The initiative, born in the milieu of Catholic lay associations, was supported by the Croatian Bishops' Conference, the Orthodox Church and the Muslim community, as well as by the Christian churches in Croatia. The aim—said the coordinator of “U ime obitelji,” Zeljka Markić—is «to promote marriage between a man and a woman as a fundamental value of the society, as well as a guarantee for the permanent legal protection of children, marriage and the family».

«Concerned about the events in France, where a minority in power has ignored the will of the people with respect to the society’s fundamental values—write the promoters—, and wanting to avoid a similar situation in Croatia, heralded by different signs and pressures, the movement ‘U ime obitelji’ (In the name of the family) was created, bringing together various civil entities, individuals, groups and associations to start conjointly collecting signatures for a referendum». More than 750 thousand signatures were collected between May 12th and 26th, in over 2000 locations in public sites across the country, including Catholic and Muslim places of worship, thanks to the work of more than 6,000 volunteers, in spite of the media boycott of which promoters say they have been victims and the real verbal and physical attacks against volunteers at the tables where they were collecting signatures, and even some episodes of violence, such as the burning of certain posts. Next Friday, June 14th, families and volunteers will go in procession to the Croatian Parliament to deliver the petition.

 

The required quorum of 375 thousand was reached as early as the first week. In the course of the collection, the Croatian government raised the required quorum to 450 thousand signatures, including Croats living abroad; then, after being informed that the quorum had been reached, it also tried to advance the idea that, being an instrument of popular participation, a referendum cannot change the Constitution. However, the law now requires the referendum’s execution, and this will be the first referendum on the direct initiative of the Croatian people.

 

According Markić, the opinion polls show that 90% of Croatian citizens are convinced that marriage is the stable union of love between a man and a woman and that it constitutes the best environment for the birth and education of their children. «This principle is expressly stated in the Constitutions of many countries, not only in Europe, and in others it is implicit, since when they were drafted, there was no need to point out something that was evident and shared by all». «There are very aggressive lobbies—Markić continues —that don’t respect the will of the people and, with the help of governments that are not serving the citizens but on the contrary use for their own interests the power entrusted to them by the citizens’ votes, impose dangerous changes». The citizens are, therefore, called to assume directly the responsibility to defend the life, the identity and the future of the Croatian population. «We did this in our recent past, when we said that we want to live in an independent state, and we defended and liberated it even in war. Now, it’s up to us, in peace, to use the tools offered by democracy, to assert what this State should be and which values it must protect», the promoters of “U ime obitelji“ say.