Racan Told Bobetko: Do Not Worry, This Is Nothing

Prime Minister Ivica Racan phoned, our collocutors reveal, General Janko Bobetko on Wednesday night and told him that the Hague indictment was "nothing to worry about"

by Jagoda MARIC

Novi List, Rijeka, Croatia, September 22, 2002

Croatia is waiting and Prime Minister Ivica Racan is holding the keys for the solution of that situation. That is the description of the current situation in the country, after the issuing of the indictment against General Janko Bobetko, that we heard from almost every inhabitant of the village of Crnac near Sisak, where General Bobetko was born 83 years ago. That waiting can, apart from at the family home of Janko Bobetko, perhaps, be best felt in the village of Crnac, especially in the home of Ante Zivkovic, a close friend of Janko Bobetko.

Ante Zivkovic has recently been splitting his time between Zagreb and Crnac, as he almost daily visits General Bobetko in Zagreb. In the meantime members of the headquarters for the defense of Janko Bobetko or neighbors who want to hear what is going on are almost daily visiting his house. Thus, yesterday two retired colonels, Bobetko's friends in arms from the Homeland War, Ivica Pandza Orkan [hurricane] and Veseljko Novak Zec [rabbit], visited the Zivkovic home.

Guilty Should Be Held Responsible

As far as they are considered, the current authorities have only one option. They must reject the indictment and refuse to extradite General Bobetko. If the authorities do follow that course of action, according to Zivkovic Ivica Racan would become a national hero and, again according to Zivkovic, "he must be thinking about that, because he is the most capable and sly politician in Croatia".

If that does not happen and the authorities decide to arrest and extradite General Bobetko, both colonels, and Ante Zivkovic as well, say that they will await General's orders. "Thousands of others will do the same, because this is an attack on our sacred Homeland War, not only on its legend Janko Bobetko," Novak stresses. He wonders how he would teach his children to, if necessary, defend the homeland, if those who did so are murderers and criminals.

"We had the worst possible war, neighbor fighting against neighbor. We defended our homes, but it was not possible to control absolutely everything some individuals would do. The guilty should be held responsible, but the legendary general from the Homeland War must not be blamed for that," Novak says. Zivkovic adds that Janko Bobetko is a legend of the [WWII Communist] Partisan struggle. That is his evidence that there is no chance that Bobetko could be responsible for crimes the Hague indictment accuses him of. No one in Crnac believes that Bobetko is guilty of those crimes.

Grandpa Janko Is Honest Man

"Grandpa Janko is an honest man". That's what everyone in this village, and all of them know general Bobetko, says," Zvonko Valentic tells us in front of Bobetko's house in Bobetko Brothers street. He explains that the house has been empty for a while and that General Bobetko seldom comes for a visit, while his sons come more often. The most recent visit of general Bobetko to his birth place was three weeks ago, and yesterday Vera Zivkovic, wife of Ante Zivkovic, invited General Bobetko over the phone to the celebration of Saint Mihovil, patron saint of the village of Crnac. However, the Zivkovics do not believe that General Bobetko will make it to the celebration this time, and their eyes fill with tears while we talk.

Prime Minister Ivica Racan phoned, our collocutors reveal, General Janko Bobetko on Wednesday night and told him that the Hague indictment was "nothing to worry about". Racan and Bobetko haven't met since the Hague Tribunal issued the indictment, but the Prime Minister has expressed the wish to visit the former chief of staff. It has been agreed that a meeting be scheduled for this Sunday, when Prime Minister Racan should most likely visit General Bobetko at his house. Zivkovic believes that Bobetko will, regardless of everything, accept to see the Prime Minister, "because General is prepared to talk to everyone, in hope of stopping growing divisions in the Croatian people and helping to heal the existing divisions". To the question how well Prime Minister Racan and General Bobetko know each other, Zivkovic responds that they have known each other for a long time and that the General was sincere when he praised Racan's visit to the front line in Banija, because "many of those who today swear in the Homeland War stayed at a safe distance in Zagreb".

Translated on February 3, 2004