Croatian Prime Minister
Andrej Plenkovic
Photo: Screenshot HRT TV news
Like in some disturbingly teasing political oh-no-not-this-reality-show-again, Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic keeps showing us through his actions that he is out of touch with reality when it comes to duly acknowledging the serious divisions in society sprouting from the past totalitarian regimes and is alarmingly way off the mark when it comes to dealing with the victims of the communist regime, which topic, by the way, is a cancerous wound dividing the country – and he knows it. Plenkovic’s bluntly dismissive and discriminatory approach towards victims of the communist totalitarian regime is shocking and intolerable – utterly unacceptable!
He says that his announced commission for dealing with Croatia’s past, with the 20th century totalitarian regimes needs to condemn the WWII Ustashi regime up front and then sit back and analyze, soberly, what occurred after 1945 under communist regime even though there are more innocent dead in the hundreds of communist crimes’ mass graves than in the graves of those killed under the WWII Ustashi regime! What a perverse, wicked, mocking way of discriminating against the victims of communist crimes, whose mass graves have been unearthed just as those of the other victims have!
January 26 on HRT TV news interview regarding the first 100 days of his government Plenkovic, after being informed that the Croatian Jewish Council has announced its boycott of all events commemorating remembrance of victims of the Holocaust because the memorial plaque for the Croatian defenders killed by Serb forces in Jasenovac 1990 with For Home Ready/ Za Dom Spremni inscription on it had not been removed, he was asked what he would do about that. His reply recited his “resolve” that he “will fight against anti-Semitism, intolerance, hate speech and against any type of discrimination in our society … yesterday I have even spoken to Mr Kraus (Ognjen Kraus, president of Jewish Communities in Croatia)…we will work on a commission that will in professional and pluralistic way, legal, historic … formulate a framework on basis of which we could reach a political consensus and state our position vis-à-vis 20th century totalitarian regimes and their symbols, and the plaque there in Jasenovac is not a plaque that praises some leaders from WWII … it is a plaque for the 11 killed defenders who lost their lives in the defensive and just Homeland War…”
And surely enough, not even a day passed since this TV News appearance and PM Plenkovic announced matters regarding the commission to be formed, which will deal with the Croatian past. And in his announcement he does what he said he would fight against: discriminates. Discrimination against the victims of communist crimes.
Judging from Plenkovic’s announcement about what the commission will do, forget about this commission being independent of government in its deliberations, fair and reasonable and truthful to the past – the commission it seems will do what the Prime Minister says with doubtful freedom to set its own priorities and deal fairly with the past within the terms of reference set for it; unless, of course, the composition of the commission’s membership is strong enough to fight against Plenkovic’s announcement and analyze both regimes equally before any is condemned ahead of the completion of the commission’s work. The Prime Minister has already set the political tone of its work and its research and capturing of pure truth about all totalitarian regimes has thus been poisoned. He has done that practically by saying that the commission must condemn one regime straight away and then “soberly” analyze the other (the communist one).
Plenkovic had just returned from his visit to Israel last week and sought to use that event where he paid respects to the victims of the Holocaust to inflict yet another awful wound to the victims of communist crimes. “Croatia must seek consensus and establish its position towards the question of the past, the 20th century totalitarian regimes, clearly condemn the 1941 to 1945 regime, that is the Ustashi regime during which numerous crimes were committed, but also in a sober way analyze everything that had happened after 1945.” He said that that discussion had never been thoroughly carried out in modern Croatia and that “using dialogue we can come to qualitative solutions with which those questions could be put forth for discussion among the most professional people from differing professions and, with that, close the still open questions regarding the 20th century history”.
He further said that the terms of reference and members of that commission will be ready by end of February, reiterating that the interest in it is quite large.
Well of course the interest in that commission is large, it’s announced to deal head-on with what happened in the past and most politicians still really have not placed communist crimes where they should be – condemned. There’s nothing sober about communist crimes or communist criminals. One does not need to analyze, as Plenkovic insists, what occurred in Croatia after 1945 because there are hundreds of mass graves everywhere. That evidence alone, just as the one to do with the Holocaust, must be enough to condemn first up and then analyze, if you must – so to speak. Just like he intends to do with the Ustashi regime. Or, better yet: no condemnation by the commission of any totalitarian regime until the commission’s work is done. This of course would remove the pressure to “act as expected by the Prime Minister” and yield much more valid results; ensuring, of course, no political subscriber to any of the totalitarian regimes should sit on that commission. Fat chance of that after Plenkovic’s “directive” that the commission will first condemn one crime and not the other! Sad and unjust times for victims of communist crimes continue in Croatia. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)
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He should start in 1918 and understand why the Ustase were formed in the first place. Then he should start with Partizan crimes both during and after WWII which they attributed to the Croatians and then continue on from there with the communist crimes against the Croatian people. All one needs to know is the quote by I believe Milovan Djilas who was one of Tito’s right hand men when he said, “In order for Yugoslavia to live, Croatia must die.” In other words, demonize and destroy the Croatian people which seems to continue to this day and worse, by our own people. What is their problem with the truth and knowing what the Yugoslav government did to our people? Goli Otok, Lepoglava, and yes, even Jasenovac which Mesic even said was a Partizan killing grounds.
Right on Stevie, just terrible stuff from a PM – and we thought a biy of progress in condemning communist crimes and communist totalitarian regime had been made, this guy sets it all backward.
Its typical of them over there to make the victim the criminal and the criminal the victim. I think what David said is true, these people are willfully doing this because they have something to hide, it could have been their work with the UDBA or a close family member. You think a man like Ivo Josipovic wasn’t trying to protect his own father for whom people and some media alleged he was involved in the killings and tortured innocent Croatians during the communist Yugo years while young Ivo was learning to play the clarinet? Then he turns the story into fascist snakes lurking in the shadows in order the change the narrative. What is Plenkovic afraid of? Also, why is it that those countries who had lustration are advancing and those that haven’t are stuck in some kind of limbo that they can’t get out of? Time to put everything on the table and show exactly what happened under communist rule and the crimes that happened to the Croatia people once and for all and then let the people see and decide for themselves.
Time to put everything on the table indeed. As to Plenkovic, his dad was a communist party operative in Yugoslavia so one can perhaps say the mental set for what he is doing is there. Great shame
Is the Prime Minister afraid of Croatia’s proximity to other Communist regimes and doesn’t want to upset the applecart or is he perhaps in awe of some current and some former members of the Government that are openly pro-Communist? Whatever his reasons it seems he’ll find that people still want explanations of why outright condemnation hasn’t been made to the evil done to your homeland under Communist rule.
People deserve to put this evil to bed properly rather than have it ignored.
xxx Massive Hugs Ina xxx
So true, David, people deserve truth and victims deserve justice – Croatia is especially tough when it comes to shedding its communist past and getting rid of it, only Croatia has not yet enacted lustration laws like other former communist countries have to weed out of positions of power former communists of power etc. Patience will hopefully last for justice. Massive hugs, David <3
perhaps a kind phone call
will offer him the necessary
guidance which benefits all 🙂
Good thought, smilecalm
My congratulations to Plenkovic, he is following stridently in the footsteps of his predecessors in HDZ who have, since the party’s inception, shown themselves to be at best, spineless and at worst, treasonous in their treatment of victims of communist crimes! Croatians cannot truly be surprised at the words and deeds of these “domoljubi” that are continually being tapped as HDZ party favorites; served up to the electorate every election cycle as our political/cultural saviours; who within weeks prove to be disingenuous hacks. But lets be clear. This is a systemic problem within the party itself and not the gaffs or missteps of some rogue politicians. From Tudjman and on down the line, HDZ’s political ideology has been to appease the “former” communists who held power under Jugo and whom it can be argued, still hold power today in “democratic” Croatia. The Croatian constitution ensconcing of Communist AVNOJ(1943) and ZAVNOJ(1947) and outright negation of (1941-45) NDH and consequently the massacre of unknown thousands of civilian and military NDH supporters at the hands of the communists was the precursor and ideological touchstone of HDZ. Everything/one that followed could have easily been predicted. From the bloody communists Manolic, Boljkovac, Perkovic, et.al. who were embraced by HDZ and installed as members of the first Croatian govt. post 1945 to two- termed Pres. Mesic who supplied evidence against our soldiers in the Hague and played both sides of the ideological fence; to the criminality of Sanader, etc. etc….and more recently Pres. Grabar-Kitarovic and her infamous speech regarding her “antifascist” (read communist) credo, which she made mere months after she swore an oath to be the voice of ALL Croatians…and now Plenkovic. He has publicly stated that the “totalitiarian regime” of NDH and its symbols will be outlawed – outright! Without investigation or analysis by his Special Committee. That apparently is his absolute determination….to continue the HDZ ideology of tarring NDH and Ustase as did the Tito before them and continue the protectionism of communists/antifascists/partisans/ in this 20+ years after the Homeland War that was supposed to have severed us from Jugoslavia and all it’s communist baggage. PREDETERMINATION of results of a not-yet-formed commission smacks very like the Jugoslav regime they will be investigating. So much for objectivity, impartiality, and investigation without political influence. I think we all know what the results of this vain attempt at political smoke and mirrors will bring. More of the same.
Za Dom Spremni!
Indeed, sadly, more of the same from them, Velebit…one day, one day…if we persist perhaps…
I still remember u dear respected lady. Stay blessed.
🙂
Ina as usual you are on the ball. God Bless You.
Also, I encourage people to read Croatia Myth and Reality, a little booklet put out by C. Michael McAdams about the myths spread by Yugoslav communists following 1945 and repeated internationally. Here is an online version: http://www.studiacroatica.org/libros/mythe/indice.htm
The late C. Michael McAdams, a Scottish Jewish American was a good friend to the Croatians. He published this small booklet, during the 1990s Homeland War and the information in it is still very relevant today, especially with nonsensical talk about a ‘fascist Croatian crest/grb.’
I also encourage people to support the following group (financially and otherwise) of Croatian intellectuals: HDP Dr. Rudolf Horvat and especially PhD Candidate Blanka Matkovic.
http://croatiarediviva.com/domovinski-rat/
She and her team are the ONLY people who have extensively researched the Jasenovac myth. This myth is basically what holds the Yugoslav communists 1945 onward in power.
Please drop her a note of support, a cheque, sponsor a talk in your community. She and the group receive zero funding from the Ministry of Culture which begs the question, in whose interest is it to keep these communist myths about war crimes in war-time Croatia alive?!
A rare publication these days as book so online issues are a gem for all to read. Veronika, I have one of the first copies published – cherish it so deeply. Mat God bless Michael McAdams and those like him
I think Ina many of our politicians are out of touch with the peoples they are supposedly supporting and representing. and forget who placed them in these powerful potions once they get seated within their high towers..
Your second paragraph a powerful reminder of the crimes after WWII ..
Again thank you Ina for all of the diligent work that you do in bringing information forward.. News that I would never otherwise would have read..
Blessings
Sue ,3
My aim is to pick topic that are important to progress in Croatia within the framework of freedom and democracy and write about them, so grateful for your feedback Sue <3
And through your choice of topics I have learnt so much about your country Ina.. xxx
So thank you, Sue 🙂
Perhaps we need to remind Plenko and his ilk about the communist crimes of Tito and his ilk, as per this English booklet published by the Catholic Info Society in 1947: https://ia600202.us.archive.org/7/items/howarethingsinti00gind/howarethingsinti00gind.pdf
Thanks for your work Ina.
Please drop Blanka an email I am sure she would be a great interview. She’s brilliant.
http://croatiarediviva.com/kontakt/
Bog.
Thumb up, Veronika – thank you