COMMUNIST PARTY OF HDZ

by Milivoj Djilas

Feral Tribune, Split, Croatia, November 22 1999

Ivan Aralica is the author of the major part of "The electoral lexicon of HDZ". In the past, he was a very influential member of the Municipal Committee of the Communist League [of Croatia] in Zadar. Seven out of eighteen members of the HDZ presidency were members of the Communist party. Besides Tudjman, the following individuals can boast about (or hide) their communist past: Vladimir Seks, Nikica Valentic, Ivica Ropus, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, who worked in the cabinet of Ivo Latin, present Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa, who led party investigations of INA [Croatian state-controlled oil industry] and of Djurekovic's flight [former head of INA, fled from the country in the 80's and was killed in Austria; it is alleged that he was executed by the Yugoslav intelligence service for his connections with the extreme Croatian emigrants; other allegations claim that he escaped in order to avoid arrest because of a massive embezzlement scheme at INA]... The former secretary of the Socialist League [sister organization of the Communist League; meant to be more of a grass roots organization than the CL], and the present chief secretary of HDZ, Drago Krpina is also a member of the HDZ presidency, as well as former professor of Marxism Zlatko Canjuga. Vlatko Pavletic, the present President of the Parliament, was an ideologist of the City Committee of the Communist League in Zagreb.

The "HDZ electoral lexicon", presented last week, takes a very special place in the chronicle of HDZ dishonour (although they swore they would play fair this time). Their pre-election slogan - "The Party again???" - falls in the category of worst nonsense. "The HDZ electoral lexicon" consists of a series of questions answered by the HDZ sages. For example, consider the question: "Where can we find former communists who have converted [i.e. defected, but used here in a religious sense], or sought the cover of defection? On the other hand, where is the hard core of unrepemtent and unreformed Communists to be found?". This is the answer: "Because of the fact that HDZ will direct its electoral campaign towards the imminent danger from 'the reds', which will also be the running theme of the campaign, we will be asked where we see these disguised communists. People will argue that there are more communists in HDZ than in SDP, their original party... Some of them came to HDZ, and, as far as we know, the party didn't profit from them".

LOYALTY TO THE PARTY

The party didn't profit from them?! Let's use the HDZ terminology: only someone completely politically blind, or ignorant, or lacking memory can believe that someone from HDZ has decided to tell the truth. How should we understand the sentence that HDZ did not profit from the communists who joined the party, when the President himself is a former communist? How to interpret this sentence, when, according to Jutarnji List, precisely the author of the major part of this nonsense is no one else but Ivan Aralica, the person who was among the most influential people in the Municipal Committee of the Communist League in Zadar, and today wields the same influence in HDZ? Of course, he "converted", so everything is forgiven to him. Just like to our Beloved Leader.

The two of them are certainly not the only examples of "conversion", as of recently popular in HDZ. Moreover, the leading party structures mostly consist of "converts", who have sought out the Croatian way to democracy. The presidency of HDZ, Chief Council, Central Council, National Council of HDZ, all mostly consist of former members of the Communist party, who changed colour, but not loyalty to the party, whatever its name. For example, seven out of eighteen members of the HDZ presidency were members of the Communist party. Besides already mentioned President Tudjman and academician Ivan Aralica, the following individuals can boast about (or hide) their Communist past: Nikica Valentic, Vladimir Seks, Ivica Ropus, the party's spokesman, vice-president Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, who worked in the cabinet of Ivo Latin, Zlatko Matesa, the present Prime Minister, who led the party investigation of INA and of Djurekovic's flight... Academician Vlatko Pavletic is also a member of the HDZ presidency. he used to be an ideologist in the City Committee of the Communist League in Zagreb. Although we didn't investigate their Communist pasts, its worth mentioning two other members of the HDZ presidency; Drago Krpina, the former secretary of the Socialist League and the present chief secretary of the party, and Zlatko Canjuga, the current president of the Croatia soccer club, who decided to make peace with the Bad Blue Boys [club's supporters] in this pre-election tumult by offering to bring back the club's original name Dinamo [the name was changed by late president Tudjman].

COMPOSITION OF COMRADES

Similar composition of comrades can be found in the Central Council of HDZ, which consists of 12 members, seven of whom were in the Communist League. The president of the Council is the defector Tudjman, and rest are "converts" as well: Ivan Milas, Jadranka Kosor, who even attended a Communist party ideology school, Ivan Jarnjak, Bozo Biskupic, Zvonimir Cervenko and Mirko Ramuscak. Seven out of thirteen members of the Chief Party Council were also Communists: Tudjman, Niko Bulic, Janko Bobetko, Dr. Smiljko Sokol, Dr. Jurica Pavelic, Ivica Gazi and Dr. Franjo Greguric, a member of the Municipal Communist League Committee in Zagreb until 1990. The National Council of HDZ consists of members of the three mentioned bodies: the Presidency of HDZ, the Central Council, and the Chief Party Council. So, when we add all of them up, the result is that 21 out of 41 members of the National council were members of the Communist party: a majority!

According to some sources, out of 32 members of the first Croatian government in 1990, 28 were former Communists. Today, the government numbers 21 people, including the secretary, and the former Communists are: Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa, Finance Minister Borislav Skegro, Minister of Culture Bozo Biskupic, Minister of Construction Marko Sirac, Minister of Science Milena Zic-Fuchs, Minister of Croatian War Veterans' Affairs Juraj Njavro... There are certainly more ministers who owned red membership booklets, but no one even thinks of boasting about it today. Such information is kept secret, or neglected, as if a membership in the Communist party were the greatest sin in the world.

In the past, while the key people in HDZ boasted about the large party membership, mentioning the number of half a million, and more, Zlatko Canjuga blurted out the number of 70 000 former communists who joined HDZ. Judging by the members elected to the Chief Council of HDZ at the fourth General Congress of this party, almost half out of 80 elected members used to be in the Communist Party. Seks, Aralica, Cervenko, Jarnjak, Jadranka Kosor, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, Greguric, Biskupic, Djuro Njavro, Katarina Fucek, Katica Ivanisevic, Ivan Milas, Smiljko Sokol, Jurica Pavelic, Artur Gedike, Bozidar Kalmeta, Marijan Ramuscak, Bozidar Pugelnik, Djordje Pribicevic... all of them comrades, in the party now, and in the past. It is really ridiculous that such people chose for their electoral slogan "The Party again???". Hasn't the party been in power all along?

ATTACK ON SDP

Have we perhaps witnessed, during these last ten years of the HDZ rule, something different, something better, which the former Party didn't do? Ambassadorial posts and diplomatic salaries have been reserved for those loyal to the Leader and the Party, a personality cult modeled on Tito's personality cult was developed (although Tudjman will never reach Tito's reputation, judging by the increasingly obvious titonostalgia in all of the federal Yugoslavia, including Croatia). Every director of a company, especially if it is partially or completely owned by some government body, had to join HDZ, as, without this, he wouldn't be able to become a director. Party membership and political suitability were the necessary preconditions even for the seats in supervisory boards, while the opposition served only as a decoration (which, like any other decoration, never opposes anything). Even school teachers followed the noble examples of their headmasters and joined HDZ, just like during socialism.

Only a party like HDZ: full of shameless, discredited, but always loyal defectors can use slogans such as "Either the reds, or HDZ!', "Either HDZ, or a return of the Party!", "By non-voting you help the return of the Party!", and "The Party again???", and expect to win the elections in this way. Only such a party can write in its "Electoral lexicon" that "Milosevic's communists in Belgrade issued a death threat to the leaders of SKH-SDP [former Croatian Communists]. That threat was eliminated by the victory of HDZ and Franjo Tudjman, who gave the Croatian Communists the necessary protection". The truth is that a big part of the Croatian Communist League members really joined HDZ, but has this given them the sought protection? Or did they only do something abundantly present in our tumultuous history: they joined the winning team that they are going to leave as soon as it becomes the loosing one. After all, crowds of potential members at the doors of SDP offices proves this. If SDP wants to preserve its dignity, it will soon have to impose a moratorium on membership.

Translated by Feral Tribune in November 1999