Escalation of violence towards Serbian national minority has its origins in calculative normalization Ustasha ideology on the part of the current government of Croatia, but that account could turn out to be harmful for it as well, he assesses Deutsche says.
First of all, we would like to finally receive a clear and official answer to the question of how much and what exactly is our right to guaranteed cultural autonomy, and when and where - Nikola Vukobratović, president of the Serbian cultural society "Prosvjeta" in Croatia, told us. We spoke with him after an unprecedented wave of verbal and physical violence against Serbs, at least in this century.
We remind you that in several Croatian cities in the past few days, attacks were organized on members of the largest national minority in Croatia and on their cultural manifestations. It started with the siege of the area of a city district in Split where an event was to be held as part of the traditional Days of Serbian Culture, where the masked thugs were mainly from the ranks of, as will be shown, Hajduk's Torcida fan group and Croatian war veterans associations. About a hundred of them ultimately demanded the termination of the Serbian folklore gathering, which they succeeded in doing.
Hooligans were preceded by politicians
It continued with a similar attempt in front of the Serbian Cultural Center in Zagreb, on the eve of the exhibition dedicated to the Serbian academician Dejan Medaković, but then the riot police dispersed several dozen masked rioters. In that case too, the mass shouting of the Ustasha cry "For home - ready!" was recorded, along with the raising of hands in the fascist salute and accompanying insults and threats. Then, next to the Zamet hall in Rijeka, an attack by a group of hooligans with sticks on children from Serbia who participated in a sports competition there was stopped.
In the end, Croatian political circles requested the cancellation of the "Serbian Women" exhibition in Vukovar, scheduled for November 11, dedicated to the role of Serbian women in the First World War. Among others, the mayor of Vukovar, Marijan Pavlicek, and the Minister of Culture, Nina Obuljen Koržinek, requested the cancellation of the event, who stated that the exhibition "is not disputed because of its content, but because of its impression."
Namely, in a week, the anniversary of the war suffering of that city in 1991 should be marked there. And although the Serbian representatives in Croatia do not dispute Croatia's right to defend itself at the time, it should be noted that the moves of Croatian politicians in that direction not only followed those of the hooligans, but to a large extent preceded them. It is primarily about a kind of normalization of the Ustasha ideology through the legalization of the mentioned Ustasha salute in the highest state institutions.
A campaign with wider implications
Today, however, the Croatian authorities blame the domestic Croatian left in general, then the Serbs, and then partly the media for the escalation of tensions. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that, immediately before these events, a meeting was held in the Croatian Parliament at which the crime in the Ustasha concentration camp Jasenovac during the Second World War was drastically revised. On the other hand, Nikola Vukobratović estimates that the Serbs are not the actors of the conflict on this occasion, but a forced object and a collateral victim.
"Serbs in Croatia have long been neither demographically nor politically a significant enough factor to be true protagonists of the conflict, although its outcome will have a great impact on our further status," the president of SKD "Prosvjet" told DW. He believes that this entire campaign will have much wider implications among all those who are apparently not directly aimed at while trying to "discipline" the Serbs. "Many are now looking, not only right-wingers, to get on that train and throw us under it. Because these attacks are either silenced, or relativized, or they join them."
Celebrating fascist criminals
Vukobratović did not want to specify who it was all about, but you can definitely recognize those members of the so-called of the left center, who simultaneously condemn the attacks on Serbs and Serbian representatives. An example is the Zagreb exhibition on Dejan Medaković because of his Serbian-nationalist past, which casts a shadow over his biography with undoubted scientific achievements. But there are many comparable cases among the Croatian personalities who are honored.
After all, for decades there have been streets in Croatia with the name of Ustasha minister Mile Budak, the signatory of the racial laws that sent tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Roma to Jasenovac and other execution grounds, to mention just that detail. At the same time, no one gives a convincing answer to the enigma of why domestic fascist criminals can be celebrated almost unhindered in Croatia, while Serbs are often prevented from even commemorating the joint Croatian-Serbian fight against fascism in the Second World War, and even holding folklore events.
Last year also, the mayor of Sinj, Miro Bulj, banned an art exhibition, controversial only because its organizer was the Serbian National Council in Croatia. "That's why we would like to hear an answer from the most relevant instances - what is our status and how does the state actually expect us to behave? Legally, it is clear, but we are constantly faced with arbitrary, arbitrary obstacles and interpretations. Today something can be done, tomorrow not. Now suddenly there is a request that we do not hold anything during the whole of November," says Nikola Vukobratović.
Repositioning of forces on the right
Instead of a conclusion, he asks whether everything would have been easier if they had moved everything to next month - but that month is also scheduled for the concert tour of Marko Perković Thompson, a singer-songwriter whose performances have already been banned in several Western European cities due to his pro-Ustasta views. We should not forget that the revisionist efforts and positions of the extreme right have been progressing throughout that part of Europe for years.
But when he talks about the Serbs as a collateral victim, Vukobratović notes that it is basically a matter of repositioning the forces on the Croatian right. An intense struggle for influence in that part of the political scene was already noted after the last parliamentary elections and was reduced to how much control the HDZ would retain over it. That largest Croatian party actually covers everything - from the right center to the extreme right positions.
Long-term politicization of memory
Judging by the unusual and contradictory reactions from that party in power in Croatia, it could be concluded that there is now considerable nervousness there. Extreme right-wing views were calculatedly given in, and after all it is not clear who and how can stop the targeted growth of disorder and pogrom activities against Serbs. Political scientist Nikola Baketa from the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb also spoke about this for DW, referring first of all to the fact that the Days of Serbian Culture have been held since 2006 - without incident until now.
What has changed is not the content of the event, but the social climate, points out Baquet and adds that this is why some actors today feel encouraged to threaten and attack. This was also openly seen in the protests surrounding the Šibenik festival of the left FALIŠ this summer, where it was said that "the political environment is now such that it is possible to react", as well as in the already famous graffiti "Our country, our rules". That message, let's recall, was written in Zagreb along with a threat to the writer and journalist Miljenko Jergović on the facade of the building where he lives.
"Due to the long-term politicization of memory and institutional tolerance towards radical actors, these same actors believe that the climate is now such that they dictate rules and laws that will apply to the entire society," says Baketa, explaining that it was seen that the Serbian minority was not the only one under attack, but it is probably the point around which it is easiest to gather and channel nationalist tendencies. According to him, the direction is clear - to withdraw critical and different voices from the public sphere.
Pressure beyond the constitution and law
As someone who comes from Vukovar, he says that he knows very well "how sensitive and important the month of November and the commemorations there are." But also that this is precisely why the state and local authorities must clearly separate piety from the prohibition of public life for an entire national group. At the same time, demands that Serbs "withdraw" from the public for a whole month represent political pressure beyond the law and are contrary to the constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom of expression.
"Currently, the government is calculating between convictions with a few 'buts' and achieving political points. However, such an approach only shows that the limit of what is acceptable is only moving, so responsible politicians should strive for consistent application of the law and make clear statements that violence is unacceptable," emphasizes Nikola Baquet. Before that, according to his conviction, they would have to provide systematic support for minority rights and a serious policy of remembrance as soon as possible and effectively, and education that builds a democratic culture, not fear.
