"Creating an Interior Ministry special police force was one of the key events in the creation of the Croatian Armed Forces. You were the first organised and, then, most important armed unit in the just created state. And you were the first to oppose a more numerous enemy at the very start of the Homeland War, but you did it just as steadily and uniformly until its very end, carrying on your shoulders the biggest burden and responsibility in the victories and shaping of the direction of the Homeland War," Bozinovic said.
Recalling that 14 Lucko Anti-terrorist Unit members were killed in the 1991-95 war, he said, "In their honour, we are building together a modern society and police in which all its citizens can plan a safe and dignified future."
The minister said the Lucko Anti-terrorist Unit was recognised internationally as well, equally participating in all fields. He added that HRK 3.2 million worth of equipment was being procured for the special police this year.
Asked by reporters about his statement about a second stage of the removal of the "For the homeland ready" salute from a controversial memorial plaque, Bozinovic said, "It envisages that Croatian society, including respectable experts on the council for dealing with symbols of undemocratic regimes, should find an answer to issues from the past as much as possible by some consensus, so that all our potential, professional, political and economic, can be dedicated to the challenge of today, raising living standards."