Croatia issues Serbia travel advisory ahead of elections
Croatia's foreign ministry urges citizens to postpone non-essential travel to Serbia. Two of those arrested hold Croatian passports, and Zagreb says Belgrade never notified it.
A few days before Serbia’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, October 25, Zagreb has told its citizens to postpone any travel to Serbia that is not essential. The advisory follows arrests over suspected preparations for unrest on voting day, among them two men with Croatian passports, which has given the campaign a diplomatic dimension between Belgrade and Zagreb.
What exactly did the Croatian ministry advise?
The Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) says in its latest travel notice:
“Croatian citizens are strongly advised to postpone all travel to the Republic of Serbia that is not essential and, if travel is necessary, to act with heightened caution, regularly monitor the current security situation and inform themselves thoroughly about possible risks before departure.”
Sources differ on the date. Index.hr reports that the advisory was published on October 20, while N1, citing the Beta agency, gives October 21 as the date of the ministry’s latest post.
For Croats already in Serbia, the ministry recommends extra caution and avoiding public gatherings, protests, political rallies and crowded places. It warns that the days before, during and after the election may be marked by political tension, and reminds citizens that they can contact the Croatian embassy in Serbia if needed.
As a reason for special caution, the ministry also cites what it describes as recorded inappropriate and unfounded actions by Serbian authorities toward Croatian citizens.
Who are the arrested men with Croatian passports?
Serbian police arrested several people in operations in Novi Sad, Vrnjacka Banja and Belgrade on suspicion of preparing violent unrest on election day. The Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, which coordinated the Novi Sad operation, said five people were arrested there and that, by its account, the group planned to overthrow the government by force. According to the prosecutors, the group had mobile teams equipped with balaclavas, flares, knives and weapons, and the plan involved between 80 and 90 people. It was not specified whether any of this was found in the searches.
According to Tanjug, two of those arrested, Marko V. in Novi Sad and Matej A. in Vrnjacka Banja, hold Croatian passports and Croatian citizenship. Whether they also hold Serbian citizenship is not known. Pro-government media claim that Marko V. organized a group meant to cause violence in Belgrade on election day and intended to bring in about 80 people, while Matej A. is suspected of calling for a violent change of the constitutional order. Index.hr stresses that no one has independently confirmed these claims.
According to unofficial information from RTL Danas, one of those arrested holds a Croatian passport because his family fled Croatia in the 1990s, and he has lived in Serbia for more than 30 years.
What do Zagreb and Belgrade say?
MVEP and the Croatian embassy in Belgrade say they have received no official notification from the competent Serbian authorities. The ministry told Index:
“The impression is that this is a continuation of a series of unfounded accusations against the Republic of Croatia, starting with the recent protest note and the attacks on Croatian journalists and their reporting. Such actions have an obvious domestic political motivation.”
Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said he learned of the case from the media.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic briefly commented on the arrests at a rally in Nis:
“I would not link this directly to their organization. These people are criminals after all, some of them drug dealers and the like. The competent authorities are doing their job.”
Why is all this happening now?
On October 14, Serbia sent Croatia a protest note over alleged interference in the election campaign, and part of the complaint concerned the reporting of Croatian media. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called the accusations “complete nonsense” and said Croatian media report freely on events in Serbia, while the Croatian state has nothing to do with the campaign there.
The travel advisory comes exactly a week after that note. Index.hr concludes that the mere fact that Croatian citizens were arrested does not prove any link between their alleged actions and Croatian institutions, while some Serbian pro-government media have already presented the arrests as proof that Croatia is trying to influence the outcome of the vote.
Whether Belgrade will give the Croatian embassy official information about the two men is not known for now.
