Two suspects arrested for attack on Serbs in Croatia, SDP says strikes not rare

Ilustracija

Sibenik-Knin police have arrested a 28 and 25-year-old who insulted the owner and guests in a cafe in Knin on Wednesday evening based on ethnicity while an investigation into an incident that occurred in another cafe near Knin that evening in which the owner of the cafe and several guests were injured, is still continuing.

The police on Friday reported that the two suspects had been indicted for disturbing the peace and order.

Also on Friday, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said she condemned „every violence, and I am going to comment on that (Knin incident), when I receive a detailed police report.“

 An investigation into the incident determined that the two entered the cafe under the influence of alcohol and then insulted the 62-year old owner of the cafe based on ethnicity and in that way disturbed the peace and order.

The two were later brought before Sibenik Municipal Court.

The police were still investigating an incident in Uzdolj near Knin when a group of masked thugs attacked guests in a cafe who were watching a Serbian football match.

An earlier report said five people were injured in what is believed to be an ethnically motivated assault on Wednesday evening after a group of masked thugs stormed a cafe near the Croatian town of Knin where locals were watching a European club football match between Red Star Belgrade and the Swiss club Young Boys.

The police have arrested several suspects in connection to this incident.

On Thursday, commenting on the attack, the leader of the Croatian Serbs and a member of Croatia’s national Parliament Milorad Pupovac said that „it was not either by chance or spontaneous.“

„These are severe attacks on the members of The Serb community. The attack looks like those by the first fascist squadrons,“ Pupovac said.

He added the incident showed that Croatia was not a peaceful and safe country.

„As an EU member, Croatia serves as an awful example to non-members and contributes to the destabilisation of the former Yugoslavia’s region.“

On Friday he said he would not talk to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic any more but would address the European institutions.

„We made a mistake for not doing that earlier. We won’t make the same mistake again. As of today, our activities will focus on protecting the values of the international order and its institutions which the Republic of Croatia is a member of,“ Pupovac said.