party, the party that was the main force behind attacks on Croats in Vojvodina in the 1990s.
"Of course, today there are differences: the Government of Serbia in 2024/25 orders its media to spread hatred against Croats, but (for now) there is no state policy that promotes attacks on Croats in Vojvodina, as was the case in the nineties." However, an atmosphere is created in which potential attacks seem 'justified,'" explains the journalist, adding:
"Yesterday, I asked for an interview with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman about Zagreb's concerns about this, but he refused. It seems that Zagreb does not want to further fuel emotions at the moment. Unofficially, you can hear from Zagreb: the Croatian government is currently trying to avoid anything that could serve as an excuse for Belgrade to further escalate its rhetoric against the Croats".
