Independent State Worst Sin

by Drago KRPINA

Slobodna Dalmacija, Split, Croatia, May 1, 2001

Starting with the victory in the first multi-party elections in 1990 the HDZ was not a favorite of most centers of power in Europe and the world. From the very start the HDZ was accused of being a nationalist and radical political party. The accusations coming from abroad were above all prompted by attacks on the HDZ in Croatia, which mostly came from Communist ideologues, above all Ivica Racan, who denounced the HDZ as "the party of dangerous intentions".

Factors From Abroad

Powerful "international factors" based their interpretation on the following syllogism. The idea of Croatian independence is nationalist, the basic idea in the HDZ's program is independence for Croatia; consequently, the HDZ is a nationalist party. There were several reasons for the opposition of "international factors" to the Croatian independence. Victors in WWI and WWII, creators of the first and second Yugoslavia, viewed Yugoslavia as a lasting solution for international order in this part of Europe. Consequently, they experienced the dissolution and disappearance of Yugoslavia as an attack on the achievements of their two victories. Besides, Croats were not the only European nation fighting for their freedom and sovereignty. To give support to the Croatian independence struggle meant for some European factors the same as encouraging similar idea in their own backyard.

Readiness of Croats to make sacrifices, their preparedness to fight for freedom and their centuries-yearned-for independent state at all cost, the specific nature of relationships between certain European countries, and finally the principled attitude of the Vatican, led to the international recognition of the independence of Croatia. However, even after the recognition, those who were for the abovementioned reasons against Croatian independence persistently sought ways and methods to diminish and make irrelevant the achievement of Croatian state sovereignty, never totally giving up their attempts to fully or partially cancel out its effects.

Unrelenting Pressure

The biggest obstacle to such intentions was the HDZ. That is why the Croatian authorities, actually the HDZ, were under constant pressure. Various excuses were made up as justifications for those pressures, such as Tudman's authoritarian rule, human rights, lack of media freedom, return of Serbs and so on. The international factors were prompted to make such accusations by the local opposition politicians and anti-HDZ media which engaged in a coordinated campaign against the HDZ. The extent of insinuation and misinformation against Croatia was at times unbelievable. Thus, for example, in 1998 the report of the American US Peace Institute stated that in Croatia criticism of president Tudman is banned by law. The actual truth was that there were very few countries in which the democratically elected president was attacked with the same fierceness and with such dirty methods, both by the opposition politicians and the media, as in Croatia. These attacks were frequently below every professional standards and even below any minimum of decent civic upbringing. But, reports such as the abovementioned one circulated between the European and world power centers and based on them pressure was persistently applied on Croatia and the HDZ, respectively.

The degree to which the international factors, both directly and indirectly, meddled in the internal political matters in Croatia reached the highest degree on the eve of the last general election. Besides investing significant amounts of money into various non-governmental organizations and anti-HDZ disposed media, whose task was to discredit the HDZ, pressure was also exerted on the free will and conscience of the of Croatian citizens. Messages directed at Croatian citizens were actually open threats that boiled down to the following: if you vote for the HDZ, Croatia (therefore all of her citizens) will be punished by isolation. At the same time, a reward was promised. If they voted against the HDZ, Croatia was going to be rewarded by accelerated process of integration in the European and Atlantic integrations and all other benefits.

Again Racan

The goal was the establishment of such authorities in Croatia whose decisions and policies would be far more amenable to influence from outside Croatia than was the case with the HDZ. A confirmation of this theory is the unprecedented joy with which influential international factors greeted the victory of the opposition in Croatia. Everything was clear. They welcomed their own victory, thereby confirming their intensive participation in the election campaign. Of course, as far as the influence of the "international factors" on the elections in Croatia is concerned, it must be said that it was facilitated by the dissatisfaction of the citizens with the objective mistakes made by the HDZ. It is possible that, due to its own mistakes, the HDZ would have anyway lost the election. However, the invested "international factors" were not prepared to leave anything to chance. After "their" forces won in Croatia, they are happy and satisfied, while Croatia has become a "favorite" of the world and Europe.

Croats have been disappointed by the HDZ and that is why they voted for other parties. They found a way out in the return of Racan, whose rule they experienced in the decades of the totalitarian rule of his Communist Party. Racan's mentors and sponsors to not care about his communist past. Of course, crimes in the name of Communist ideology (and Racan was one of its most agile creators and promoters as long as that was possible) were not committed in their countries. Instead of to Belgrade, where he went for decades for his opinions, Racan will now travel elsewhere.

On the other hand, Croats can only hope that the worst will not happen, that someone will not again usurp the right to make decisions on their behalf, as was the case in other centuries of slavery.

Translated on August 15, 2001