WRITERS IN DISPUTE
CROAT LETTER AGAINST THE CROAT P.E.N.
How the relations between two groups of writers dropped below zero
AIM, ZAGREB, June 4, 1995 When the Society of Croat Writers more than a month ago started a weekly for culture called "Hrvatsko slovo" (The Croat Letter) and elected Dubravko Horvatic for its editor-in-chief, it was clear that sooner or later, on its pages an attack would appear against the "Vijenac" (Wreath), bi-weekly of the organization of a competitive group of authors (Matica hrvatska) headed by Slobodan Prosper Novak. Strained relations between the two groups of writers date way back, and they reached their culmination in December last year when 27 authors signed a petition demanding resignation of the administration of the Croat P.E.N. Centre whose president is S.P. Novak, because of the resolution they had proposed at the meeting of the International P.E.N. held in Prague.
Polemical echoes of this resolution which was called "shameful" and the Croat delegation accused of having betrayed their homeland, have still not died down in intellectual circles, and the animosities have not diminished yet. One of the results of such a situation is absence of some of the great literary names from the list of associates of the "Vijenac", but there are also constant attacks of flushed patriots against this journal because of its critical texts. The "Hrvatsko slovo" was intended to be some kind of a "nation-builders' response" in the field of culture, and it advocated such an orientation in its texts and columns, polemizing openly or implicitly with stances of the circle around the "Vijenac".
In the fifth and the sixth volume, dated May 26 and June 2, "Hrvatsko slovo" launched out into an editorial innovation the consequences of which can for the time being only be assumed. Namely, it published - without any explanations, comments or accompanying notes - a correspondence which forms no part of either that journal, or the Society of Croat Writers. Having skilfully used the fact that the Society of Croat Writers and the Croat P.E.N. are not very warm-hearted fellow-tenants at the same address in Zagreb, 7, Ban Jelacic Square, and the fact that the two associations have a joint telefax, the "Hrvatsko slovo", without consultations or approval, under an indicative title: "What does P.E.N. Do?", at the top of the second page of both volumes, publishes first a short letter which was sent on May 22 from the London P.E.N. Headquarters to Zagreb and which reminded the Croat P.E.N. "of the resolution of your Centre which was adopted in Prague" asking additional information "either by fax or in Bled" (at the international conference about writers and literature today, remark of the author) which would make it possible to answer the letter of the Serb P.E.N. signed by Predrag Palavestra. The mentioned letter was enclosed, and "Hrvatsko slovo" published that too, of course.
The letter from Belgrade reads that "the Serb P.E.N. Centre expresses deep concern because of the attacks of Croat military units against Serb civilian population in protected zones of Western Slavonia, as well as because of unintelligent vengeful acts of the local Serbs", and that its "concern is even greater because the reports aboput these events are extremely contradictory and imply that the parties involved put the truth at the service of propaganda, while thousands of innocent children and helpless people are brutally killed and forced to leave their homes". That is why the Serb Centre asked for assistance of the International P.E.N., "in order to learn the real truth about the events which resulted in a new wave of refugees in former Yugoslavia and ethnic cleansing of the usually satanized Serb nation".
Continuing the tense series about the correspondence in the next volume, the "Hrvatsko slovo" this time reached out for the source from the telefax of its rival organization, Matica hrvatska, in which Slobodan Prosperov Novak, having returned from his journey, on May 26, sent his answer to Ronald Harwood and Alexander Blokh. Among other, S.P. Novak says in his letter that he is "really appalled that Mr Palavestra is ignoring our Prague resolution about mutual contacts. Why has not he written directly to us and asked us for information we have at our disposal? Does this mean that the Serb P.E.N., although its delegate in Prague adopted our resolution, does not recognize us? I would gladly answer directly to their questions, and not through others. I hope that you understand my view".
What "really appalls" the journalist is the unpleasant fact that the editorial staff of the "Hrvatsko slovo" acts as if the short Novak's letter did not include the following sentence: "I hope you will understand Vera's letter as complete information for you" (letter of Vera Cicin-Sajn, secretary general of the Croat P.E.N. Centre who the letter from London was addressed to, note of the author). How is it possible that people in the "Hrvatsko slovo" have not felt the need to complete their little dossier about the "suspects" from the P.E.N., who are again, in Bled and Ljubljana, too heartily meeting certain foreigners and signing who knows what resolutions?
The key element which makes all the difference between a biassed and perverse information from an all-inclusive and objective one, not to say truthful, is the letter dated May 23 signed, besides by Vera Cicin-Sajn, by Vlado Gotovac (which is also quite certainly available by the same method as the others). This quite long answer informs President Harwood and Secretary Blokh that in Western Slavonia "human rights are respected and Serb population is treated in a civilized manner", that Tadeusz Mazowiecki is getting ready to visit this region and it is proposed that "a delegation of members of P.E.N. - from other countries, including Serb members, after the conference in Bled, visit the region, that is, towns of Pakrac, Lipik, Gradiska, Jasenovac and all the villages, to see with its own eyes what the situation is like over there".
It is especially stressed that Vlado Gotovac has visited the region on May 7 already, "neither as a member of the opposition Liberal Party, nor as the president of the oldest national cultural institution - Matica hrvatska - but simply as a writer and an individual who is concerned with civil rights and all the citizens of Croatia".
The following is stated about the results of Gotovac's visit: "He returned from Lipik, Pakrac, Okucani and Gradiska fully convinced that our newspapers and television reports had not exaggerated when they reported about civilized treatment of the remaining inhabitants there. He talked with the Serbs (privately) and did not find anyone who complained, except one woman who complained that the Croat police had searched her house for arms and found a considerable amount of bombs (and she said that she had no idea who had hidden them in her house)". Additional exhaustive information are also given about medical assistance, pensions, issuing of papers (including Croat passports), a wish that the Serbs who had lived there and had their homes there remained, but that for the time being only a little over a thousand persons applied for Croat citizenship, while many more had left, "especially those who had either their sons in Serb paramilitary units or parts of their families living elsewhere under Serb command. Those people also left, who had not been from Croatia by origin, but had come to the region after the Croats had been 'ethncally cleansed' and forced to leave in 1991", and there were about 14 thousand of them, which is also mentioned, as well as that all Croat houses had been destroyed, while Serb houses were not even touched during the action of Croat police.
In the end of that for "Hrvatsko slovo" obviously completely uninteresting letter, it is stated that "the Serbs who live in Croatia had the opportunity to hear calls and declarations of Croat authorities that they have nothing to fear and that everyone (except war criminals) has the right like all the other citizens of Croatia. Time must verify that the authorities really guarantee this".
The letter is supported by state agency Hina's reports about favourable assessments of EU observers, texts of foreign news aganecies, statements of UN officials about respect of human rights, statements of ambassadors in Croatia, and the proposal that P.E.N. send its members on a visit to Western Slavonia is repeated.
Whether this will happen will be known when on June 3, when the meeting of writers in Bled finishes. About this possibility, however, as well as about many other facts from other people's correspondence, the "Hrvatsko slovo" failed to inform its readers.
That is why it is not impossible that this "editorial undertaking" in two volumes will continue, in which the writers might even need, as reference, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Croatia which very precisely speaks of slander, for instance, (Article 71) or secrecy of other people's mail (Article 54). Pleasant reading!
MERI STAJDUHAR