The USS Harry S. Truman clicked from Podstrana, Croatia. (Photo: Jose Alfonso Cussianovich via Total Croatia News)
On Sunday February 13, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia (SRPH) published a statement denouncing the docking of NATO warships in the port of Split. The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman arrived in Croatia on February 11 and is expected to remain there until February 15. The Norwegian Navy’s Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen also recently reached Split. The SRPH criticized the arrival of NATO naval forces in Split to “enhance interoperability between NATO forces and Croatia” in light of the latest escalation in the Ukraine crisis. The Young Socialists (MS) also criticized the docking of NATO warships.
Croatia has been a full member of NATO since 2009. In 2007, Croatia hosted NATO’s Noble Midas 07 exercise, which was the alliance’s first military exercise conducted in a non-member country.
The United States and its NATO allies have pushed their policy of military expansionism into Eastern Europe, which has helped to escalate tensions with Russia. Meanwhile, communists and other anti-imperialist sections urged Russia and Ukraine to defuse and resolve the conflict peacefully. They criticized US-led warmongering and protested attempts by various European states to improve their military capabilities and to send ammunition to Ukraine.
Read: Communists call for a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia; denounce the war propaganda carried out by the United States
the USS Harry S. Trumanalong with its carrier strike group and air wing, was a key participant in the 12-day NATO maritime exercise Neptune Strike 2022 recently held in the Mediterranean Sea.
In a February 13 statement, SRPH Chairman Kristofor Stokić said: “We demand the departure of the NATO fleet from Split, from our ports and from the Adriatic, because we do not want militarization of the coast, which directly threatens our most profitable industry. – tourism.”
He also reiterated the SRPH’s demand for Croatia’s withdrawal from NATO by referendum.
“The irresponsible political leadership of the country has drawn Croatia into the NATO alliance to align itself with a group of countries which, through military actions around the world, realize the global strategic interests of the leaders of the alliance and big multinational capital in world domination, which causes Croatia enormous material and moral damage. We therefore ask the question, which many of our fellow citizens also ask: why should we go to war for the interests of others Do we serve those who exchange death for dollars and oil and who are ashamed of nothing?” added Stokić.
