Things That Go Bump In The Night

Last week an investigation has been launched in Croatia against the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) over financial fraud or corruption.

Prosecutors have named party officials suspected of corruption, incumbent Prime Minister and HDZ leader Jadranka Kosor said, although she herself is not on the suspect list.

Yet another bribery scandal may seriously damage the party’s positions ahead of the December parliamentary elections.

Presently the Croatian prosecutors are investigating the ruling Croatian Democratic Union on suspicion of corruption and the illegal use of funds during previous election campaigns, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said: “This is the hardest moment for the party,” adding she “continues to support” the work of Prosecutor General. (Jadranka Kosor, Press conference in Zagreb 27th October 2011, HRT news)

It is odd, to say the least, that the Croatian Prosecutor has chosen this time, one month before general elections, to publically announce the investigations against the ruling party which was there in the beginning (from 1989) the people’s political movement that brought Croatia out of the communist and oppressive Yugoslavia and led Croatia through a frightening, terrible war defending itself against the Serbian aggressor

Could this move by the prosecutors have an ulterior motive? For why would one charge against the Party as a whole if one has evidence pointing to individuals allegedly engaging in corrupt conduct?

In the pursuit for European Union membership, it must be difficult for Croatia to humbly allow the spotlight of constituent states and their allies to search for Croatia’s purported corruption – as though corruption does not exist in their own countries!

The hypocrisy is astounding!

If one were to dig into various anti-corruption institutions, parliamentary or Congress committees, courts etc in Britain, France, Germany, Canada, United States of America, Australia … one will surely find cases of corruption and overwhelming fraud.

It seems that the power-wielding politicians and some media of the World outside Croatia cannot allow Croatia to process individuals engaging in or suspected of engaging in corruption in a way that gives priority to due process, the very backbone of democracy.

It seems that a lynch mob is gathering in Croatia. Some individuals seem eager to jump on this band wagon trying to paint the whole of Croatia as deviant, the whole of Croatian Democratic Union as corrupt, and possibly engaging in some kind of “joint criminal enterprise”, a label created by the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) in its first judgement [April 2011- currently on Appeal] against Generals Gotovina and Markac with regards to their role in liberating brutally occupied Croatian land in 1995 by Serbian forces.

One thing that is becoming clearer by the hour is that the whole political party of Croatian Democratic Union is suffering vilification and, yet, so many good and honest people within it. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb), B.A.,M.A.Ps.(Syd)