Ambassador: Four Croatians expelled from Serbia in two days, 15 in three months

He noted that the expulsion order was even handed to an official representative of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Belgrade, who had been living and working in Serbia’s capital for 11 years.

“In the last three months, there have been about fifteen such cases. This frequency is concerning. I would prefer not to speculate on the motives behind these actions. I don’t want to undermine what the Republic of Croatia has consistently strived for throughout these sensitive social and political events in Serbia: a show of exceptional restraint on our part. Nothing from the Croatian government has violated the fundamental principle of international relations regarding non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. As a state, we have not given any reason,” said Ambassador Biscevic.

He emphasized that these actions exclusively target Croatian citizens and that they have not observed similar issues faced by many citizens of other countries. He noted that the Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry has warned its citizens to exercise extreme caution when traveling to Serbia and to refrain from participating in public demonstrations, making statements, or displaying slogans.

The ambassador pointed out that each of these Croatian citizens received an expulsion order that simply states “security threat,” for the duration of one year. “What confuses me is how someone will assess after a year that this woman or representative of our Chamber of Commerce is no longer a security threat? So, that part is a bit confusing,” he remarked.

This situation creates a negative atmosphere and feelings among Croatian citizens, inducing a certain level of fear among Croatians living in Serbia, said the ambassador, adding that there is no way to appeal these decisions.

“There is only what we are currently preparing - a diplomatic note requesting an explanation and clarification from Serbian institutions, considering the frequency of these incidents, and the evident targeting of Croatian citizens,” he said.

The ambassador said that he can recommend, for example, that the president of a water polo club come to Serbia at this time, but that he cannot prohibit anyone from expressing their opinions on social media.

N1’s journalist noted that the key issue regarding all these people was their support for student protests.

“You cannot do that in a democratic society, we are not North Korea where the government or ministry issues a decree saying ‘don’t write on the internet.’ Secondly, we believe that every citizen has the right to express their opinion on the situation in Iraq or about Trump. I am certain there are 5,000 comments on President Trump’s policies, but no Croatian national has been expelled from the US because of that,” Biscevic emphasized.

He said he does not know whether he will receive a response from Serbian authorities after sending the diplomatic note. “It is the right of any country in the world not to provide explanations. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is,” he noted.