Nachricht Nummer : 510
Übertragungszeit : 4 min 18 sec
Nachricht von    : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de (Wam)
Antworten an     : wam@zamir-zg.ztn.zer.de
Betrifft         : Zagreb Diary 30 August 1994
Kopienempfänger  : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA
Erstellungsdatum : 07.09.1994 13:06:00 S+2

Zagreb Diary

(due to technical problems I can't do any spelling check (if somebody has
a spelling checker for ascii files I would really like to know) and also
the diary haven't been published for a long time, hope it will get better
soon)

Zagreb, 30 August 1994

Dobar Dan,

After a bit more than a year I am back on the beautiful island of Brac, at
this moment I am sitting on the balcony of a small house in the center of
Supetar. I am looking out over this old town and a nice blue Adriatic sea,
on the other side of the few kilometers wide sea I see the white high
houses from Split, which looks from here like glaciers or ice mountains
shining in the afternoon sun (from this distance they are by far not as
ugly as when you stand in front of them) and behind them the mountains on
the border line between Croatia and Hercegovina. Somewhere behind those
hills lays Tomislavgrad and a few tens of kilometers further Zenica and
all those other towns, which still not have left the newspapers, since
time after time the "peace" there is less more peacefull than people had
hoped it would be in the beginning of this year.

The owner of the house is a proffessor on the New York University,
who lives half the year on the island and half the time in the states.
Bogdan is his name and he writes all kind of books about social movements.
He is quit known her in the town (and in the rest of Croatia) and people
in the town seem to respect him highly. Although he is of Serbian
nationality, a catholic Serb as he said himself. The book he wrote about
the ethnical conflicts he wrote I have been reading some months ago and it
showed to me, but maybe I am too long in Croatia, that he as many others
still is a admirer of Tito's Yugoslavia, but as said maybe I am to much
influenced in my thinking.

In the small garden below the balcony are sitting an extrem bunch of Croatian
activists, mostly involved in human rights activities. Almost 30 persons are
hanging in the garden, the living room, the kitchen and are trying to have
together a discussion about how a democratic labour union in Croatian
should be formed. I recognize most of the people from ARKzin, from
Dalmatian Action (and their collegues from the Slavonian independent
party), representatives from human rights groups from Zagreb, Osijek ,
Pula, Split and Rijeka, with other words cream de la cream of the Croatia
countermovement. As well as some representatives from social democratic
parties and movements from Sweden, Germany, Albanian and the Czech
republic.

Tomorrow two more figure heads from the Croatian Helsinki Council and
Serbian Democratic Forum will come. The reason that they are all here in
this small house is the fact that in Supetar should have taken place an
international summerschool about democraty in Croatia, organized by one of
the Social Democratic parties of Croatia. In my home country the social
democrats are more or less considered as a normal middle of the road
party, which is not seen as particular dangerous for the politics and the
general safety in a country. Here in Croatia however people seem to think
totally different about those things.

Croatia maybe calls itselfs a democratic, a multi party state. And thanks
to the break away of some HDZ top figures some months ago this looks in Zagreb
at least already a lot better. Here in the outskirts however the local HDZ
leaders are having different thoughts about democraty. Why should Social
Democrats, a party which is formed partly out of the former socialist party
(in nearly all parties by the way you can find former socialist top
politicians and local party leaders). But this Social Democratic party
(I believe there are at least 3 of parties in Croatia, which call
themselves Social democratic) is basically an opposition party, not
as middle of the road as HDZ, HSLS (the liberals) and the new Free Croatian
Democrats, the are more or less operate in the marge of the big politics.

In the past, in socialist times, it was a yearly tradition that a summer
school like this was organised by the university of Zagreb. The orginal
place was not so far away from here. In those days people like Marcuse and
other philosophers came down to Korcula, an other Island, just south of
here. One year ago one of the social democratic parties restarted this
tradition and organised a summerschool in Lubin, a coal miners town in
Istra, known for it's progressive history. Between world war one and two
the miners there once declared the town a seperate free state as reaction
towards to bad social situation in the town (it was under Italian controll
in those days). And still the town seems to live partly in those old
traditions.

This years summer school was organised months in before hand, a nice hotel was
booked in Supetar, but some weeks ago the local people saw the smoke
and found out about it, as said Bogdan is not unknown in the city and his
political visions he is not particular keeping for himself. The hotel
direction broke their contract, probably they got the tip that it was
better for their place in the local society. The local organisers recieved
phone call after phone call making it absolutely clear that the unknown
callers weren't so happy with their plans to organise a meeting from a
left wing opposition party in their town. They didn't want to be known as
a liberal place, were parties which are opposing the ruling HDZ could find
hospitality. The local HDZ authorities, by the way, weren't disagree with
the school in their town, so the anti actions came basically out of
unknown local "nationalists".

Also the second option, meetings in a private local cinema and sleeping a
couple of private houses was blown into pieces by a well organised public
rumour and threatning campaign. Also in the regional newspapers articles
and letters were published which stir up the local peace. Peace, which is
so important for a small community like this which lives from tourism. And
so we ended up in this house, the police of the island has got the orders
from Zagreb to garantee that the participants wouldn't be hurt and the
houses, also of those people, which never the less the threats has rented
out their rooms, will be not damaged.

A more or less crazy situation, something you can not really imagine that
it would be possible in this times. Knowing that elsewhere in the country
political meetings from far more radical political groups and parties are
taking place without any problems. Ultra right wing parties, known for
their open disagreements towards the ruling goverment, including open
parades of forbidden private militia find no problems when they pull off
their shows. But also organisations far more left wing on the political
spectrum than the social democrates have no really problems in other
towns. Therefor this sudden local reaction came a little bit as a suprise.

But to be honest besides the articles in the newspapers and one coffee bar
which refused us to serve up to now Vesna and I haven't noticed anything
of this hostile atmosphere. So hopefully it will stay that way. Anyway due
to this political movings of some of the locals the summer school gets a
lot of press coverage in the regional and national newspapers. For the
time being this more or less improvised meeting place reminds me a bit on
the many meetings of small half half illegal actions groups back in my  
home country, or probebly the early meetings of the Yugoslav communist  
party back in the early years of this century. It gives a nice atmosphere.

Mir od Mene,
            Wam :-)

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