Offering his best wishes on the occasion of Police Day, President Mesic said that no country could function without an efficient police force.
"You also deserve credit for the survival of this country," Mesic said, adding that at the beginning of the aggression against Croatia in the 1990s the police were the only armed force in the country, after which the National Guard Corps (ZNG) was established, which later grew into an army.
Thanks to the efficiency of the ZNG and later of the Croatian Army and police, Croatia is in a position to negotiate admission to the European Union today, Mesic said.
Minister Kirin thanked President Mesic, urging him to help the police obtain more funds for their work. He recalled that 711 members of the Ministry of the Interior were killed during the war, while more than 3,500 were wounded and 44 were still listed as missing.