BURNING A NEWSPAPER AT THE THRESHOLD OF EUROPE

AIM, Zagreb, July 3, 1995 After two Croats, returnees from Australia, last week, in several spots in Split, seized copies of the Feral Tribune from colporteurs and news-stands and burned them as a sign of protest in front of passers-by, but a group of news photographers and TV cameras too - which they had informed in advance about their fiery "happening", just as they had in an orderly manner given them their names and other personal data

• complete silence prevailed. The police which did nothing to prevent the first burning of newspapers in Croatia, did not even show the intention to do anything afterwards, and snapshots of the Split fire did not appear in any of the Government journals or television.

The always fit and powerful Croat state this time refused to get involved, as if someone had decided that this was a normal "communication" between a provocative newspaper and dissatisfied readers. Apart from the charred Split weekly, which immediately brought criminal charges against the two perpetrators, just a few minor, "leftist" parties issued statements - Mika Tripalo's ASDH, Ms Lorger's DA and Jakovcic's IDS, the latter even offering the Split weekly, should the attacks be repeated (which according to the threats which reached the editorial staff are quite likely to happen)

• to move to Istria. Such humble echo of the event in the public, which was not joined even by the professional organization of journalists (at a meeting of its section of "free lancers" one could even hear the opinion that the "anti-state" journal from Split got what it deserved), was later cause for the Croat Helsinki Committee to raise the issue of something that one could call the new "Croat silence", but which this time had both the roots and the results at home. Mr Cicak's HHO believes that the Feral, due to frequent threats and harassment, became "indicative of the relation of the Croat authorities, but the public in general too, to civic freedoms and a civic state".

Nevertheless, even the HHO expresses special concern because this time majority of opposition parties, professional and cultural associations and others "let the event in Split pass in silence". It also expresses its belief that the burning was "well organized" (verified by the presence of news photographers and cameramen), and although the state and its services are not directly suspected, it is emphasized that the Feral was burned on June 27, but also the day before, so that the reason why the Split police did not react can by no means be explained by its possible "drowsiness". It is interesting that after the statement of the HHO, the leader of the extremist rightists, Mladen Schwartz appeared in public saluting the flames in Split, since it was better to burn "newspapers instead of newspapermen", and he added that his guys in Split intend to continue with this successfully initiated action. But, since the two Australian Croats did not declare themselves as Schwartz's supporters (lately more of them are dropping out of his party than they are joining it), this can be understood as his laying claim to the burning, especially since he was better known as a "theoretician" than a practising extremist.

Altogether, the impression is that a careful hand is attempting to arrange the strictly controlled facts concerning the Split burning in such a manner as to enable the state to acquire an alibi that it has nothing to do with it, but also a pretext to call to order the newspaper which "provokes" vandalism of the radical street rightists with its "anti-Croat" writing. It is not impossible that in setting this up the state broom may get hold of an extremist group or organization too, but this is all still in the domain of speculations. The newspapers are in fact already subject to pressures which have actually never stopped, so it would be more precise to say that the pressures are just becoming concentrated and, as a burning issue, they quite certainly derive and are coordinated from immediate Tudjman's surroundings. A few days ago in the Vjesnik, a text appeared which is dealing with some kind of a group portrait of Croat independent media which are openly accused of being against Croatia and that, in destablizing it, they are following the instructions of some foreign centres and organizations. Among these, smartly called "independent" journals, are the Feral Tribune, Novi list, Vijenac, Erazmus, Arkzin, Bumerang and Hrvatska ljevica, and what allegedly they all have in common (which is intentonally made up) is that they are financed by the foundation of George Soros and the Open Society Institute. These are, again suspected of being supporters of pro-Yugoslav and even cryptic communist ideas.

This imaginative and entertaining mixture in which one of the magnates of world capitalism appears in the role of a cunning communist agitator, was prepared and signed by certain Miljenko Calic, so far unknown even to the best informed reading public. Anonimity did not deprive Calic of courage to challenge all the hit topics of Croat political life in a series of texts. And since he quite openly stepped forward as a supporter of the leadership, and even used information which obviously can be obtained only from sources in its immediate vicinity, it tickled the curiosity of his "colleagues" to find out who he really was. It turned out in the past few days (Rijeka Novi list found it out) that Calic was in fact Miljenko and that his real family name was Manjkas and that he received his regular salary as - the advisor of President Tudjman for information. It was also revelaed that writing for the Vjesnik was just one of his jobs in the journal because he was also involved in the entangled procedure of its "privatization" which had been meeting with obstacles for months because it was necessary to find a buyer for this journal who would be sufficiently well-off and at the same time sufficiently obedient to the authorities (to what extent this was a significant mission was best illustrated by the fact that, according to Novi list again, the nominal editor-in-chief of the Vjesnik, Ante Ivkovic, had to put at the disposal of Tudjman's advisor not only all the data he had asked for, but even his own car for official use as well.

It is quite understandable why "Soros's" journal which follows this way of "cooperation" with the authorities may seem no less than "ruffled", but in fact extremely suspicious to a high civil servant like Miljenko Manjkas, alias Calic. But, Calic was prepared to go the length of asserting that Soros's anti-national activities were also detected in the FR of Yugoslavia, Russia, Slovakia... This "lapsus linguae" appears as an interesting revelation to what group of European countries - all of them problematic and even delinquent fellows in the ranks of the world community - the leadership intimately belongs. Therefore, in answer to Calic's accusations (published ten days later by the Vjesnik which obviously hesitated in doing it), the Open Society Institute ironically wondered how come the Croat press so attentively believes what Belgrade Vecernje novosti or Moscow journals write. Although the Open Society Institute assumes that Calic may soon put the question "how shall we protect Croatia and when shall we begin with the arrests", the latest developments did not cause, as we could see, much concern in the Croat political public. The opposition is not even capable of withstanding humiliating wooing or staged quarrels the ruling HDZ shook up a few parties (HNS, IDS, HSLS), and this "silence" will become even more profound after Tudjman's threat from Australia that he will inaugurate such an election law which will exclude the opposition parties which do not act "in the interest of the state".

It is interesting that like in a series of previous instances, pressure exerted on the media coincided with key steps of Croatia's joining the European integration. The Feral was burned exactly while a delegation of the Phare Program and Tacis stayed in Zagreb, which is expected to signal for the approval of the first part of the "transition assistance", and at the same time a Croat delegation stayed in Strasbourg to continue the few-years long negotiations about Croatia joining the Council of Europe. The head of the delegation, Zarko Domljan, said after the return that "we are now truly at the threshold", although that same threshold was in sight before, but always seemed to evade him. This time, Croatia is reproached for the action in Western Slavonia, but the blow it dealt to the media seems to be so programmed and timed that the leadership probably prefer to remain at the threshold of the Council of Europe than subject itself to the unpleasant discipline which rules inside.

MARINKO CULIC