high treason – Croatia, the War, and the Future

Croatia: Known High Love Or Alleged High Treason In Next President?

Croatian Presidential Candidates
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
and
Ivo Josipovic

It was in May 2014 when I wrote about the proposal and plans to establish in Croatia a National Ethics Tribunal (HNES): “A group of citizens of Croatia has decided to establish the Croatian National Ethics Tribunal, which will not have behind it the force of the police or the State court system. It will, though, have the force of ethical arguments and public “finger pointing” at those who have inflicted damage upon Croatian interests and who have worked against Croatian independence and have betrayed Croatia in relation to its fight against Serb aggression…»

Indeed, this Ethics Tribunal (comprised of highly eminent and distinguished academics, politicians, scientists, journalists, other professionals and business personalities) has come off the ground running and is already making notable inroads into the Croatian national conscience that can only lead to a fairer, a just, a more democratic and a social and political conscience, which in bulk, has the look of something that will positively influence political morality every hard-won independence and democracy deserves, not just Croatia. This appears to take the place of a mind-process that is essential in a country transitioning from a communist totalitarian regime whose destructive and oppressive paws seem still after 24 years ingrained in an overwhelming number societal veins and capillaries; a condition conducive to all sorts of corruption and human suffering be it emotional or economic.

Croatia, almost everyone says, but all see, is at this moment at sociopolitical crossroads! It must make and bring about political and governance changes in order to finally pay its dues to the victims of Homeland War who suffered so much to achieve independence and democracy. It must shed the destructive remnants of communism and political protectionism if it’s to survive its harsh road to full democracy that’s yet to be achieved.

Presidential Elections in Croatia are to have their final mark on Sunday, 11 January, when the second round of voting occurs for either Ivo Josipovic or Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic to win. Results so far have signaled a strong will for change in Croatia as the incumbent Josipovic barely took a lead of less than 1% of votes given.

What this important new Ethics Tribunal thinks of Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Ivo Josipovic can be seen in a letter sent to Grabar-Kitarovic on 3rd January 2015 by the Ethics Tribunal, copy of which was sent to this Blog as part of the media milieu devoted to Croatia, its War and its Future and I’m grateful for having received it. I have, therefore, translated that letter into English and bring it to you herein.

“Our dear future President of the Republic of Croatia,
Thank you for your warmth, your beauty and for the hope you have bestowed in these days of profound crisis upon the tortured Croatian nation. You are the best that could have happened to us! We are convinced that you will succeed in your path to the top of our Republic of Croatia. Croatia needs you!

We write to you to support you, to inform you about what we have done in the pusuit of protecting the highest of national values of Our Lovely (Croatia). We founded the Croatian National Ethical Tribunal (HNES) in June of last year. On 20th September, in the Croatian martyr city of Vukovar, we had accused Ivo Josipovic (current President of Croatia), Stjepan Mesic (former President of Croatia), Vesna Pusic (current foreign minister of Croatia) and Milorad Pupovac (president of Serb National Council in Croatia) of high treason. On the 10th of December 2013 the first gathering in Zagreb of the HNES tribunal delivered its ethical judgment against Ivo Josipovic, the president of Croatia and commander in chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, for high treason pertaining to national interests. We are forwarding to you the decision of ethical judgment for high treason in ten points contained in a book titled CROATIAN HIGH TREASONS.

The tribunal has confirmed the existence of factual foundations for the ethical judgments against Ivo Josipovic, especially in the following:

• For systematically, over a number of years, falsifying historical truths by turning the Serbian-Montenegrian aggression against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina into a so-called civil war,
• For systematically and persistently changing the content working on a withdrawal of Croatia’s lawsuit against Serbia for genocide and aggression against Croatia at the International Court of Justice in the Hague,
• For having surrounded himself in the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia with persons such as Dejan Jovic, Budimir Loncar and some others, who had systematically opposed the Croatian state independence,
• For having in his public appearances at home and abroad (in the Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Knessett of Israel and elsewhere) stigmatised and muddied the Croatian state with statements that Croatia had executed aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, that Croatia is an Ustashe country,
• For having systematically promoted the communist totalitarian ideology and communist “antifascism” despite the Declaration by the Croatian Parliament which condemned the crimes committed during the totalitarian communist regime 1945 to 1990,
• For having applied to the Constitutional court for an enactment of a law that would see indictments and trials against Croatian Homeland War veterans conducted in accordance with the criteria used in the criminal Yugoslavia, Serbia and Yugoslav People’s Army,
• For having advocated for an acceptance of the Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with the EU Member States (the so-called Lex Perkovic),
• For failing to protest against the statement made by the Chetnik duke Tomislav Nikolic that Vukovar is a Serb city and that Serbia’s border is at the Virovitica-Karlovac-Karlobag line,
• For having led pro-Serbian politics and self-willingly took Great Britain, which had always favoured Yugoslavia and Serbia against Croatia, as a strategic partner.

The ethical judgment against Ivo Josipovic was signed by the members of the First Tribunal Committee: Dr. Zvonimir Separovic, as the committee’s president and members: Academic Josip Pečaric, dr.Josip Jurcevic, dr Zdravko Tomac, dr. Nikola Debelic, prof. Nevenka Nekic, attorneys: Zvonimir Hodak i dr. at law Zeljko Olujic i Secretary Zdravko Vladanovic.

The founders and HNES members also include: Academic Slobodan Novak, dr. Andrija Hebrang, brigadier general Tomo Medved, members of the Committee for the Defence of Croatian Vukovar Tomislav Josic and Vlado Iljkic, distinguished Croats from abroad istaknuti Marko Franovic, Sydney, dr Ivan Hrvojic, Toronto, Ante Glibota, Paris, Mijo Maric, Berlin, fra Simun Sito Coric, Bern, artists: Josip Botteri Dini, Miljenko Romic, Đuro Vidmarovic, Petar Vulic, Eva Kirchmayer Bilic, Bozidar Alic and Ante Nadomir Tadic, Knin, representatives of organisations: Rozalija Bartolic, widows of Homeland War, Negzana Pavicic, a Skabrnje massacre survivor,Zvonimir Zoric, a Bleiburg massacre survivor, Mario Fillipi, full invalid of the Homeland War and Ante Beljo, Croatian victimology society, scientists: dr. Josip Faricic, from Zadar, Ivan Kozlica, dr. Mario Sosic, from Pula and dr Ante Milinovic, publicists: Mato Kovacevic and Josko Celan.
After being informed of the ethics tribunal’s judgment Ivo Josipovic stated: “They are sick people, madmen”. Abhorred, the local media published that primitive, dangerous and threatening statement.
We take the freedom to suggest to you that you may use these ethical judgments in your public appearances and duels.
May the Almighty God and the Holy Sprit with all the Angels be with you!
Long live our first lady President of the Republic of Croatia!
In Zagreb, 3rd January 2015.
(Signed:)
Zvonimir Separovic Josip Pecaric Josip Jurcevic Zdravko Tomac, Nikola Debelic Nevenka Nekic Zeljko Olujic Zvonimir Hodak, Đuro Vidmarovic Ivan Kozlica Bozidar Alic Ante Beljo, Mario Filippi Zdravko Vladanovic”

In its Press Release dated 4 January 2015 (click to see in Croatian in PDF here), under Point 2 the Croatian National Ethics Tribunal reports that it is pursuing reporting Ivo Josipovic to authorities on allegations of high treason: “Prompted by a number of inquiries, proposals and requests from the Croatian public, the Croatian National Ethics Tribunal invites the State Attorneys office to act in accordance with the provisions of Article 204, clause 1 and Article 205, clause 5, of the Criminal Proceedings Act (“Gov. gazette/NN”, No. 152/08, 76/09, 80/11, 91/12, 143/12, 56/13 and 145/13), seeking official consideration of the accessible information from the Fact-finding sheet in the Decision of the Croatian National Ethics Tribunal dated 10th December 2014, which suggests founded suspicions that Ivo Josipovic has, during the time in office as President of the Republic of Croatia and commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, committed a criminal act of high treason, which is described and punishable in accordance with Articles 340 and 350, connected to Article 351 and Article 13, clause 1, of the Criminal Act of Republic of Croatia («Gov. Gazzette/NN» 125/11, 144/12.“

Adding this latest content to the presidential candidates’ spreadsheets of qualifications, allegations, programs, past professional results, political comittment to democracy…the best choice for next president of Croatia appears so very clear: Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic!

Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb), B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

Croatia: End Of Lukewarm And Incompetent Mandate Era On Horizon As Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic Becomes Presidential Candidate

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic with Ivo Josipovic
Photo: Zeljko Lukunic/Pixsell

It is official: Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is officially in the race for President of Croatia, elections for which are now likely to occur at the end of this year.
She will run as Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ’s) candidate.

The two major presidential candidates come from political centre: Ivo Josipovic (current incumbent/ Social Democrat prior to becoming the president; stems out of former Yugoslavia communist party echelons and Social Democrats membership) on the centre-left and Grabar-Kitarovic (Stems out of HDZ membership/ no communist or any other totalitarian regime ties) on the centre-right.

A leading Croatian newspaper Vecernji List article in its address of Nova TV survey regarding the two candidates writes: “When voters are offered characteristics they mark the president (Ivo Josipovic) as a skillful politician. Then, as decisive and sincere. They also consider him a fighter against corruption, educated and a person who understands the ordinary person. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is a candidate who understands foreign politics and defence. Voters also assess her as a person who is decisive and who is not corrupted. They consider her as a fighter against corruption and sincere.”

As her candidacy was announced Friday, the mentioned survey places Grabar-Kitarovic with almost 38% of voter preference. This figure of approval, while exceedingly rare throughout the world for a first-time candidate, is of monumental significance given that it also serves as a certain proof that Croatian voters are looking for a fresh start, for the future rather than the past.

It’s of note that while the surveyed Croats saw Ivo Josipovic as a fighter against corruption the reality has been that his fight against corruption has employed the tactics of action-evasion as well as lukewarm reactions to cases of corruption before Croatian courts during his presidential mandate. He has failed miserably even at leading a badly needed culture change against corruption in Croatia. He has demonstrated no initiative of note in this area whatsoever. The latest example of Josipovic’s inclination to place a political rather than a purely criminal-act-of-individual label on corruption is seen in his latest moral as well as apparent statutes interpretation transgression. That is, after Croatia’s Supreme court confirmed a guilty verdict against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader for taking a bribe from Hungarian oil group MOL in exchange for allowing it a dominant position in Croatian oil firm INA, Ivo Josipovic had Saturday 14 June labeled Sanader’s corruption as “high treason”! Suggesting that corrupt actions of individuals (Ivo Sanader) within a nationally important but largely privatised company, such as INA is (which, in the process of privatisation, handed over to the Hungarian MOL the power of decisive majority vote on the company’s affairs), constitutes high treason!

When we look into the relevant legislation in Croatia on criminal acts against the Republic of Croatia, “Penal code” (Kazneni zakon) for “high treason” we find Articles 135 – 155. These Articles are associated with high treason in varying degrees. While a proven treasonous intent in an act of large scale or even violently coloured corruption could perhaps be plucked out of this legislation and remotely possibly launched or engineered into some indictment for the crime of high treason, none of these Articles refer directly to the “usual” corruption within individual company dealings regardless of how large or significant for the nation a company may be.

Ivo Sanader has been found corrupt and there are no excuses or justifications for these crimes. He deserves all the punishment coming to him. However, by labeling Ivo Sanader’s corruption as high treason, president of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, has, to my view, demonstrated a complete disregard of Croatia’s relevant legislation and purposefully used “high treason” label in order to score political points, confuse the masses and provoke the masses into further and biased condemnation of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), to which Sanader belonged and whose candidate Grabar-Kitarovic is.

I am yet to see a journalist, or anyone else for that matter, from Croatia, analysing this latest Josipovic’s terrible transgression. Perhaps Josipovic and his advisory camp relish the fact that the concept of high treason mobilises high emotions against the person labelled so and against those who were around him? But it is wrong, horribly wrong! This lends nothing to a real fight against corruption, or positive results of any such fight. This also points to a conclusion that Josipovic was not, is not, a true fighter against corruption. He was not and is not a fighter against high treason, either – for if he were he would have dealt with the issue of State secrets/documents that were evidently leaked out of Stjepan Mesic’s presidential office between 2000 and 2010!

If the “usual” corruption were grounds for high treason, Croatia (and most countries of the world) would have to impugn nearly every government administration.

If Josipovic considers that corruption in Sanader’s case is high treason, then why did he not say that such is his opinion only but that the country’s laws should be reviewed to bring that opinion into legislation, instead of wrongfully making it sound as a fact under the law? Why did he not initiate such legislative review, as a president should? The answer to this is, as far as I have seen, that Josipovic most often pays aloof lip-services (to gain political points and impress as a person who is doing something about the corruption) to the anti-corruption fighting but in fact fails miserably at initiating or sparking-off the badly needed widespread and culture changes in the fight against corruption in Croatia.

The above Ivo Josipovic transgressions make Grabar-Kitarovic’s presidential candidacy all the more a breath of fresh air in Croatia’s future. Her win would, I believe, for starters seriously dampen the political public agenda of those politicians, NGO’s and organisations in Croatia who form the public left-oriented (communist sympathisers and activists) lynch mob that’s pushing for HDZ’s collective guilt for corruption on the back of Sanader’s guilt. Undoubtedly, sadly, the Croatian public will be seeing more of such injustice and witch hunting in the coming months, as the presidential campaign accelerates. It is, therefore, gladdening to see such significant support for Grabar-Kitarovic in this early stage of the campaign especially when one considers the fact that such support will surely find a way of showing-up this lynch mob’s deceit as deceit, and facts as facts. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)