 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling.(July 2023) |
| Founded | 2011 in Croatia |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Grahorova 4, Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia |
| Method | Internet activism, online petitions |
| Website | vigilare |
Vigilare is a Conservative Catholic Association in Croatia founded in 2011, [1] which mainly deals with family issues in its work. [2]
Vigilare started its activities as a virtual community and later they registered as an association in Croatia. Vigilare mostly deal with family issues. [3]
The founder of the Vigilare association is Dr. sc. Vice John Batarello. Since 2008, he has led or participated in numerous public actions in Croatia, such as the actions "I was an embryo", "Kulfest", the arrival of Dr. Judith Reisman in Croatia, the state referendum on the family, etc. [4]
Vigilare is a pro-life group. [5]
During the mandate of Croatian Minister of Education Jovanovic, Vigilare campaigned against the introduction of health education in Croatian schools. [6]
Glavasevic, a member of parliament in Croatia, stated at a press conference in 2021 that, according to a report by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, the Croatian associations ''U ime obitelji'', Vigilare and Ordo iuris received more than 707 million US dollars from private donors from several countries, including the US and Russia. [7]
In 2013, Vigilare announced that due to the referendum on marriage and his public comments on YouTube, Don Damir Stojic, the student chaplain, had received death threats.
Dr. Batarelo, president of the Vigilara Association, announced the filing of criminal charges against the person who called for the murder of the student chaplain. [8]
In 2019, Vigilare legally lost the case against the former president of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipović, due to discrimination against members of the Catholic faith. Former Croatian President Josipović stated that Croatia is a secular state, not a Catholic Jamahirija.
In the verdict, the Supreme Court established that Josipović did not discriminate against members of the Catholic faith with the statement "Croatia is a secular state. It is not a Catholic Jamahiriya". [2]
In 2020, Vigilare reacted to the decision of the Croatian Constitutional court which allowed same-sex couples to adopt children and declared such a decision illegal. [9]
In 2023, the Zagreb County court ruled that Vigilare discriminated against and harassed LGBTIQ persons and their families through the initiation of the "Protect children from homo adoption" petition and publications on websites.
In 2022, the Supreme court ruled that the petition launched by the Vigilare association entitled: "Stop homo-propaganda on state television. Let's stop fake rainbows, protect children and families!" encouraged discrimination and harassment of LGBTIQ persons and their families. [10] [11]
In 2013, Vigilare called on the Minister of Education, Science and Sports Zeljko Jovanovic to resign due to irregularities in the decision to introduce the Health Education Curriculum in primary and secondary schools in Croatia without a public discussion. [12]
In 2014, Vigilare called out the shoe store Shooster for offensive marketing and called for a boycott of their products. [13]
In 2014, Vigilare launched a public campaign: ''Christmas without a discount'', with which they requested the removal of the English abbreviation of the word Christmas (Xmas) from the streets and squares in Croatia. Vigilare believes that using the English word 'Xmas' pushes religious symbols out of public space. [14]
In 2015, Vigilare requested a public apology from Croatian Prime Minister Milanovic for misusing the term "Holy Trinity" in political speech. [15]
In 2016, Vigilare called for the withdrawal of the advertisement called "Take it off" and demanded an apology from the Croatian Lottery to all women in Croatia for insulting and humiliating women.
The Court of Honor of the Croatian Association of Market Communication Societies, after considering the complaint of the Vigilare association, decided that it found nothing objectionable in the advertisement of the Croatian Lottery and that the recipients of the messages were not exposed to inappropriate content that 'discriminates' on the basis of gender. [16]
In 2016, Vigilare organized the TradFest 2016 Festival of Traditions and Conservative Ideas in Zagreb, which was attended by American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Dobrovic, Minister of Environmental protection and Energy, Stier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other politicians and religious officials. [17]
In 2017, representatives of the ProLife.hr initiative and the Vigilare association submitted 168,561 signatures to the petition for the legal protection of unborn life in the Croatian Parliament. The petition with citizens' signatures was received by Zeljko Reiner, Vice president of the Croatian Parliament. [18]
In 2017, the Vigilare Association asked Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic not to ratify the Istanbul Convention, due to the mention of gender identities in the document.
Vigilare submitted their "legal opinion" to the Ministry of Demography and Family. [19]
In 2017, the Vigilare Association protested on its website due to the tasteless marketing campaign of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb and disturbing billboards. [20]
In 2017, Vigilare regretted the European Parliament's decision to invite EU members to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Vigilare called on the Croatian Government and Parliament not to ratify the convention. [21]
In 2017, Vigilare requested a public apology from Ivo Josipović, the former president of Croatia, for the insult he caused to the citizens of Croatia by commenting that Croatia is a secular state, not a Catholic Jamahiriya. [22]
In 2018, Vigilare sent an open letter to the Minister of Science and Education, Blazenka Divjak, asking for an answer to the question of whether she would allow the use of a picture book about same-sex families in Croatian kindergartens and schools. [23]
In 2018, the Vigilare asked the Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic to dismiss the Minister of Science and Education Blazenka Divjak, because she supported the entry of the picture book 'My Rainbow Family' into Croatian kindergartens and schools. [24]
In 2018, Vigilare reacted on FB to the Zombie walk in Zagreb, when several hundred people, fans of horror films, walked around the city disguised as zombies. They said it was violence against children. [25]
In 2019, Vigilare called the Administrative court's decision according to which same-sex couples can become foster parents a provocation. The Administrative Court annulled the decision of the Ministry of Demography that a homosexual couple cannot foster a child. [26]
In 2019, Vigilare criticized the Lidl store in a public statement for selling inappropriate products to children. [27]
In 2020, immediately after the attempted attack on the Croatian government building, Vigilare organized the first public gathering in front of the government building. [28]
In 2021, Vigilare supported the initiative of the '' Hrvatski Suverenisti '' Croatian parliamentary party and their parliamentary representative Zekanovic to collect the signatures of the parliamentary representatives so that the proposal for the Law on the Protection of Life could be put on the agenda of the Parliament. [29]
The Vigilare Association launched a petition in 2021 due to a possible decision by the Ministry of Family and Minister Aladrovic to allow same-sex couples to foster or adopt children. According to media reports, the Ministry appealed the administrative court's decision on the right of same-sex couples to foster or adopt children, but will respect the final court ruling. [30]
In 2022, Vigilare called out Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic and the city administration on Facebook for prohibiting them from placing flags around the city ahead of the March for Life, even though they had previously received permission from the city. [1]
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2009 to 2011, having taken office following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. Kosor was the first and so far only woman to become Prime Minister of Croatia since independence.
Croatia recognizes life partnerships for same-sex couples through the Life Partnership Act, making same-sex couples equal to married couples in almost all of its aspects. The Act also recognizes and defines unregistered same-sex relationships as informal life partners, thus making them equal to registered life partnerships after they have been cohabiting for a minimum of 3 years. Croatia first recognized same-sex couples in 2003 through a law on unregistered same-sex unions, which was later replaced by the Life Partnership Act. The Croatian Parliament passed the new law on 15 July 2014, taking effect in two stages. Following a 2013 referendum, the Constitution of Croatia has limited marriage to opposite-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Croatia have expanded in recent years, but LGBT people may still face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The status of same-sex relationships was first formally recognized in 2003 under a law dealing with unregistered cohabitations. As a result of a 2013 referendum, the Constitution of Croatia defines marriage solely as a union between a woman and man, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage. Since the introduction of the Life Partnership Act in 2014, same-sex couples have effectively enjoyed rights equal to heterosexual married couples in almost all of its aspects. In 2022, a final court judgement allows same-sex couples to adopt children under the same conditions as everyone else. Same-sex couples in Croatia can also apply for foster care since 2020. Croatia bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Milan Bandić was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the time between his resignation in 2002 and the 2005 election. He was also suspended from exercising his powers and duties for several months after his 2014 arrest over a corruption scandal. Out of Bandić's multifaceted engagement in politics, the most noted part was his mayoralty of Zagreb, which followed the Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) first post-socialist period of government (1990–2000), and exacerbated many existing transitional problems in the city.
Zoran Milanović is a Croatian politician serving as President of Croatia since 19 February 2020. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was prime minister from 2011 to 2016 and president of the Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2016.
Ljubo Jurčić is a Croatian economist, current president of the Croatian Association of Economists since 2006 and former Minister of Economy from 2002 to 2003.
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 27 December 2009 and 10 January 2010. Twelve candidates participated in the first round, prior to a run-off between first-round winner Ivo Josipović and runner-up Milan Bandić. In the run-off, Josipović won a landslide victory, receiving 60.3% of the vote becoming the first elected president nominated by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP). The incumbent president Stjepan Mesić, who was first elected in 2000 as the candidate of the Croatian People's Party and re-elected in 2005 as an independent, was ineligible to seek re-election to a third term due to term limits.
Independent Croatia and Serbia established diplomatic relations on 9 September 1996, following the end of the Croatian War of Independence. From 1918 to 1991, both countries were part of Yugoslavia. They now share 241 kilometers of common border. According to the 2011 Croatian census, there were 186,633 Serbs living in Croatia. According to the 2011 Serbian census, there were 57,900 Croats living in Serbia. Smaller lasting disputes include border disputes over the Island of Šarengrad and the Island of Vukovar. Serbian and Croatian are mutually intelligible standardized varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language and are official in Serbia and Croatia respectively.
Željko Turk is the current mayor of Zaprešić, a town in Zagreb County, Croatia.
Index.hr is a Croatian tabloid online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a news aggregation website, providing news content from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Slovenia. The website quickly grew in popularity and over time, more original content was produced by its growing staff until it became a popular media outlet in its own right. It has been described as having a "reputation of an independent, liberal, and strongly opposition outlet" with a "strong liberal bias".
A referendum on the EU accession of the Republic of Croatia was held on 22 January 2012. Croatia finished accession (membership) negotiations on 30 June 2011 and signed the Treaty of Accession on 9 December 2011, setting it on course to become the bloc's 28th member state. The Constitution of Croatia requires that a binding referendum be held on any political union reducing national sovereignty, such as via European Union membership. On 23 December 2011 the Croatian Parliament made a preliminary decision on EU accession and determined that the referendum would be held on 22 January 2012. The 2012 Croatian EU accession referendum was the first referendum held in Croatia since the Croatian independence referendum held more than 20 years earlier, in 1991.
Opinion polling for the 2015 Croatian parliamentary election started immediately after the 2011 general election. Monthly party ratings are conducted by Ipsos Puls, Mediana and Promocija Plus.
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 28 December 2014 and 11 January 2015, the sixth such elections since independence in 1991. Only four candidates contested the elections, the lowest number since 1997. Incumbent President Ivo Josipović, who had been elected as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party in 2009–2010 but ran as an independent, was eligible to seek reelection for a second and final five-year term. As no candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round in December 2014, a run-off took place in January 2015 between the two candidates with the most votes; Josipović and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Grabar-Kitarović went on to win the elections by a slim margin of 32,509 votes or 1.48%, making her Croatia's first female president.
2014–2016 Croatian war veterans tent protest was 555 days long war veterans protest, often dubbed in Croatia as The Tenters. The protests were initially aimed against Ministry of Croatian Veterans deputy Bojan Glavašević and Minister Predrag Matić himself, however the protesters subsequently changed their demands and started demanding the resignation of centre-left Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and then President Ivo Josipović. The protests escalated in May 2015 when a group of protesters breached the riot police cordons in Zagreb Upper Town and barricaded themselves inside St. Mark Church, where they again clashed with the police. At the same time another group of protesters near the central tent blocked the traffic and brought out gas bottles on Savska street which they apparently threatened to blow if the police refused to back off from the church. After both Josipović and Milanović lost the elections in 2014 and 2015, the protests gradually calmed down and in April 2016, with the new minister taking over the Veterans Office, the tent was dismantled, formally ending the protest.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia has resulted in 1,277,094 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18,495 deaths.
At approximately 6:24 AM CET on the morning of 22 March 2020, an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 Mw, 5.5 ML, hit Zagreb, Croatia, with an epicenter 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city centre. The maximum felt intensity was VII–VIII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The earthquake was followed by numerous aftershocks, the strongest of which with a magnitude of 5.0. It was the strongest earthquake in Zagreb since the 1880 earthquake and caused substantial damage in the historical city center. More than 1,900 buildings were reported to have been damaged to the point of becoming uninhabitable. The earthquake was also felt in Slovenia. One person was killed and 27 others were injured.
On the night of 24–25 July 2020, after 21:00 local time, Zagreb, Croatia, was struck by a storm which produced one of the worst flash floods in the city's history. An episode of intense rainfall dumped more than 50 millimetres (2 in) of rain within two hours. The torrential streams of the mountain overlying Zagreb surged and overwhelmed the city's combined sewer system, causing flooding. The effects were worst felt in the inner city, notably Ilica, Donji grad and Trnje, though many suburbs were also affected, including Buzin, Črnomerec, Jankomir, and Maksimir. Public transport and automobile traffic ceased in many streets, while trapped people had to be rescued from flooded cars and apartments. A firefighter died at an intervention. No financial estimate of damages was released by the authorities. The city government reported receiving over 2,000 damage claims during an eight-day filing period.
The following of Ante Pavlović was a Croatian following centered around controversial charismatic Croatian self-proclaimed chiropractor Ante Pavlović.
Vjekoslav Prebeg is a former Croatian and Ukrainian soldier.
Ukraine and Russia have had hostile relations since 2014 Russian occupation of Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. In February 2022, a major escalation happened after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This article concerns influence of Russo-Ukrainian conflict on Croatians and Republic of Croatia.