JOURNALISTS OF RADIO BARANJA BEATEN UP

Executioners of "Tudjman's List"

AIM Osijek, 3 January, 1997

The Slavonija-Baranja Croatian Party issued a statement warning that physical assault against the journalists' crew of Radio Baranja was not an accident and that the possibility of its connection with the speech of President Tudjman should not be eliminated, since Radio Baranja, along with many others, was explicitly listed among media which are working against interests of the Croatian state.

When some of the opposition leaders, independent intellectuals and a part of the media in Croatia warned against the danger of a public lynch which, after the recent speech of President Tudjman and the list of explicitly named internal and external enemies it included, all those mentioned could be exposed to - high officials of the Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) Ivan Valent and Drago Krpina, believed it sufficient to "make it clear" that the Croatian President had not spoken about enemies but "political opponents". But, as time goes by, evidence is increasing that in the field, thanks to the engagement of the police, but also to "sound forces" ready to settle accounts with "enemies of all colours" - from George Soros to kindergarten teachers in Samobor - slowly started retribution on organizations and persons named on "Tudjman's list".

Unmasking of one of the main unstabilizing factors of the HDZ and the Croatian state, Open Society Foundation financed by the American multimillionaire George Soros, started with spectacular revealing of a "secret channel" through which money was being brought into Croatia, and then with summoning of the financial director and majority of employees of the Foundation for interrogation to Zagreb police. Great publicity was given to this event in Croatia, and the information about revealing of the "secret channel" (at the Bregana border crossing between Slovenia and Croatia, customs officials found 65 thousand dollars in the trunk of a car driven by the Croatian branch office of Soros Foundation) was published even in the central daily news program on Croatian Television.

Not long after that, Split gynaecologist Vinko Kotarac, who is an activist of a peace organization "Open Eyes", recognized a dangerous external enemy of Croatia in an American, Ms. Christie Evenson, and attacked her and beat her up so badly that she was forced to seek medical assistance. According to a later confession of the gynaecologist from Split, he simply "saw red", and thought it was his patriotic duty to beat up the young American girl. It seemed to him that she was working and plotting against interests of Croatia. This episode, which irrestistably reminds of the best parts of the brilliant novel by Dusan Kovacevic, "The Balkan Spy", had its epilogue in the first hours of 1997 when the crew on duty of Radio Baranja, station which temporarily broadcasts from Osijek, had to foot the bill.

Radio Baranja, according to the speech of President Tudjman, was also labelled as a recipient of "Judas coins" (it had received minor aid in equipment from the Open Society Foundation). In the first hours of 1997, while majority of citizens were still celebrating the beginning of New Year, two 25-year olds forced their way into the premises of the editorial office. They told the astonished journalists and technicians that they wanted to wish them a Happy New Year, but soon after started their savage "game", breaking the furniture, equipment and everything else they came across. Demolishing of the premises and destruction of CDs and computer equipment was not enough for them, so they assaulted the night crew which was on duty. Three members of the crew of Radio Baranja and a lady guest who happened to be present by mere accident, were so badly beaten up that they were forced to seek medical help.

The police caught the perpetrators very quickly, but another 36 hours had to pass before the public could find out at least their initials. The police has still not published anything about motives of this savage attack on journalists and property of Radio Baranja which was known for being a media equally opened to all parties and all political options. But, Slavonija-Baranja Croatian Party issued a statement warning that the attack on the journalists' crew of Radio Baranja was no accident and that the possibility of its connection with the speech of President Tudjman should not be rejected, since he had listed Radio Baranja among media which worked against interests of the Croatian state. In condemnation of the incident, the Slavonija-Baranja Croatian Party reminded of the incident in which Goran Flauder, Osijek journalist and editor of the independent biweekly Bumerang, had been beaten up and and his camera broken. Bumerang was also mentioned in recent Tudjman's speech. Although Flauder recognized and identified three young men who had attacked him in broad daylight at the main Osijek square, perpetrators of the incident - all three of them members of the HDZ - had never answered for injuries inflicted on Flauder and demolishing of his property.

Moreover, one of the attackers on Goran Flauder, until recently the person in charge of youth in Osijek-Baranja District and close associate of Osijek District-Prefect, Branimir Glavas, on the last day of 1996 was awarded for the attack against the editor of Bumerangvby being given the post of the Director of Radio Djakovo. There is no doubt that Drmic's appointment to the post was a political decision of the Osijek-Baranja District, because instead of a candidate with university education and long experience in journalism, he was selected although he has only a secondary school diploma and not a single day of experience as a journalist and although he did not meet the requirements for the post.

If one adds to this that a journalist of Arkzin (which was also listed by Tudjman in his speech as one of the unstabilizing elements in Croatia) was recently taken for interrogation to the police, and that not so long ago, in broad daylight, respectable lawyer and independent intellectual Slobodan Budak - among other, the President of the Croatian Jurisprudence Centre which was also stressed among enemies in the speech of the President of Croatia - was phyically assaulted in Zagreb Intercontinental Hotel, it is clear that some kind of a connection between these events must exist. When one is aware of everything experienced by editors and journalists of Split Feral Tribune which Tudjman not only stressed in his speech as the most successful project of enemies of Croatia, but decided to instigate court persecution of two of its editors - one cannot avoid the conclusion that the list of Tudjman's "state enemies" was nothing but making a "list for elimination" from drawers of Croatian secret services public. Some of the mentioned examples, the number of which is much larger testify that this list was the basis for operation even before Tudjman's speech.

The beaten up journalists of Radio Baranja, the first victims of the undeclared war against independent media and free-thinking individuals this year, have fared comparatively well, but it is questionable how this event will reflect on further operation of this radio station. Whether the threat addressed in the President's speech, and then the practical operation of intimidation was sufficient for this editorial staff to abstain from not only "Judas' coins", but also from their editorial conception, the forthcoming pre-election period will show. The others from the long President's list can do nothing but wait for their turn to be intimidated.

DRAGO HEDL