Croatian Veterans’ Resister – “Names for Eternity”
Croatian minister for veterans’ affairs Predrag Fred Matic has recently announced that the government’s decision is final: it will publish War Veterans Register (Register of those who defended Croatia in the 1990’s Homeland War) by Christmas. Much controversy and opposition to the publication of the Register have surfaced since the idea for the public register kicked off some two years ago. While some, including the minister, believe that such a register will assist in the veterans’ ease of access to securing their rights and benefits as veterans and “weed out” the false veterans (which are many, it’s claimed), others fear that such a public register will be open to all sorts of abuses and endanger the lives of many veterans – particularly in the region where tempers run hot from past and current efforts by some politicians to equalise the victim with the aggressor.
Indeed, once the names on the Register are let loose into the cyberspace there’s no telling what could happen to whom, by whom. Not a good feel at all, despite the fact that minister Matic is trying to assure everyone that the Register will contain the names of those who defended Croatia with honour and dignity and that there is no danger whatsoever for individuals on the Register.
What an obscenely depraved assurance!
Even with “positive” consultations and assessments received by the ministry from different professional sources no one can say with 100% confidence and surety that absolutely no danger exists. One is, after all, dealing with possible dangers that can occur from criminal minded individuals who carry in them a sense of injustice or some kind of craving for revenge. One cannot guarantee absolute safety in a demographic post-war climate that still carries a lot of unresolved issues and personal grievances regardless of whether those grievances are real or imagined.
Minister Matic’s determination to publish the Register is so strong that all criticisms and arguments against it even in the parliament don’t seem to have made any difference. On the contrary, the minister’s resolve now verges on ridiculous and idiotic. For example, on 30th November 2012, in parliament, while defending the decision to publish the Register, Matic said: “If any veteran gets trapped on any state border only because he is a Croatian veteran I will go to prison instead of him, be sure of that!” (Source Croatian TV/HRT News)
Unlike in most “Western” countries where veterans registers exist and details accessible via Freedom of Information legislation, Croatia seems to be planning publishing the whole Register that will contain information which can relatively easily identify any particular veteran on it: Full name, name of one parent, date and place of birth, number of days active during the war, military unit – other details will not be published, however, could be released with the individual veteran’s written approval.
Threats of lawsuits against the minister or ministry of veterans’ affairs are emerging thick and fast.
Josip Djakic , president of The Union of Veterans, HVIDRA, expressed similar attitudes in 2010 when he said: “Hypothetically speaking, if this register is public then we have to make others public, as well. Like the one with the names of all the Partisans, people who worked for the secret services in Yugoslavia, JNA officers, soldiers of Serb Krajina…”.
One thing is clear: the public has the right to know about its war veterans, however, information that can easily identify an individual should not be readily available to the public (e.g. place of birth and name of parent). The public at large does not have the right to know personal details that can easily pinpoint the identity of an individual. The fact that Croatian government plans to include this information in the public register is very concerning and to my view (and evidently to the view of many) such information will place individuals in danger. Such information should only be available on application and appropriate scrutiny. Someone should stop the publication of such sensitive information on the Register. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)
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What sort of a person would ever think this is a good idea? Yes, people should be educated about our war veterans and what they did, but not at the cost of their individual privacy! If a register must exist, it should only be accessible if one undergoes the right procedures to obtain information, this sort of thing does not need to be freely available.
The decision may be “final”, but I do hope Croatians don’t give up fighting against this absurd idea. If you have to sue those who allow this to go through, do it. Don’t give up the fight for your dignity.
Many defenders are not even listed – including many who were killed or severely wounded. Are the HOS members (several thousand) listed? Many local defenders over military age who assisted the organised ZNG/HOS/HV units in battle are not listed. Most foreign volunteers are not listed. Many defenders were more focused on defending against the aggressor than having their names recorded for future public scrutiny. In many instances the information for those who are listed is also highly inaccurate, particularly regarding 1991 with gaps or omission due to transition between units. Some undeserved names found their way to the list through cronyism.
Privacy issues aside, the current register is not the definitive record of all Croatia’s war veterans some are suggesting it is.
What good will publishing it achieve?
Is the only criteria to be a Croatian politician is to be an a**hole?
Ina please change my name on the previous post from Suntan to Sunman. Thanks.
🙂
More of a question than a comment. Can I ask why 30,000 former Italian Fascist occupation army soldiers would be receiving a pension from the Croatian govt. or even the former Yugoslav govt?
Beats me, Velebit. Wouldn’t have a clue why that is so but I certainly think it’s obscene just as obscene as former Partisans receiving it. Croatia of today doesn’t owe anyone the due former Yugoslavia paid in pensions.
I believe the main purpose is to expose those who did nothing during the home war but claim they did so and receive a pension. Their envious neighbours etc will see them on the list and will blow the whistle.
I understand that Pavao but there are other more acceptable ways of checking on someone without exposing everybody to danger.
True, but this way is by far the cheapest and, probably, far more detailed information will be forthcoming. I do not agree with this empirically but these are tough times. We all know what happens when principles and cash collide, particularly here.
Understandably different countries have different processes but as Croatia is about the join the EU, I wonder if this is a breach of EU privacy laws. In Australia at least, I know that even under the Freedom of Information Act (be it Commonwealth or one of the States) that any information about a person or any information that could be used to identify a person is not to be released. Only exception is if that information is already in the public domain. In all other cases if the information could be used to the detriment of that person then it is not to be released under any circumstances, or if it is not then an agency has to notify the person that their information is to be released and that they have the opportunity to object to its release.
I think this is the only far and just process. Just throwing the personal information of people out there into the public domain is a serious breach of privacy. Veteran organisations should launch a class action in the EU Court of Human Rights against the government if they do release private information.
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hi
🙂