'WANTED' POSTERS FOR JOURNALISTS

AIM, ZAGREB, January 17, 1995 After the already slightly forgotten, but never explained discharge of the editor of Information Program of Croatian Television, Tomislav Marcenko, and the nomination of a sports journalist, Ivica Blazicka, in his place, as well as the also unexplained departure of the editior-in-chief of Vjesnik, Krsimir Fijacko, who was replaced by a complete anonymity among journalists, Ante Ivkovic, an atmosphere of expectation who would be next was created in Croatia.

There were rumours that the authorities were not satisfied with the editor-in-chief of "Vecernji list" either, and there were even jokes about there being noone as obedient as Branko Tudjen. Occasionally, the story that Tudjman had decided to break bonds with Antun Vrdoljak, the chief of the entire Croatin Radio-Television, also came to life, and here and there, other big and small "spring-cleaning" were announced. The only thing that actually happened was that the weekly "Danas" was closed down, but its editor-in-chief, Hloverka Srzic-Novak, similarly to Fijacko who will be leaving to New York as a correspondent, will secure a good position most probably as the spokesman of the powerful INA. And just to prevent anyone from thinking that there is anything this lady and her "Danas" (which had nothing in common with the real one except the name and the usurped premises) were politically reproached for anything, she was nominated into the Republican School Council, as a parent of two children. Therefore, closing down of "Danas" is purely of financial nature, since it was really senseless to finance a journal which sold hardly a few thousand copies.

About the same time, several other new journals appeared which were exclusively in the sphere of yellow press, and a newly founded weekly, "Pecat" met with difficulties. Its editorial staff, consisting mainly of people from the former "Danas", decided after 13 volumes (the latest bearing the date of December 20) to interrupt temporarily piling up the debt until it finds firm sources of financing which will enable it to operate in peace at least for six months. A replacement of "Danas" is also in preparation. Its name is "Hrvatski obzor" (Croatian Horizon), and although it is unadvisable to predict, among the journalists the opinion prevails that it will be mere sqandering money, because the already nominated editor-in-chief, writer Stjepan Cuic, known for his extreme rightist and obscure columns in "Vjesnik", can be no guarantee of either journalistic or financial success.

But all that is just a trifle in comparison with the political and media dust raised by "Nedjeljna Dalmacija" which, in a text titled "The Fifth Columnists in the Media" listed more than 50 journalists, mostly domestic ones working for foreign media, but not sparing the "real" foreign correspondents either. A certain Vuk Djuricic, who turned out to have been a correspondent of "Arena", "Mila" and similar journals from Montenegro until 1992, and whose real name is Vukasin, first attacked the "former leading Communist pens", such as Djordje Zelmanovic, Zarko Modric, Miroslav Gacic, Gojko Marinkovic, Jelena Lovric, Sead Saracevic, Zivko Gruden, Zvonko Letica, Slavenka Drakulic, Marinko Culic, Tomislav Jakic, Branka Sesto, Gordana Gojak, Mira Suvar, Nino Kosutic. And all because they report for some foreign newspaper, TV, radio or agency, and some of them even for the media of the hostile FR of Yugoslavia. In this text - 'wanted' posters, which according to its "concept" can be classified in no journalistic genre, but primarily, or only, into a hardly literate medley whch should have ended in the waste-paper basket of the editor, all foreign correspondents who are reporting from Croatia are also listed, so that the impression is that the worthy Vuk, who once again verifies that a renegade is the worse enemy, teaches the Croats and the foreigners a lesson in true patriotism. The "text" published on two pages as any 'wanted' poster, is even adorned with five enormous photos of the "fifth columnists": Jelena Lovric, Zivko Gruden, Slavenka Drakulic, Zvonko Letica and Tomislav Jakic.

The Society of Foreign Correspondents was the first to react to this pamphlet, with its President Alexander Orssich, the editor of "Kleine Zeitung" at its head, who warns "that the author does not give a single example, article or citation from correspondents' reports which could lead to the assessment about their being fifth columnists. Only big photographs of some of the journalists are published, so that the whole writing reminds of former Yugoslav unitaristic denounciations of 'enemies' in the style of former Security Service journal 'Oko' from the seventies". The Executive Board of the Croatian Journalists' Society (HND) was also unusually prompt and sharp, considering the text "a disgrace for its author, the editorial staff and the entire journalistic profession".

"We consider the work of all public workers, and therefore, writing of domestic and foreign correspondents subject to judgment of the public and journalistic analysis, but all those who are writing for the public are bound by the rules of the profession and its codex. In the case of the text 'The Fifth Columnists in the Media", neither did the author nor the editorial staff abide by any of the mentioned postulates", the statement of the HND reads. And in the end, a citation is added from the minutes of the Fourth Regular Sessions of the HND Assembly held on April 5, 1994, which literally says: "Zagorka proposes that Croatian Journalists' Society condemns mutual attacks of colleagues journalists. The following resolution is adopted: The Central Assembly of the Croatian Journalists' Society regrets mutual newspaper accusations of colleagues journalists which are an insult to the reputation of the journalistic profession and which jeopardize the professional interests of individuals, and appeals that such attacks be avoided in the future. Possible disputes among journalists shall be addressed to the Croatian Journalists' Society".

"Nedjeljna Dalmacija", however, pays no heed to it all, but goes on. Editor-in-Chief, Dubravko Grakalic, who came to the post God knows why, but quite certainly not for being a famous journalist and editor, "rejects insinuations" and tries to remedy the damage by a statement that the title does not refer to all the correspondents and all the listed journalists, but those who have prosecuted "Croatian nationalists" until 1990 and edited newspapers by order of Belgrade, only to report now that the Croatian people have been betrayed and cheated in democracy. Grakalic apologized to the colleagues who were mentioned in the text "and who are really foreign correspondents, and about the rest - Communist servants who have just changed masters - 'Nedjeljna' will continue to write about them in the following volumes presenting their former and present journalistic work".

Maybe the whole story would not deserve attention (some even claim that many have taken the bait and thus given 'Nedjeljna' the significance it does not actually have), had it not been part of an already well-known scenario whose authors might be recognized in certain state agencies, services for protection of the system, counter-espionage organizations, various reporting agencies and similar. For instance, it is no coincidence that even two computer networks have carried this text in extenso, and Hina was the one to forward it to them. This has all happened right after the split among intellectuals, especially authors and Matica hrvatska, PEN and similar has successfully been accomplished.

As many internal enemies as possible should be produced in order to finally find the argument for application of real force, and the journalists, it is well known, can be, if disobedient, extremely dangerous. There is another, much more commonplace reason: this is an attempt of taking over of Croatian Journalists' Society by the state and the party, but not just as a lever of power, but as significant material property as well. Croatian Journalists' Society has been the object of attacks from similar positions for a long time already, and an action to exclude the retired journalists and free lancers from its operation has still not been completed. This action was initiated in order to bring the Society down to state journalists who would then offer their House of Journalists as a gift, or hand it over to be managed by some of the present power-wielders. And this House is an enormous capital of the journalists which already earns an annual income of several hundred thousand German marks and which can ensure independence to both the Society and the Trade Union, and even an income for the aid to the unemployed and the retired journalists.

This might turn out to be useful in the end, because this will finally be an occasion for the Board of Honour to meet after five or six years, and speak out what it thinks about journalism such as that published by "Nedjeljna", because ultimately the mentioned Vuk is just another victim who was forced to prove his loyalty. Some court complaints have already been announced, and in the meantime, member of the Academy of Sciences, Dalibor Brozovic, seems to be hesitating with convening the first session of the Board for the Protection of Feedom of Public Information, although way back, on the occasion of the "Fijacko case" he refused to state his opinion, because it would mean prejudicing the stance of the Board.

Instead of a conclusion, let us cite one of the named journalists, Branka Sesto: "No enemy could do a worse 'favour' to Croatia than the writer and the publisher of this text. It is one of the worst sabotages against Croatia, because if all the foreign media and those working for them are enemies, it explicitly means that there is something wrong with that state".

Perhaps some more light can be shed on the latest wave of accusations by the insulting and ruthless letter signed by the Vice-President of the Assembly, Vladimir Seks. The letter was published by three daily newspapers - "Vecernji list", "Vjesnik" and "Slobodna Dalmacija", on the occasion of the interview given by Mika Tripalo to "Vreme" through the AIM agency, which ends as follows: "Such a shameful act has been precedented neither in Croatian nor in world history (to give an interview to a hostile country, remark of the author). Except by quislings, collaborators, spies, or for a handful of Judas's silver pieces".

What is Vuk like in comparison with Seks? Lukewarm water.

GOJKO MARINKOVIC