Discrete Charm of Amnesia

Feral Tribune, Split, Croatia, March 1 1999

Even after the publication of documents about the military prison in Sibenik, where during the war Serb civilians were tortured and murdered, we are flooded by fake outrage, and conscious loss of memory. Instead of dealing with the essence, i.e. committed crimes, both the participants of these horrible events and journalists are speculating on whether the "discovery" of horrific events in Sibenik during 1992 and 1993 was only a timely leak in the pre-election clashes between two factions within HDZ. However, the "discovery" of the war-time events in Sibenik was made a year ago and publicized in Feral.

The Croatian public is yet again in shock! Documents about crimes committed against Serb civilians in the military prison Kuline in Sibenik published in Globus have "shocked" Sibenik. Newspapers are full of statements of all sorts of political leaders which have one characteristic in common: from all of them one can glean surprise and disbelief about the horrors in Sibenik inspired by the "heroes of the Patriotic war" colonel Zeljko Maglov, Frane Goreta, former head of Croatian Secret Service in Sibenik Tvrtko Pasalic, and then commander of the 113rd brigade of the Croatian Army Davor Skugor. It appears, judging from the recent newspaper articles, that really no one knew anything about all that until last week when Globus published details of the testimony by Mario Barisic, former Military Police member in Sibenik.

Thus, as many times in the past, we were overwhelmed with fake indignation, and a conscious loss of memory. Instead of dealing with the essence, in this case crimes, both the participants of these dark events and journalists only engaged in speculation whether the "discovery" of horrendous events in Sibenik in 1992 and 1993 were an attempt to discredit one of the two conflicted factions of HDZ in Sibenik.

Letter to Pop

However, the habitually slow Croatian public and "patriotic" opposition did not allow themselves to be drown into the story about Croatian crimes which are with every day becoming an increasingly burdensome and shameful weight around Croatia's neck. There should be no doubt that the letter was read in the long gone 1993 by Mr. Franjo Tudman. We do not know whether he was shocked, but we do know that he did not react. Neither then nor in 1998 when Feral wrote about that. Nor today.

"They gorged on ham and drank wine. They never showed up on the front. They are cowards, criminals, and thieves who were never on the front line. They only beat and mistreated people in the prison, and discredited Croatia at every step. Only God could help those who fell in their hands: they were better off committing suicide, and many tried to do that," says Mario Barisic in Novi List (February 26 1999) about his former colleagues.

However, former SZUP chief Smiljan Reljic has a totally different, but for the regime typical, opinion about the mistreatment of Serb civilians in the Sibenik prison Kuline. He, according to Slobodna Dalmacija, claims to had "heard hundreds of similar stories during the war" because there was "always someone who was dissatisfied by something or bothered by someone"...

Indeed, Ante Karic, as the chief of the Crisis Headquarters for Lika was "bothered" by crimes and murders of Serb civilians in Gospic so he sent a letter to his leader in 1991 and Feral published the letter in 1997. The president, exactly like his former secret service chief Reljic correctly concluded that Serbs in Gospic "bother someone".

"Tihomir Oreskovic recruited to the Military Police the worst criminals, thieves and Ustashe butchers. He must be behind the disappearances of Serbs in Gospic," Ante Karic writes in his long letter to the president, mentioning many sickening details, among other that an assassination on him personally had been ordered. "There is smuggling and theft of confiscated weapons. Large numbers of both Croat and Serb houses have been looted," says Karic. "Briefly, retaliation is rife. During cleansing Mercep appeared with his boys and they drove away with stockpiled weapons towards Senj, Crikvenica and Opatija. There they fought and demolished hotels and private homes..."

Susak's Boys

The murder of the Zec family, when even a 12 year old girl was murdered, prompted a deep sigh by the Croatian public but, as customary, only for a short while because, who knows, maybe someone "was bothered by that small girl". For example former Tudman's bodyguard Sinisa Rimac who, because of "lack of evidence" was acquitted of all charges in the murder of Aleksandra Zec. In the Pakracka Poljana case the court did not find in necessary to keep him in custody.

"I told everything to the president, investigative commission, and journalists. Who else can I talk to? Should I contact the Hague Tribunal? Do you know how many Serb civilians were killed after the operation 'Storm' and no one has been tried for that? The same team committed all of these crimes in Lora, in Kuline, in Gospic and the whole Croatia. The only difference is in the number of victims and seriousness of crimes... All participants retained their positions and were even promoted," says Mario Barisic in Novi List.

When immediately after the operation "Storm" Feral wrote about the crimes against Serbs, it was sharply criticized because of "anti-Croatian activities" not only by the pro-regime dummies but also by the currently highly ranked opposition politicians. The Croatian public kept silent on the wings of national-liberation exaltation, convinced that in a liberation war Croats could not commit a crime.

Mister president did not pay attention to such "details" until he received a threat from the Hague Tribunal about possible indictments against his "storm" generals. And then, followed with deadening silence, he proclaimed those threats to be "typical pressures by the world on Croatia".

Two and a half years ago Feral published testimony of former police chief in Gospic Ivan Dasovic and SZUP chief for Gospic Mirko Kasumovic about the crimes which had been committed against Serb civilians under the command of Tihomir Oreskovic and general Mirko Norac. Dasovic and Kasumovic gave statements to the representatives of UNS [National Security Office, yet another secret service] in 1991. Besides total silence, the only worthwhile development was that Minister of Defense Gojko Susak gave his firm support to "our boys".

Journalist Zvonimir Krstulovic wrote in 1992 a sickening article on the pages of Slobodna Dalmacija about the mistreatment in the Split military prison Lora. One of those who "bothered someone" had been severely beaten on many occasions and put in a dog kennel with a chain around his neck by the heroes of the Patriotic War. The unfortunate Dj.K. was one of the few who were not carried from the military prison in Lora to the mortuary.

Did the, today so emotional, Croatian public react at the time? Did some from the opposition demand that the horrific events in the military prison in Lora (which was as infamous as the one in Sibenik's Kuline) be investigated?

Correspondence from Vukovar

Feral published Marin Vidic Bili's letter in full in September 1997. In the letter he demands from the "responsible officials" to "urgently intervene" and "clean up the situation". Among other he says: "Surrounded by individuals of doubtful moral and professional quality, mostly former criminals, Tomislav Mercep has assumed total control of everything taking place in the Vukovar municipality. He does not refrain from repressive and violent measures against the local citizens: illegal break-ins into apartments, robberies, confiscation of private vehicles, violent arrests and interrogations, even executions..."

About all of that Feral has published thousands of words. The reply by the regime was that "such articles soil the Patriotic war" and that of the public - silence. The same silence to which obedient journalist vowed to in the past and which was then as profitable as is today crowing, surprise and outrage about crimes. Today at the time when this regime, together with its crimes, is obviously reaching its last moments.

Thus, today, until recently Kutle's, and today state-owned Slobodna Dalmacija is carefully investigating the "Sibenik issue" with headlines such as "Sibenik in shock" and "Execution lists?!" Horrible!

With absolutely incredible easiness they are trying to make the impression that the information about all those crimes has only become available recently, only because of the alleged clashes within HDZ. Of course that is only another portion of the deception.

Letters of Ante Karic, Marin Vidic Bili, Mario Barisic, and local leaders from Sibenik were sent to president Tudman. Thus, there is no doubt that he was informed about all the sickening details of the dark side of the liberation war. Furthermore, the Croatian public was also informed about the content of those letters at a later date but it decided to, like Tudman, stick its head in the sand and ignore them.

Mandate for Crime

It turns out that Croats are truly interesting creatures. Namely, most of them have a keen instinct which helps them figure out when silence and forgetfulness should be replaced by outrage and suddenly recovered memory. Besides, this is not the first time: in 1990 we already suffered mass amnesia and over night replaced collective communist obedience with nationalist "zeal".

But seriously, do one perestroika more or less, one crime more or less, have any importance in the collective memory of a nation?

"After all, the history is indifferent," as Ivan Vekic would say. Do you remember him? In private life a poet, he will be remembered as a minister of police during whose tenure crimes, about which everything has always been known, was considered to be an undoubtedly patriotic act and as such had to be rewarded!

Translated on 3/20/99