“We need to be honest and say that the situation in the WB countries is not good. It is more than obvious in many details and old (unsuccessful) political strategies from the 90s of the past century. So we witness no positive shifts in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Serbia did not give up on the idea of Great Serbia (the project called "the Serbian world') and the international community does not care about the meaning of this “innocent syntagma"!'' has said the Ambassador of Croatia to Albania, Zlatko Kramaric.

The Ambassador made that comment in an exclusive interview with Albanian Daily News in the first part of which he dwelt on two domestic developments in Croatia: the successful tourist season and the ongoing census in Croatia which as he said has no longer the political dimension that the census has, for example, in North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro.

Dr. Kramaric expressed disappointment with the new Serbian patriarch, Porfirije, who used to send ecumenical messages. “Now, as the patriarch, he is not giving up on the "Kosovo myth" and he is actively participating in the "Serbian world" project. Such behavior requires a certain reaction from the international community.

As the conversation was made on the eve of the visit to Tirana of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the Croatian Ambassador strongly believed that Germany represents true political and moral authority in international relationships. “It is not possible to resolve the Balkan crisis without German influence,” he said.

Discussing the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative, the Ambassador noted that Croatia does not support the political dimension of such ultimate, confusing idea because it is based on the recycling of some old, failed Serbian political ideas from the 19th century, or those contained in the Memorandum of the Serbian Academy from the 80s of the last century. According to him, they led to all those terrified wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia!

Zagreb’s top diplomat to Tirana also comments on Afghanistan, whereas regarding current internal DP developments, he is of the opinion that a moral dimension must always be kept in politics as without it, it is always difficult to be convincing in the public.    

Albanian Daily News: At the outset thank you Mr. Ambassador for your valuable contribution to the section of interviews/opinions unfolded in Albanian Daily News. Summer is over, a special one in the sense of tourism as Croatia is one of the main destinations in Europe and beyond. I said ‘special’ because of the pandemic. How did your country manage this vital sector and secondly, which are the preparations being made to cope with the disease as winter is coming in this second year of COVID-19?

Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: Summer is almost over but a tourist season is still on and currently there are about 550,000 tourists staying in Croatia, which is more than in the same period in 2019. This should be an incentive and a reminder that tourism can still achieve excellent results.

According to the current statistics, there are almost 73 million overnight stays, which confirms that the tourist season in Croatia is very successful. However, it is “special” in terms of adapting our services to the current pandemic situation. Furthermore, an additional 350 testing points have been set up across the country, so that all tourists can be tested in accessible places before returning to their home countries. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has provided the distribution of 1,850,000 tests at more affordable prices for tourists who spend three or more nights in commercial accommodation, and the purchased tests were distributed to the country’s regional public health institutes. Additionally, vaccination in Croatia is also possible for foreign citizens.

Even though Croatia has been recently added to the list of “red” countries / regions on the map of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), we still believe that Croatia is a safe destination. The tourists coming to Croatia are mostly vaccinated people. They are familiar with the standards and the entry rules, so we are continuing with the good trend, and we do hope to continue that way. The Croatian Government encourages everyone to adapt in line with the epidemiological recommendations and to get vaccinated, in order to protect themselves and everyone living in Croatia. This is the most effective way to fight COVID-19 in the coming months.

- In the meantime, the 2021 census started in Croatia on September 13. Mr. Ambassador, what is the significance of such a census as it is the very first digital Census being conducted in this way, and which are its targets?

- Fortunately, the census in Croatia no longer has the political dimension that the census has, for example, in North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. On the one hand, the census in these countries should determine the exact relations between several ethnic communities. On the other hand, the census in Croatia should give a precise picture of the structure of society, where ethnic and religious relations are not in the foreground. This list will show some other relations in Croatian society, for example the number of real estate. For Croatia, the data collected in the census are important and necessary for various economic, social, demographic, development and other policy and scientific research.

- Let me turn, please, to some of the recent developments in the Western Balkans; I will focus on the latest events in Montenegro, the unresolved conflict between Kosovo and Serbia, the tense situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There are also other ongoing disputes around. Your Excellency, what is your opinion on the situation in the WB and do you think that some utterances that there is ‘stability’ and ‘healthy cooperation’ in the region reflect the ‘real’ reality in the area?

- We need to be honest and say that the situation in the WB countries is not good. It is more than obvious in many details and old (unsuccessful) political strategies from the 90s of the past century, so we witness no positive shifts in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Serbia did not give up on the idea of Great Serbia (the project called " the Serbian world') and the international community does not care about the meaning of this “innocent syntagma“!

Let me remind you of the recent events in Montenegro, where a par excellence, religious act, the establishment of the Montenegrin metropolis, turned into a political act. I have already mentioned in one of my earlier interviews that the Serbian Orthodox Church is acting like a political and not like a religious institution. In this regard, we are very disappointed with the new Serbian patriarch, Porfirije, who used to send ecumenical messages. Now, as the patriarch, he is not giving up on the "Kosovo myth" and he is actively participating in the "Serbian world" project. Such behavior requires a certain reaction from the international community.

Relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are a special problem. Above all, political relations! These relationships are not stable, and there is no minimum 'healthy cooperation' between three constituent nations. Neither side offers a way out of this impossible situation. It is necessary to find a formula that contains protection and collective and individual rights. The international community must take an active part in that! I think that the first statements given by the new High Commissioner, Christian Schmidt, are very encouraging.  I also expect a lot of Merkel's farewell visit to Albania, Serbia. Germany represents true political and moral authority in international relationships. It is not possible to resolve the Balkan crisis without German influence, let alone the political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I think that there are some examples in the world (Cyprus, Lebanon, Belgium, Switzerland…) that could be applied in resolving the currently unresolved relations in this country.   

- As a follow up, Mr. Kramaric, the ‘Open Balkans’ initiative has been high on the agenda of the Western Balkans’ political scene not only as a regional project but because half of the six countries of this part of Europe do not participate in it. What is the stance of Croatia, an EU member country, on such initiatives launched on personal basis as there is hearsay that Serbia is trying to use it as a means to take the leadership of the region? 

- This fact has been testified by the project 'Open Balkan', ex 'mini Schengen'. Of course, we support the political and economic cooperation between these 6 countries. But before that, we should know all the rules of the game - how to cooperate if three countries are excluded from this project and is it possible to be part of that project and to obstruct the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade? Belgrade does not want to recognize Kosovo, and still wants to be the most important political factor in the region.

Croatia does not support the political dimension of such an ultimate, confusing idea because it is based on the recycling of some old, failed Serbian political ideas from the 19th century, or those contained in the Memorandum of the Serbian Academy from the 80s of the last century. They led to all those terrified wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia! Such ideas have flawed strategies resulting from the myth about the importance of the territory / 'Holy Earth' / 'Lebensraum', and these narratives certainly cannot address the problems of the 21st century, such as the migrant crisis, the ecological and demographic problems.   

- Your Excellency, the US and its partners have withdrawn from Afghanistan after two decades in what is being called ‘mission unaccomplished’. Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said in an informal meeting of EU defense ministers early in September that lessons learned in Afghanistan should be applied in the common security and defense policy so as not to repeat the same mistakes. Could you, please, elaborate on the repercussions of the US failure in Afghanistan and Croatia’s worrisome appeal for the future performance of the Alliance?

- That attempt to build a state in such a divided, tribally organized society, evidently failed and it is a lesson we will have to consider well on the international level. In relation to what was attempted in Afghanistan, I think the intention was good, but after 19 years it was evidently time to see if the Afghan authorities were in charge. After so much investment, training, attempts to build a state and keep it functioning that did not happen - unfortunately! In any case, it is not good that the Afghan authorities have been so fragile after the withdrawal of international forces.

The Croatian army withdrew almost a year ago, and some other states decided to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.

Croatia would like to see the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan and the prevention of the recurrence of a migrant wave such as in 2015, because the new migrant tide could destabilize Europe. However, assistance should be provided to the vulnerable groups: women, children and professionals whose work has been visible and exposed in the public.

In this context, Croatia advocates cooperation with the countries in the neighborhood of Afghanistan, as well as with other countries on possible future migrant routes. It is also important to define concrete steps in managing the potential migrant wave. This discussion should also cover the topic of additional assistance to Member States managing the border, as well as to third countries on migration routes.

It's not enough to say that we have made a mistake. Everything must be reviewed, must be deconstructed, even the future of the international institution, EU, NATO alliance.  We must realize that democracy is not a commodity exported to other countries such as, for example, cars, televisions. Western democracy, secular state and societies dominated by Sharia law are excluded and there is no understanding of different cultures, traditions, religions; colonial narratives do not make sense anymore. One should read the cult texts by F. Fanon, (“The Wretched of the Earth“), and other postcolonial authors such as E. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, A. Ahmed...

I'm not an expert in military and security issues, but we shall participate in this unpleasant Afghanistan episode and react properly (I personally voted in the Croatian parliament for Croatian soldiers to take part in that peacekeeping mission). It is high time for 'great powers' to stop making decisions about everything. “The small ones” should also be considered for they are as important as the big ones for future world relations. 

- Besides the traditional links, which I think are also nourished by the old Albanian (Arbanasi) community prospering in your country, Albania and Croatia are linked by a strategic partnership. As in my view these are valuable assets, do you think more could be done to exploit them for Albanian-Croatian relationship to be on top of the agenda of Tirana and Zagreb?    

- I think that our cooperation is essential for defining future political, economic, and cultural relations in the WB area. Albania (and Kosovo) are the only WB countries, where the EU integrative processes are the only political agenda. Croatians recognize and respect this fact and this fact should become functional in all segments of our cooperation - political, military-security, traffic, economic, cultural, sports. Moreover, there are "traditional ties" and the Albanian community is very “visible” in Croatian society.

-Let me turn, Mr. Ambassador, to the latest events in Albania, an EU aspirant country. Its parliament started its tenth legislature with the opposition taking its seats. But the highlight of the events have become a development within the opposition Democratic Party as its chairman expelled the veteran leader of that party, the MP, Sali Berisha, from the parliamentary group. What has drawn the attention is that such a decision is made by Basha because of the ‘diktat’ of the US as it is officially admitted. As a seasoned politician and diplomat do you think it is normal that a foreign country imposes its will not only on a country but on an individual political party to make a decision as expulsion of its deputies?  

-Well, the most difficult question for the end. I am not keen on commenting on relations between Albanian political actors. These relations must be solved by themselves - without external assistance. The return of the opposition to the Parliament is a good sign. It is a decision that will significantly reduce tensions in Albanian society. But politics can be very unfair. It is its less beautiful, sad side that does not make us happy. I can understand it, but nothing more than that. We must always keep a moral dimension in politics. Without it, it is always difficult to be convincing in public. The future will show us how much these last moves were justified. I cannot and I do not want to judge it. I do not have enough information about all this.   

Of course, when you allow someone to be a political role model, who then takes it upon himself to regulate your internal, private relations, it can make you unhappy at some point, it can be frustrating.

But it is the fate of the "weak", which does not mean that I approve of external assistance, interventions which can frustrate you and your internal, private relations.