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March 11, 2000 Prof. Lino Veljak, representative of the ruling "six" in Croatia Serbia belongs in Europe
Prof. Lino Veljak, PhD, is one of the leaders of the Action of Socialdemocrats of Croatia (ASH) - one of the six political parties that formed the ruling coalition in Croatia and one of the four parties that endorsed Stipe Mesic's presidential candidacy. He was born in 1950 in Rijeka, studied philosophy and sociology in Zagreb and graduated in 1973. During his studies he took part in anti-nationalist and dissident movement in Croatia. In 1974 he was convicted of subversive activity together with a group of people (Zoran Djindjic, et al.). After he got his master's and doctor's degree, he worked at the Institute of Philosophy in Zagreb and at the Department of Philosophy, Zagreb University. Today, he is head of the Department of Ontology and Epistemology at the University of Zagreb. Before his recent political engagement, he was politically active during the 80s as a petitioner, and later became one of the founders of the Association for Democratic Alternatives in Yugoslavia (UJDI) and modern social democracy. FS: What are the first visible effects of the change of government in Croatia? First of all, it's the relief and people commonly agree on it. One can see smiling faces on the streets and a lot of hope among ordinary people - people who don't live better than they did but believe they will. After all, they know this can't happen overnight. And the most important effect is the absence of fear. People are not afraid any more. FS: Is Croatia slowly freeing itself from nationalism? I think this process is developing even faster. Simply, nationalism is not "in" any more. Advocating nationalistic views have become unpopular, at least because it has become apparent where nationalism leads to - real values and the quality of life were replaced by symbolic contents void of all meaning. FS: Non-government organizations helped substantially in the process of the democratization of Croatia and in motivating voters to vote. What will be the attitude of the new government toward NGOs?
FS: Given the current distribution of power in Croatia, how stable will be the ruling coalition? There is a complex dynamics going on the political scene. Basically, the former ruling party (HDZ - the Croatian Democratic Union) is in the process of rapid disintegration. Conflicts inside the HDZ are of such nature that another integration is very unlikely. After all, the HDZ functioned as an interest group and not as a normal, European political party. That's why it seems to me that potential destabilization of the government is not so hard. Much bigger problem would be the absence of systematic establishing of the state and its departments and services on the principles of competence and professionalism i.e. if destruction and diversion coming from the lower authorities were permitted. Political dynamics by nature, in the parliament and in the government, could not be dangerous. FS: You were the first to endorse the presidential candidacy of Stipe Mesic. Why he was the best candidate by your opinion?
Mr. Mesic as a person portrayed a moral figure. He was indeed among the founders of the HDZ, but since he saw what was really going on he strongly opposed the authoritarian and xenophobic policy of the regime. When the forcible displacement of Serbs at first, and Muslims afterwards, from Zagreb and other cities in Croatia started, Stipe Mesic was the only He could represent making peace with our own past and our own mistakes and a step out of these mistakes, a step towards the new future. On the other hand, he is a person with an unstrained behavior and a person who considers strictness, stiffness and all hierarchical structures relative. But his relaxed manner and informality does not prevent him from being extremely serious when the situation demands it. These are the reasons why he was a better candidate than Drazen Budisa who is on one hand too stiff, and who has a high opinion of himself and is too egocentric, like most of the politicians, on the other. Mesic is one of few professional politicians who do not hold themselves in such high esteem. Croatia, which was on the way to become an autocratic state, deserves the president who will reduce the stiffness and seriousness but who will increase efficiency on the principles of basic human values. FS: The new president of Croatia announced the opening of the Tudjman - Milosevic file. What facts does Mr. Mesic intend to disclose?
FS: How the problems of Serbs in Croatia will be solved, first of all the problem of displaced persons? Refugees will have every right to come back. There will probably be some problems from the lower authorities if they are not professionalized. One could expect certain resistance and undermining from them. Certainly, the process of issuing legal documents will be considerably stepped up and the process of compensating for damaged properties and properties taken away from their owners will begin. Most importantly, the list of people wanted for their criminal activities will be precisely stated. This will in turn protect the refugees that are coming back from unpleasant surprises by judicial authorities - surprises that have been happening in the recent period and that have been slowing down the pace of the return of refugees. FS: How do you estimate the current political situation in Serbia?
FS: How will the change of government in Croatia reflect on the Serbian political situation? Probably in a way that will show that even the most hopeless situations could rapidly improve if the democratic potential was activated. Naturally, it is prerequisite that all individual and party egoism should be abandoned as well as conceitedness of self-proclaimed and actual eminencies. FS: If possible, what kind of cooperation between Croatia and Serbia can be expected in the near future? I think that correct neighbor relations are possible at the moment and that much closer and friendlier relations will be possible in the near future. It is what Croatia wants especially with neighboring countries, particularly the countries with which it has much in common historically. Bojan Bozic
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It will be substantially different. As a result of all that happened, Croatia has been pronounced a state in transition to an open society. But I see two threats in the relationship between NGOs and new authorities. The first threat is the integration of NGOs with the state, which would result in diminishing of the autonomous civil sector. The other threat is in using this sector as a hiding place for the defeated and not as a place for critical judgments and alternatives. Unlike the first, the second threat is not that great and it is more likely to happen on the right wing of the political scene in Croatia. But if the critical judgment is retained then I think the promise to transform Croatia into an open society has every chance of being kept.
government official who helped displaced persons and in the most critical situations even directly prevented some of the displacements from happening. And when he realized afterwards that he could not change anything from within the regime, he left the HDZ with a group of people sharing the same views, consciously renouncing all of his privileges.
The evidence of cooperation in preparing the war in Croatia as well as in Bosnia will be given. I think it will be very valuable for the demystification of great heroic stories that in a way still exist among the people, especially among the victims of all wars waged on the territory of ex-Yugoslavia. Besides, it can help in determining the truth about recent history which is very important for the stabilization of the relations in the region.
I hope that Serbia will go along the way of intense democratization and that the democratic potential of Serbia will be used in a way that will re-establish Serbia as a part of the European community where it belongs.
