Croatia: It’s Time To Get Rid Of Communist Nebulosities

Zeljko Glasnovic, MP in Croatian Parliament for Croats abroad
Photo: Screenshot 24/04/2020

“Now is the time to get rid of these nebulosities from the past. We have been listening to the Partisan ‘truth’ for far too long. Opponents of revision, as well as the promoters of historical forgery, want to hide crimes and the criminals; and the truth. But in vain. No one can stop the truth!” (Zeljko Glasnovic, MP, Croatian Parliament 24 April 2020)

The English historian Edward Augustus Freeman defined history as “Politics of the past” and Sir John Seeley extended the concept into saying that “History is past politics; and politics present history.” In the case of May 1945 Bleiburg massacres, as well as massacres and murders also committed post WWII by the former Yugoslavia communists of hundreds of thousands of innocent Croatian people who fought for or were associated with the efforts for an Independent State of Croatia, the fact that often vocalised reasons for these mass murders and massacres (and over 1000 of mass graves of victims of communist crimes have been unearthed in Croatia so far!) remain to this day un-condemned on a national level speaks volumes into the truth behind Freeman’s and Seeley’s above mentioned assertions. Croatia’s former communists at heart and current ones like to call themselves antifascists! Given the murderous history of communist regime in Croatia, in former Yugoslavia, this label or name they have usurped for themselves actually gives antifascism, which the West has known and knows, the connotations of profound darkness and human depravity.

Psychological science argues that all human beings have a constant need to improve their sense of self and belonging. This seems to depend on historical, cultural, and situational context of a nation.

By the end of the 20^th century there was much talk worldwide of the decline of the nation-state: the institutions that had once defined politics appeared to have been bypassed and undermined by ‘globalisation’ on the one hand and consumerist, empowered individuals on the other. In this period of the 21^st century, particularly given the national priorities installed within each nation for itself due to COVID-19 coronavirus crisis and significant economic downturns, significant potential exists for the “people” to be active in the making of their nation’s history. To revisit their history particularly when that history as is the case with Croatia was written to represent an overwhelming lie designed to vilify a nation of people. Former Yugoslav communists were masters at that and today’s powers that be are not far from this as they continue defending the indefensible despite the fact that even the European Union Parliament has recently declared the former communist regimes of its member states – criminal!

Andrej PLenkovic (L) Croatian Prime Minister, Zpran Milanovic (C), President of Croatia, Goran Jandrokovic (R), President of Croatian Parliament. In Jasenovac 22 April 2020
Photo: WDR/Darko Bandic

Last week in Croatia was particularly a painful one for Croatians and indeed, a very strong herald for the absolute necessity to change Croatia’s political leadership, from the President down! During these times when due to COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions throughout the world all public commemorations, memorial gatherings and the like, have been cancelled as per restrictions to social distancing towards minimising risks of the virus spread in the community Croatia’s leaders have decided to break their own rules and measures and held a public gathering, commemoration for the victims of WWII Jasenovac camp but have cancelled (due to risk of coronavirus spread!) the Bleiburg commemoration that was to be held mid-May. Jasenovac camp symbolises the crimes of the WWII Independent State of Croatia regime, while Bleiburg symbolises the vast and vaster crimes of the Yugoslav communist regime. The Jasenovac camp history has been under historical revision by a number of historians and their work and discoveries show and point to an entirely different truth about the camp than the one Yugoslav communist operatives and their allies had written after WWII. The discoveries and historical fact findings that the Jasenovac camp was kept open until 1951/52 and contains masses of communist crimes victims (recorded in history as victims of WWII Croatia regime!) are being suppressed and research into the historical truth increasingly suppressed by the powers that be. The same goes for the overwhelming enormity of victims and mass graves of victims of communist crimes discovered so far across Croatia.

To add salt to the wounds of Croatians, independence-loving Croatians, while attending the Jasenovac camp memorial on 22 April 2020 President Zoran Milanovic (former Social Democratic Party/SDP Prime Minister of Croatia) had gone truly too far, insulting the 1990’s Croatian Homeland War veterans, insulting the fallen defenders of Croatia, insulting the very foundation upon which today’s independent Croatia exists. In Jasenovac, regarding the plaque honouring 11 fallen Croatian Defence Forces’ soldiers in Jasenovac in 1990’s, he said that “the HOS plaque (commemorating the fallen in the Homeland War) should be discarded, thrown away somewhere because it bears no connection to the Homeland War” (!). Then he went about saying: “They who fought with ‘For Homeland Ready’ slogan (Za Dom Spremni) in 1991 did not only fight for Croatia but also for the restoration of the state that came into existence in 1941.”  My goodness can a nation which won its independence, after 94% of voters voted to secede from communist Yugoslavia and war of brutal Serbian/Yugoslav aggression ensued, be served a worst blow than this one, which its President had served upon it! I do believe that the President, in saying what he did, brutally breached the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia he presides over. Milanovic attempted to simmer down the widespread protests and revulsions his statements had caused by saying that he did not mean to “devalue the sacrifice and bravery of those who had fallen and whose names are on the Jasenovac plaque”.

He must not be let off that lightly!

War veterans’ associations and Croatia’s war veterans’ minister, Tomo Medved, have condemned President Zoran Milanovic for his above statements.  “I strongly condemn the statement made by President Zoran Milanovic… because it undermines the sacrifice of Croatian defenders, members of the Croatian Defence Forces,” his Press Release said. “I underline that the unfounded stigmatisation of Croatian war veterans cannot be the official position of the Republic of Croatia,” he added. But guess what, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has kept conspicuously silent on this matter, so one truly needs to question the resolve of official Croatia on words stated by Medved! But then, both Milanovic and Plenkovic never volunteered to fight in the defence of Croatia from Serbian/Yugoslav brutal military aggression in the 1990’s! They made themselves scarce and now enjoy the fruits from the sacrifice of others!

Lylian Fournier (L) Jean-Michel Nicollier (R)
Photo: Screenshots

Croatians were truly touched by the reactionary letter to President Milanovic after his statements in Jasenovac written last week by the mother (Lylian Fournier) of Jean-Michel Nicollier, a French volunteer fighter in the Croatian Homeland War for independence who was killed in action:

“I am thinking about how to begin this address to you, President, above all, to the heart of the dear Croatia in which the bones of my HOS volunteer son lie. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, my son, my child, my Jean-Michel.

He was, you know, about the same age as you were when the Greater Serbian aggression against the Republic of Croatia began, and he came to help a nation of which you are now President, and now he could have been having coffee with his family and friends somewhere in Paris. But no, he went where he felt he needed to go, to Croatia, to Vukovar, while you did the opposite, you left Croatia.

My son and Croatian volunteers have made it possible for you to be the President of this country today, which is obviously more mine than yours, according to your statement today, which deeply hurt not only me, but all mothers still seeking their sons’ remains who gave their lives for this beautiful country, all those who defended it while you were waiting for war to be over. And finally, the victorious Croatian army created the foundation of present-day Croatia, and instead of being proud of it, you are clearly longing for the past times, because saying this today, that the plaque for the fallen Hosovians should be removed and cast away is a reflection of your longing for regret, for a failed communist creation. President, you spat on all the sacrifice of Croatian veterans, on the brave knights who, through their lives, weaved themselves into the foundations of present-day Croatia, you spat on all parents of the fallen, missing and deceased Croatian veterans, their families, all proud Croats and Croats who to your regret are still here!…

I reject with disgust this statement of yours from today, you should feel ashamed if there is any humanity in you. Because that son could have been you if you knew how to love, it just seems to me that your bones and your monument would obviously be on the other side of the river Danube. My heart beats for my son, my Hosovian, my Frenchman, and again more a Croat than you will ever be, for my Jean-Michel. And I, his mother, to this day, when I am 75, proudly, from the depths of my soul, I cry FOR HOMELAND READY, and you, you should be ashamed for grossly hurting the feelings of brave people. May dear God forgive you, I cannot!”

Not only have the Yugoslav communists and their sympathisers of today’s Croatia, that hold power in the country, at every step, at every opportunity continued the psychological warfare of lies against Croatia and Croatians that hold freedom from both former Yugoslavias dear but they do it without shame, without an ounce of truth or reference pertaining to the backbone of the fight for independence and democracy. Certainly, the terrible cycle of hatred and hate speech instigated by President Milanovic at Jasenovac last week should be extinguished with vicious and determined force.

Zoran Milanovic, President of Croatia (top)
Andrej Plenkovic, Prime Minister of Croatia (bottom)

On 24 April 2020, retired general Zeljko Glasnovic, Independent Member of Croatian Parliament for Croats living outside of Croatia, gave a speech in the parliament that reflects the current escalation in political mood within the large patriotic body politic in Croatia. It remains to be seen whether political forces will emerge to actually at the coming General elections due towards the end of this year deliver changes in Croatia. Changes (away from communism and communist inheritance) have been desperately needed since the Homeland War ended but the need for them so acutely felt post President Milanovic’s repugnant and evilly tendentious statement in Jasenovac.

“Now is the time to learn the true history, not what we have been listening to for fifty years and are still listening to these days; history is a branch of science, not a tell-tale. There are so many lies being written on Yugoportals; a lie detector would fall apart from them and there are also nebulosities being spread – I would say misinformation campaigns related to the past, not so distant past, and we are looking at the consequences of that system today. For example, we look at unresolved property title issues… these are all consequences of the former system. Some people mention revisionism. What is revisionism? Well, every one of those Yugo-nationalists took the jargon on. Revision is the backbone of every scientific branch, revisions, meaning any new discoveries are open to interpretation. I wonder are these mass graves around Zagreb, Zapresic, are a revision of history? This is new evidence of the criminal regime some are defending here. Evidence… Now is the time to get rid of these nebulosities from the past – we’ve been listening to this Partisan truth for long enough…,” said Zeljko Glasnovic among other things in parliament on Friday 24 April (see video of that speech in Croatian language below).

Revision and research of history are vital for and meaningful particularly to the nation (Croatia) that has spent the 20^th century being denied historical truth and fact, and as a result, the sense of belonging to one nation is dichotomous. The disquieting dichotomy, which erodes a sense of nation, can only in Croatia’s case, be remedied or reduced by revising and researching history without the process being labelled – revisionism with negative connotations. Psychologically, it is understandable, but not acceptable, that those who or whose ancestors have benefitted personally from the atrocities of the former Yugoslavia communist regime will fight tooth-and-nail not to admit to the grave sins of their fathers, or themselves. Not only are the communist mass murders and purges of innocent people at the forefront of this needed historical reconciliation and revision but also the amassment of wealth through corruption and theft. They, the former communists and their sympathisers are not going to voluntarily or with contrition give up the good life they, with criminal activities, secured for themselves, their families. This must be done with resolve and force by those who truly want Croatia to prosper, democracy to prosper. Lustration must occur; condemnation of the communist Yugoslavia regime must occur. There is no time like the present! Ina Vukic