Citizens in Zagreb protested Croatia's complicity in the Gaza genocide, dozens arrested

(Patria) - Dozens of citizens were detained in Zagreb today after non-violently blocking the entrance to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs building, thereby protesting against, as they stated, "Croatia's complicity in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people in Gaza".

During the act of civil disobedience, the demonstrators demanded an immediate end to all of Croatia's ties with Israel – economic, military, energy, and educational – as well as the immediate cessation of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement released to the public by the protest participants, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs was described as a "consistent and reliable partner to the Israeli authorities during years of occupation, apartheid, and genocide". Particular criticism was directed at the contacts made by Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman with Israeli officials in March of this year, when, amidst the bombing of Gaza, he visited Israel to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries – particularly in tourism and energy.

"Instead of using all diplomatic and political mechanisms to contribute to ending the killing of Palestinian men and women, the Croatian government has chosen the path of active complicity in Israeli crimes," the statement read. Demonstrators warn that even more than 50,000 extinguished lives in Gaza were not enough for Croatia to sever ties with Israel.

It was also emphasized that if Croatia does not have a moral responsibility, it is obliged to act in accordance with international law, referring to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Charter of the United Nations.

They also recalled that the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel is not unprecedented in the region's history. The former Yugoslavia severed ties with Israel in 1967, immediately after the Six-Day War and the occupation of additional Palestinian and Arab territories – which was the first such move by that country.

The organizers of today's action emphasize that no formal organization is behind the protest, but rather it is a spontaneous gathering of a broader movement of citizens, prompted, as they say, by the alarming scale of destruction and suffering in Gaza.