USA Dissatisfied with Croatia

Noise Raised by Croatian Generals

AIM Zagreb, 27 April, 1999

Messages that Robert Gelbard, special envoy of American president, delivered about ten days ago to Zagreb are still subject to various interpretations and guesses. His statement was surprising and baffling. At Pantovcak, talks on the Kosovo crisis were expected as well as praises for Croatia's attitude concerning NATO strikes against Milosevic's Yugoslavia. But instead, in the focus of the American's talks in Zagreb was implementation of the Dayton accords, and he was not at all gentle.

Official Zagreb was allegedly quite shocked by the manner in which Gelbard spoke about Croatian generals. About Ante Jelavic, president of the branch of Tudjman's party in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croat member of B&H presidency, Clinton's envoy said that he was Croat Krajisnik, that he was politically radical and close to mafia. He recommended the opposition not to believe him anything (when they bragged about their plans on return of banished persons especially to Posavina recently agreed with Jelavic, the American mocked their naivete), he made it clear to Tudjman that the Americans did not consider the leader of B&H Croats a relevant interlocutor, and he made the Croatian president thaw his relations with the renegade Kresimir Zubak, moreover receive him in the presidential palace.

Croatian media were especially intrigued by Gelbard's declaration that he was especially annoyed by statements made by a few important Croatian generals at a recent celebration of the seventh anniversary of the foundation of the Croat Defence Council (HVO) in Mostar. According to his estimate, speeches of generals Ljubo Cesic Rojs, Stanko Sopta and Mijo Jelic were "antoganistic, stupid and threatening for the Bosniacs". Croatian public knew little about the celebration in Mostar. Some Croatian media just reported that vice chairman of the assembly Vladimir Seks was present at the celebration in the capacity of Tudjman's envoy. In his saluting address he stressed that "togetherness in arms of the Croatian Army and the HVO enabled equality and constitutiveness of the Croat people in B&H" and said that "the Croat component of the army of the Federation must remain strategically linked to the Croatian Army".

The listed generals spoke in the same sense, and they all insisted on singularity of HVO within the federal army and on its essential leaning on Croatia. As the envoy of the Croatian minister of defence, general Rojs underlined that HVO had been and still was the guarantor of stability and the survival of the Croat people in B&H. "Therefore, I send word to everybody that no pressure or assassinations will make us waver", he said adding that "the Republic of Croatia and Franjo Tudjman will know how to preserve national and strategic interests of the Croats in B&H". Former commander of the First Guardsmen Corps, general Sopta, who was discharged from duty a few months ago by order of the international community, strongly opposed subordination of the Croats to, as he put it, foreign blackmail. Commander of the Croat part of the army of the Federation, general Jelic, also expressed concern because of the amount and intensity of foreign pressure and stressed that despite everything, "the Croat people and the Croat soldiers must not and will not give up on what is sacred to them".

The speeches of Croatian generals were neither sharper nor milder than their customary statements, rousing Croatian media to make wild guesses about true reasons for Gelbard's resolute evaluations. Well informed circles claim that his resoluteness is addressed not only to Herzegovina, but at least just as much to Zagreb, specifically to Vladimir Seks and the one who had sent his to Mostar. With his speech, vice chairman of the Croatian assembly gave the main tone to the festivity of HVO and his pleading against integration of the federal army most probably was not a lonely voice.

Sources close to the authorities claim that there is great agitation at Pantovcak because of the consequences NATO operation might have on developments in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Tudjman is rightfully concerned that Milosevic's shaking position is weakening the position of the Bosnian Serbs who relied on him, and therefrom of the Croats who are in a strategic partnership with them. The front of the forces opposed to united Bosnia & Herzegovina is weakened in general. Trying to make up for this weakness - and hoping that the international community involved in the problem of Kosovo up to its neck will weaken its grip on Bosnia & Heruegovina - Croatia has intensified its pressing. It made the most of the murder of Joze Leutar in this sense, one could almost say that it was just what it needed. Official Zagreb is raising its voice against alleged "unitarisation of B&H" and under the pretext of "decentralisation" it is in fact promoting ethnic division. Tudjman is nominating a special minister for Bosnia & Herzegovina which is a precedent in the world, since it is hard to think of any state appointing a special minister for another country.

Gelbard has in fact told his hosts in Zagreb that their hopes that the international community will disregard Bosnia because of Kosovo or even agree to its division are utterly false. Kosovo indeed is in focus of attention, this is the main problem, but that is exactly why Bosnia & Herzegovina must not additionally be destabilised. Ideas of lord Owen and then of Dobrica Cosic on division of Kosovo - which would result in division of Bosnia & Herzegovina with annexation of its parts to Serbia and Croatia - were with badly concealed approval carried by media close to Tudjman, but this has nothing to do with official American and Western European policy. It was clearly said to Croatia that obligations to implement Dayton accords remained, that there would be no concesions about it. The fact that Gelbard explicitly expressed discontent with the Croatian generals is a signal in this sense.

American disapproval of the generals' speeches was allegedly motivated by the fact that the festivity of HVO was transformed by radicals from Herzegovina, who are still swearing by the formally dead Herzeg-Bosnia into a manifestation of their resoluteness. In this context there are indications about tensions caused lately by members of some Croat formations which are discontented by the work of the Hague tribunal, especially by the course of the trial of general Blaskic. After Blaskic had in his defence statement at the tribunal explicitly named formations which had been there at the time of the crime in Ahmici and after he had testified that they had been under direct command of the political leadership of Herzeg-Bosnia, his status changed. The "Croat knight" became almost a national traitor. He is openly threatened with death from the mass gatherings in Vitez, and in the Hague prison he is now guarded by Dutch special forces because of alleged estimates of foreign intelligence services that Blaskic could become the target of attacks of Croat extremists.

His defence councillor is also threatened. Lawyer Anto Nobilo has informed the administration of Croatia that individuals from former Herzeg-Bosnian formations were preparing violence, he indicated their organizers and perpetrators. Nobilo said that he had acquired certain information on crimes committed by these nowadays disturbed circles and he put away results of his investigation in a safe place.

The loud Croatian generals who are, speaking in front of formations of soldiers, thundering against foreign pressure but with the Hague tribunal on their minds while doing it, are the spokesmen and often accomplices of the individuals and groups who might deeply be affected by justice dispensed in the Hague. And directly or indirectly these individuals and groups are still in power in Herzegovina and in Croatia.

JELENA LOVRIC