"The Ministry of Defence condemns any form of intolerant behaviour, including violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and other occurrences, particularly those arising from abuse of the position of superiority in the Ministry," the statement said.
The statement confirmed that Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic had received the order in which President Stjepan Mesic, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, instructed the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Josip Lucic, to investigate media reports of sexual harassment in the Armed Forces.
Following the first report in the Split-based daily Slobodna Dalmacija of November 27, the Defence Minister requested the Director of the Military Security Agency and the Chief of the Military Police Department to investigate the reported crimes and alleged attempts to cover them up.
By examining the existing documents, the Defence Ministry found that the two cases cited by the media, one that occurred in 1992 and the other in 2000, had been fully investigated and handed over to the relevant Public Prosecutor's Office for further procedure.
The Defence Minister recently informed the public of the matter in two television shows, the statement said.
Defence Minister Roncevic said earlier on Wednesday he was receiving regular reports on the situation in the Armed Forces and that they made no mention of alleged cases of sexual harassment. He said that anyone having any information about the cases that had happened a few years ago should contact the Defence Ministry or the Public Prosecutor's Office.
"No one wants to cover up anything. It is our duty not to allow the whole system to be smeared by some off-hand assessments (...). Anyone having any evidence should give it to us," Roncevic said in an interview with Croatian Radio.