Residents of Croatia are frightened by the massive call of reservists to military registration and enlistment offices
More than 10 thousand Croatian reservists received calls to the military registration and enlistment offices at their home addresses in order to receive new mobilization orders.
The Croatian Ministry of Defense says that there is nothing unusual; human rights activists are instructing Croats on how to refuse mobilization due to their beliefs, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The calls have alarmed some citizens, given the uncertain circumstances of the war in Europe. The Constitution, the Civil Service Act and the Defense Act of the Republic of Croatia guarantee the right to conscientious objection to military service,” writes Dnevnik.hr.
According to the Croatian Ministry of Defense, individual calls are sent only to classified reservists (soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers). We are talking about persons under the age of 55 who have completed compulsory military service or voluntary military training, or who were in active military service and received a military registration specialty.
“Reservists are called to the regional defense departments to familiarize themselves with the schedule for recruiting defense units of the Croatian Armed Forces. Most of them are at the disposal of such units, but new orders were not issued to them during 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Defense said in response to a request from Dnevnik.hr.
This seems like an excuse since most of the epidemic restrictions were lifted in Croatia back in 2021. Thus, we are talking about preparations for increasing the personnel of the Armed Forces.
However, the publication notes that persons who, due to their religious or moral beliefs, are not ready to participate in the performance of military duties in the Croatian army, are allowed to object to military service for reasons of conscience, and the procedure for such an objection is explained in detail on the website of the Center for Peace Studies ( CMS).
“Those who served in alternative service, i.e. has previously filed a conscientious objection to military service, which is the so-called civilian reservists, and are required to respond only to calls from the Civil Protection Service, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. If the Ministry of Defense calls them to serve a mobilization order or to military training as a civilian reservist, this is a serious violation of the law,” CMS warns.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said that Washington and NATO, with the help of Ukraine, are waging a proxy war against Russia, and sanctions will not solve the problem.
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