MONKEY QUARTERS FIT FOR EUROPE
AIM Zagreb, 10 November, 1996
The Croatian national anthem was finally played in Strasbourg, and between those of Bulgaria and Cyprus, as the fortieth one, the Croatian tricolour was hoisted on a pole. After four years of waiting, Croatia has thus become a permanent member of the Council of Europe, which was the immediate cause for the President of Croatia to address "Croat women and men in the homeland and in emigration, citizens of Croatia" with a epistle.
While listening to this oration, uttered in the customary nervous and sulky tone, it was difficult to resist the impression that it was pronounced by a man forced into Europe and not a president of a state who has been constantly repeating: we have been Europe for 14 centuries. Neither more nor less but fourteen, and now it turned out that this "oldest European nation" had to claim its natural right from a bunch of "young" nations.
Reception of Croatia into the Council of Europe - as Tudjman would say - is welcomed by the Croat state leadership and Croat public as a positive fact and precondition of better mutual understanding, mutual obligations and economic connections. However, Croatia at the same time informs that it is resolutely against everything that would force it into regional and Balkan south-eastern European integrations. Political connection with the Balkans was just a short episode in the history of Croatia, which lasted only seven centuries, and which did not reduce, but on the contrary increased the civilization differences. Croatia, therefore, cannot accept such bases of integration, because they would in fact mean invalidation of everything it had accomplished at the cost of enormous victims on the road to establishment of its Freedom, Democracy and Sovereignty. This would - Tudjman explained to the domicile and emigrated citizenship - prevent return of Croatia into the sphere where geographically, historically and culturally it belonged. Moreover, for Croatia it would mean imposing on it a political and diplomatic defeat equal to the military defeat near Bleiburg.
Just a day before that Tudjman was given the Medal of Zhukov awarded to him by the Russian President Yeltsin. The only living President of the state who was a participant of the anti-fascist war, as he liked to stress, on the occasion reminded that nowhere in Europe had there been such a mass anti-fascist movement as in Croatia, and that it was not a mere accident that it was led by Croats - Josip Broz Tito and Ivan Ribar. The role of the anti-fascist struggle was of a great historic significance and in creation of the democratic state, and Croatia found itself on the side of the victors, without which fact modern Croatia would not have been possible.
A day after reception in the Council of Europe, Tudjman chaired the session of the Government convened on the occasion of the anniversary of its present composition and addressed to it a clear message: "We are an independent state which has this democratic system, and not just some banana-republic". He also warned against "some ambassadors who are organizing gatherings in Zagreb and wish to internationalize the issue of Croatian Podunavlje again".
All things considered, reception in the Council of Europe did not evoke a smile on Tudjman's face, but on the contrary, he clearly made it known that he would gladly rule his sovereign, independenmt, democratic and autonomous country both without Europe and without America, because they were just pressuring us and forcing us where we did not want to be. After all, about ten days ago he declared that Croatia was forced to establish diplomatic relations with FR Yugoslavia, to be cooperative concerning Bosnia & Herzegovina, and all the rest - human and national rights, freedom of the media, Zagreb crisis, etc. - were mere fault-finding.
But, on the very first day of Croatia's membership in Europe, it became clear that this was merely Tudjman's illusion, because it proved that the famous list of 21 conditions for recenption of Croatia into the Council of Europe had not been forgotten. Mate Granic had to explain what had happened to assumed obligations concerning cooperation with the Court in the Hague, whether Croatia was ready to allow return of all Serb refugees who wished to return, what happened to crimes committed after operation Storm, whether freedom of the media was improved? Contrary to Vjesnik or the Croatian Television which interpreted as international conspiracy the operation of Reporters Without Frontiers and throwing leaflets with the front pages of the Feral Tribune during the ceremony organized on the occasion of the reception, Granic diplomatically replied: "This is democracy". Head of Croatian foreign Ministry in fact directly opposed the official ideology of the Presidential palace which is based on seeking internal and external enemies and accusations about their interconnections, so he must have additionally antagonized his boss with this comment.
After all, the Croatian President does not conceal his discontent with the manner and conditions under which Croatia was received into the Council of Europe. Luxembourg regional approach and American support to Ghali's demand on prolongation of the mandate of UNTAES for another six months or even a whole year, are great defeats of Croatian diplomacy. Perhaps that is the reason why recent re-nomination of Hrvoje Sarinic for the post of the head of Tudjman's office and transfer of Dr Ivo Sanader to the post of deputy foreign ministry, as well as about ten other shifts of diplomats should be interpreted as an indication of Granic's departure and not just purely pragmatic moves.
Tudjman is persistently repeating: sovereignty, independence, non-interference in internal affairs, but he must know only too well that by entering the European palace he has given away a part of the sovereignty. Croatia, like all the other countries members of the Council of Europe, must sign and ratify 140 conventions, and then incorporate them into its administrative system. It is interesting that even Vjesnik discreetly warns Tudjman (or perhaps just explains to its readers) that meeting of conditions does not mean "limitation of sovereignty", because the best preserved sovereignty for a time was that of Albania: it was not a member of any association, it had no obligations, it even banned loans from abroad, and it is known how it ended.
In the Croatian Assembly comments could also be heard about it: what do we need Europe for, why are we allowing our sovereignty to be limited and similar, and now it is evident that Tudjman himself does not like this "giving away sovereignty", although he would allegedly like to join both the European Union and the NATO.
Therefore, while the official Croatia has joined Europe morosely and discontentedly, in the past few days media are full of Europe and the well-known stories about Croatia's contribution to that very Europe, all the way to declarations of some worthy members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts who said that there would have been no Europe without us. But the first place in this competition in proving that we are part of Europe certainly belongs to the lady mayor of Zagreb, Marina Matulovic-Dropulic nominated by Tudjman. On the occasion of completion of some works in the Zoo and opening of the new dwellings for the monkeys she declared: "With such a Zoo and such a monkey quarters, we can certainly say we have joined Europe".
GOJKO MARINKOVIC