TUDJMAN CHECKING AIM

AIM, OSIJEK, May 19, 1995

When at the beginning of this year, Split journal "Nedjeljna Dalmacija" published a text - a "wanted" poster titled "Fifth Columnists in the Media" in which the journalist Vukasin Djurisic minutely listed all foreign correspondents classifying most of them among the enemies and denunciators of the Croat state, those who are well-informed about the situation in the media were puzzled why contributors of the Alternative Information network (AIM) were missing from the list of those who are destroying the "young democracy". It was presumed at the time that one of the possible reasons could lie in the fact that the European Commission, Council of Europe and the European Union regard the AIM with favour and assist it financially. Croatia which is more than concerned to end its "apprenticeship" in the entrance hall of the Council of Europe, probably, for that reason did not wish to raise the issue of the AIM, so - it was believed - it was suggested to the journalist of "Nedjeljna" to leave the contributors of the AIM alone.

But, it seems, after all, that this was a matter of something completely different. Namely, constant efforts of the current Croat authorities to find enemies all over the place would not be so successful if all "denunciators, Yugo-nostalgic Communists and 'betraying scoundrels'" were listed all at once. Somebody has probably assessed that it is much better to wage a constant battle with contributors of foreign journals, journalists of independent media and those who help them in their activities, in order to keep up the tension and show the people what great dangers lie in ambush for Croatia.

What is AIM in fact? The idea to form the Alternative Information Network was born in 1992 as a response to the war in media which, together with the real one, raged in the former Yugoslav space. In Ukranian Uzgorod, at a meeting of the European Federation of Free Radio Stations, the idea about formation of the AIM was discussed as a need to create a network within which independent and unimpassioned journalists from all the republics of former Yugoslavia would exchange objective information from their respective environments, without elements of daily political propaganda. In 1993 already, the AIM started operating and it soon developed a network of contributors in all the republics of former Yugoslavia. Correspondent centres were founded in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Prishtina, Skoplje, Podgorica, Belgrade and Ljubljana. Since telephone and all other communications among the republics of former Yugoslavia were mostly broken, AIM established its own communication based on a system of electronic mail, so that all the reports arrive at the Paris headquarters, and from there they are distributed to all the users. Almost all independent media in the newly established states in the former Yugoslav space use the offer of texts from the AIM. In Croatia, contributions of the AIM agency are used by "Feral Tribune", "Arkzin", "Novi list", Bumerang", "Star(t) nove generacije" and "Pecat" (while it was published). In the FR of Yugoslavia, texts written by AIM contributors are published by "Vreme", "Nasa Borba", "NIN", "Has", "Nezavisnost", then "Monitor" in Podgorica and "Koha" in Prishtina. In Slovenia, "Republika" is its user, and in Bosnia & Herzegovina "Oslobodjenje", "Front slobode", "Dani", "Radio Kameleon" and "Radio 99".

Activities of the AIM in Croatia are quite intensive and it is quite certain that the current regime, in its efforts to put all the media under its control, did not benevolently watch the work of some fifteen journalists who sent their reports observing the developments from a completely different angle than the official. It was therefore, just a matter of time when the contributors of the AIM would be included among the "fifth columnists in the media". When after the spring presentation of the AIM in Switzerland, in which several journalists from all the republics of former Yugoslavia took part, the Swiss press reported about the project with affinity paying tribute to it for unbiased reporting and a great contribution to reducng tensions and war-mongering propaganda, it seems that it was assessed that time has come to square accounts with the AIM. It was more than unusual, and now it has become clear not unintentional at all, that two Zagreb dailies - "Vecernji list" and "Vjesnik" carried in their columns reserved for articles from foreign press the same text from a Swiss newspaper which spoke quite favourably about the AIM. It was obviously an introduction to what followed.

Croat President, Dr Franjo Tudjman, whose public appearances rarely pass without his mentioning and listing internal enemies, in his speech at the session of the Central Committee of the Croat Democratic Community, in the context of forces which are trying to resurrect Yugoslavia, mentioned the AIM. Before quoting the part of Tudjman's speech which refers to the AIM, it is necessary to say that in present-day Croatia, a true paranoia of restoration of Yugoslavia is quite widespread. A public opinion poll in Zagreb showed that among the things the inhabitants fear the most, fear of renewed Yugoslavia ranks the third - immediately after the war and unemployment, and even before the fear of poverty! Therefore, the accusation the journalists of the AIM are exposed to is especially grave, because anybody who is labelled in this sense can have all kinds of problems.

At the mentioned session of the leadership of his party, while listing internal enemies, Dr Tudjman (quotation according to "Vjesnik") said among other as follows: "The number is increasing of those in the world who are trying to prove that independence of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina was recognized too soon, and that perhaps it would be best to restore some kind of Yugoslavic or Balkan confederation: it is true that this was not officially stressed anywhere, but we are witnesses that for instance Vukobrat from Paris officially submitted such a proposal to the European Union, such ideas are repeated at the gathering in Opatija, and there are attempts of resurrecting them in diplomatic circles as well. Some people in Croatia are also duped into believing such ideas, and alternative information media with about 70 journalists from the entire former Yugoslavia help them in it".

There is absolutely no doubt that Tudjman had the AIM in mind. The datum that about 70 journalists work for the Alternative Information Network was taken from the text of the Swiss newspaper which, as already mentioned, was carried by "Vjesnik" and "Vecernji list". It is hardly probable that President Tudjman personally reads the texts published by the AIM, but relevant state services do it instead of him and for him. But it is quite hard to explain where the stance that the AIM is advocating resurrection of some sort of Yugoslavia came from. After all, it must be the matter of paranoia of Croat authorities which uses even the attempt of some 70 journalists to professionally, objectively and without bias do their job, to intimidate the people with forces which wish to resurrect the odious Yugoslavia.

Tudjman's speech, as expected, was a stimulus for various spiritual fathers among journalists who are constantly on duty to start the action of satanization of AIM contributors. First, "Nedjeljna Dalmacija" in its last week's volume, "grazed" the AIM in a short notice, and the elaboration followed in "Slobodna Dalmacija" the following day. The Split daily, from the pen of Bruno Lopardic, on May 12 published a contribution titled "Journalists without Frontiers or a Substitute for the Ruined State". With great irony, Lopardic writes about the role of the AIM supporting the President's thesis about a group of journalists whose basic wish is to restore Yugoslavia. Knowing the circumstances in Croatia, this is probably just the beginning, so that in the time ahead one can expect a true hunt against the journalists who cooperate with the AIM. Approximately at the same time the two texts appeared which unmasked the role of the AIM following in the tracks of the President's warnings, the newly founded "Hrvatski obzor", a weekly which firmly toes the line of the ruling party, published a longish article about the Open Society Foundation (better known as the George Soros Foundation). The amounts of money of assistance the Foundation provides for the independent media projects were published, together with an indicative comparison with the amount of German assistance to Croatia, which, contrary to George Soros, has no ideological connotations.

Since the campaign against George Soros in Serbia reached its culmination in the past six months, it seems that now, pursuant to the law on connected vessels, it is now transferred to Croatia. At the moment, it seems that the turn has come for the AIM and the Soros Foundation. But, when one has in mind that the Croat President in the mentioned speech in which he grazed the AIM, listed so many enemies that it was said that there are about 15 per cent of them in Croatia, the associates of the AIM can be quite calm. If there are really 15 per cent of internal enemies in Croatia as the authorities claim, it is in fact a figure of half a million people. About fifteen journalists of the AIM in such an impressive figure are nothing but a trifle, not even worth mentioning.

DRAGO HEDL