Coalition for Revision of History
by Milan Ivkosic
Hrvatski Obzor, Zagreb, Croatia, October 14 1996
The three largest Croatian opposition parties, HSLS [Croatian Social-Liberal
party], SDP [Social-Democratic Party], and HSS[Croatian Peasant Party], which
would like to re-evaluate the history of the new Croatia, see in HDZ [Croatian
Democratic Union, the ruling party] a rival which has "stolen" Croatia
from them. The extreme example of Slavko Goldstein and Feral Tribune,
who blackmail the opposition as if they were chetniks [derogatory word for Serbs], demonstrate how
extreme that revision of history may be.
From the beginning of the so called crisis of local authorities in Zagreb
[HDZ has refused to recognize the opposition victory in the 1995 local elections],
two characteristics in the behavior of the opposition haven't changed: the
refusal of the possibility that HDZ, which is the largest party in the Zagreb
city council [with about a third of representatives], name the mayor of
Zagreb, and the pronounced "unity" of the opposition alliance. On the other
hand, every attempt to reach an agreement with HDZ, or every statement
by the opposition leaders giving credit to HDZ and president Tudjman were
greeted by the opposition alliance as treason or at least interpreted in a
way which would decisively deny the possibility of reaching an agreement
with the ruling party. Very few have recognized in such behavior of the
opposition a desire to fundamentally re-evaluate the history of Croatia
and Bosnia-Hercegovina since the beginning of multiparty democracy in this
country. Namely, the three strongest opposition parties, HSLS, SDP and HSS,
each one for its own reasons, see in HDZ a rival who has "stolen" Croatia,
instead of the party which bears the most credit for Croatian independence.
SDP sees HDZ as a rival because, as the former communists, they used to
rule Croatia, HSLS because they believe that they are the most acceptable
Croatian party for the West. HSS sees HDZ as a rival because HDZ has replaced
practically the only Croatian party between the two world wars, [HSS].
Loss of Independence is Dangerous
Of course, in front of voters and the public, the opposition parties do
not talk of such rivalry towards HDZ, but try to deny historic role of
HDZ in recent Croatian history in order to transfer that role on the united
opposition; later, a new victor would emerge in the chaos of new battles
for power. As far as the international public is concerned (at least those
policies and circles in the world which can influence the situation in Croatia)
Croatian voters should be concerned about the fact that all the opposition
parties hope to gain because of the external pressure on our country. They
expected, and hoped, and asked for such pressure. That is a clear proof that
those parties, even if they had some degree of power in Croatia, would be
dependent on this or that policy or foreign influence. Wouldn't that
threaten Croatian independence? Of course it would. Wouldn't certain planners of some new
(very much like old) associations have a better chance to convince or force
Croatia to join such an association? Of course they would.
With that in mind, HDZ's inclination to form an agreement or a coalition
on a local level, in Zagreb, with a political party with the same patriotic
inclination and similar world view is absolutely logical and in the Croatian
national interest. To allow the re-evaluation of the history of new Croatia,
would be the same as to risk its future.(...) The most extreme example of
this re-evaluation of history could be found in the press release which was
published at the start of August 1996 by Ivan Zvonimir Cicak and Dr. Ivo Banac,
on behalf of the Croatian Helsinki Committee [for human rights, Hrvatski
Helsinski Odbor]. For them, operation "Storm" is not a liberation [of occupied
Croatian territory], but the continuation of conflict in the former Yugoslavia
whose goal is the formation of national, ethnically cleansed states. If the "Storm"
is for Dr. Ivo Banac a crime equal to other crimes in this war, and if we
remember that a few years before that Vlado Gotovac had signed, together with Banac, an open
letter demanding president Tudjman's resignation [because of Croatian
involvement in fighting against Muslims in Bosnia], and the same Vlado Gotovac
[leader of HSLS] sent after the "Storm" one of the most euphoric messages of
congratulation to Tudjman, one must point out this chaotic approach of
various Tudjman's opponents and the consequences of such approach [for Croatia].
That, maybe only seemingly, chaotic approach is a unifying characteristic
of many very different, or only apparently very different, participants of
the Croatian media-political scene.
Cicak, Goldstein, Tijanic, chetniks...
When recently Vjesnik published "information", or information,
that Ivan Zvonimir Cicak had worked for the infamous UDBA [former Yugoslav
secret police] since his adolescence, Split weekly magazine Feral Tribune
was one of the most adamant defenders of his innocence. Consequently,
"extreme Croatian nationalist" Cicak can easily be connected with the heritage
of Yugoslav Peoples Army mentality in our beautiful homeland. After Tito's
death [in 1980] Belgrade journalist Aleksandar Tijanic was sent to Croatia
to prepare the ground, as far as possible, for the forthcoming Greater
Serbian campaign; for several years, he was the most prominent political
commentator in several [Croatian] newspapers: Danas, Slobodna
Dalmacija and Nedeljna Dalmacija. Today, Tijanic is Milosevic's
minister for Information, and just before his departure from Croatia, he gave
a seminar on propaganda against new Croatian authorities and democracy to
the editors and journalists from Feral Tribune in one of Zagreb hotels.
He gave the following instructions: use "shit" metaphors, photomontages of
heads and nude bodies, genitals, photomontages of sexual acts, fake quotations,
equate the situation in Croatia and politicians from the ruling party, opposition
and intellectuals with the darkest historical personalities (Hitler, Pavelic,
Stalin, Tito...) and so on. For a while, Feral found a shelter
in Slavko Goldstein's Erasmus (Goldstein is today regular contributor
in this shit-weekly); Goldstein is the organizer behind a group of liberal
intellectuals, Soros' mercenaries, and an organizer of a meeting of Serb and
Croatian intellectuals in Mimara museum; after all, he is the man who, in the
first issue of Erasmus doubted whether Croatian state can survive.
Yugonostalgic Feral Tribune very "meticulously" ridicules every
"concession" of the opposition to HDZ, and punishes the offending politicians
with satirical photo montages; the paper uses favourable inclination of
certain circles abroad to send out its messages about "fascism" in Croatia;
despite all that, the opposition finds Feral Tribune attractive and
allows the paper to both ridicule the opposition because of its yugo-position,
and blackmail it because of their interests! For example, as soon as Vlado
Gotovac takes a wrong step, especially if it seems that he is getting closer
to HDZ, he appears naked on the front page of the shit-paper, and
has to work very hard to again earn Goldstein's and Ivancic's [editor-in-chief]
good will.
The obvious position of Slavko Goldstein and Feral and the absurd position
some parties and personalities with respect to them is best confirmed by the
following fact: immediately after the "Storm", Serb woman Milka Ljubicic began
to publish in Feral; during the war she had left Zagreb newspaper
Vecernji List and went to Banija [under Serb control] where she soon
became a journalist and commentator on a chetnik radio station. The extreme
example of Feral Tribune, Slavko Goldstein and chetnik woman Milka
Ljubicic shows to what extreme situation the re-evaluation of the history
of Croatia since the dissolution of communist Yugoslavia could lead.
Translated on 2/24/97
