Moves Whose goal is to Eliminate HDZ Could Ultimately Backfire

by Kreso PETRIC

Hrvatska Rijec, Sarajevo, Federation Bosnia-Hercegovina, B-H, September 23, 2000

Arrests of Croats from Bosnia-Hercegovina (BH) and charges of their alleged involvement in the murder of the late deputy minister of the Federation BH, Jozo Leutar, have been received with incredulity in Croatia. Furthermore after Klein's decided assertion that the arrest of HVO General Ivan Andabak was also related to the Leutar's murder, the whole construction almost provokes scorn. Although there have so far been no official comments form the government's circles, Racan's decided assertion that Andabak was arrested because of suspicions regarding his involvement in cocaine smuggling clearly indicates what is going on. Knowledgeable sources claim that the Croatian leadership is aware of the situation and that the whole indictment against Croats from BH is so shoddy that it is not only a judicial but also a political disgrace.

Namely, to accuse the driver Cosic (who drove the car when Leutar was wounded) of participation in that terrorist act, roughly parallels earlier Serbian accusations that Bosniaks bombed themselves at the Sarajevo market Merkale, or that the inhabitants of Dubrovnik were setting tires on fire in Stradun to accuse the Serbians of the bombardment of Dubrovnik, which they (Serbians) would never do, of course. The Croatian political circles usually state that the goal of this judicial disgrace is to criminalize the HDZ BH before the forthcoming general elections in BH. General Klein's assertions that some high Croat political officials in BH allegedly obstructed the investigation in connection with Leutar's murder have the same goal. However, the aforementioned political circles are doubtful regarding the success of that plan. Namely, such a baseless indictment could simply backfire. Instead of criminalization of the HDZ, it could provoke the homogenization of the Croat voters around the HDZ. The HDZ would thereby possibly end up with more votes that it could hope for without this rather dishonorable manipulation with the indictment fabricated by General Klein and Wolfgang Petritsch.

Having in mind the whole context, the Croatian authorities clearly distanced themselves from the case. For example, deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic clearly stated that Andabak cannot be extradited to Bosnia-Hercegovina, as did deputy Minister of Justice, Ranko Marijan, but in much clearer terms (according to the Constitution, Croatian citizens cannot be extradited to other states). Furthermore, one can discern irony in the statements of Croatian officials. For example, Goran Granic stated that he would like to see the evidence that allegedly incriminates Andabak and proves his involvement in the terrorist murder of Jozo Leutar. The answer from Sarajevo still hasn't arrived, and it probably never will. Namely, the whole trial is obviously meant for the next general elections in BH.

It should be kept in mind that representatives of the international community have a long time ago set for themselves a goal to eliminate national[ist] parties representing all three nations in BH. In the Republic of Srpska they achieved that thanks to the Hague Tribunal and Milorad Dodik, among Bosniaks that operation achieved results by putting Lagumdzija's SDP in place of the SDA, while it has only failed among BH Croats. In spite of all attempts so far, the HDZ is still the dominant party among Croats in BH. Zubak's NHI and some other Croat parties in BH simply haven't succeeded. One of the reasons is definitely the fact that certain moves of the international community whose goal is to eliminate the HDZ simply backfire. Judging by the reactions of the Croat voters in BH, that will be the case this time as well.

Klein's Amateurish Methods

A high Croat official, who wanted to remain anonymous, stated that the current indictment actually harms mostly the reputation of the international community. Who will in the future trust Klein or Petritsch if they back such pamphlets with their authority, he said. The indictment is probably a consequence of intelligence information that this is the best mode of attack on the HDZ BH, and the whole case is rather sad. The mentioned high official reminded that even the Communists refrained from such staged trials. Even in Communism the authorities made sure to have some witnesses or at least attempted to brake the suspects and force them to sign a confession admitting all the charges. The official especially emphasized that the Croatian authorities do not want to participate in something like that in order to avoid a loss of credibility. The official also emphasized that the official Zagreb, as far as the indictment and a possible trial are concerned, is actually unpleasantly surprised with amateurish methods and lack of principles of the international community in BH.

Chances of Other Croat Parties are Minimal

It is not a secret that the ruling coalition in Croatia would prefer if the BH Croats voted in the forthcoming general elections for a party other than the HDZ BH. However, after recent arrests and Klein's indictment, members of the Croatian Parliament off the record predict that the chances of other Croatian parties are minimal. Zubak's NHI, Simic's HSS, Brkic's HNZ, have been destroyed by this shoddy indictment. The same applies to the possibility that the SDP BH would win the trust of some Croats. It is especially striking that the international community, contrary to its publicly proclaimed goals, has abused Bosniak political forces and Bosniak courts for its attempt to destroy the HDZ. Thus, instead of strengthening the rule of law, the whole case has got the outline of interethnic revenge. Finally, everything boiled down to the well known saying - divide et impera - divide and rule.

Translated on October 20, 2000