Medved: I Only Answer for What I Saw
The Minister of Veterans Affairs says he is not aware of events outside the official protocol of the Victory Day commemoration in Knin.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs says he is not aware of events outside the official protocol of the Victory Day commemoration in Knin.
Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved responded on Friday, August 7, 2026, to accusations made by the president of the SDSS, Milorad Pupovac. The leader of that party earlier criticized the state leadership, claiming it failed to react to hate speech and controversial incidents during the Victory and Homeland Gratitude Day commemoration in Knin.
When asked by journalists why the government did not condemn the events Pupovac pointed to, Medved explained that he can only speak about the part of the program for which he was responsible. "I was present at the stadium the entire time, and I cannot comment on what I neither saw nor heard. I believe you followed the official part of the program, from the morning wake-up call to the mass and the laying of wreaths," the minister stated.
Medved clarified that he, the State Secretary, and the rest of the team will only address activities carried out in accordance with the government's decision. "We can comment on what we saw, what we organized, and what we carried out," he emphasized. He also noted that he cannot comment on claims about events outside the protocol because they were not within the scope of his duties.
Due to the busy schedule related to the anniversary of Operation Storm, as he added, he did not have time to follow media reports in recent days. "Yesterday, the entire day was filled with a program in Slunj, today after this conference we have a program, and tomorrow we have a program in Glina. It has been an extremely busy week," Medved said, stressing that all activities are aimed at helping veterans and marking the anniversary with dignity.
