The same author, Marinko Culic of the Split weekly “Feral Tribune” reports in the July 13, 1998 issue on the recent visit of some Croatian opposition leaders to the USA and its political effects.

Departure of five leaders of the Croatian opposition (Racan, Gotovac, Tomcic, Jakovcic, Cacic) to the USA according to its outer manifestations is the central political event of this unstable summer, but to what extent this will help the disunited and indecisive opposition is a different matter.

Having returned after talks with Madelaine Albright and the leading team of her associates, the five tried to make the impression of an excellently completed job, and the differences in interpretation of some key American stands that had appeared in declarations given on the other side of the ocean were polished off.

It is not surprising that not long before the US tour of the Croatian opposition, it leaked from American sources that Clinton's administration was playing a simultaneous exhibition on two boards. On one, it is making combinations with the opposition and estimating its political orientation (attitude towards nationalism, multi ethnic states, etc,) and its force. On the other, it is opening the possibility to offer support to the moderate faction of the HDZ (the "headquarters" of which are in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mate Granic, but with quite a lot external members such as Greguric, Valentic, Jarnjak, and others). According to some assessments, this simultaneous exhibition will last until a lasting solution is found for B&H, and as recently Robert Gelbard explained, it consists of victory of "pluralist" in all three ethnic groups in this country.

The first group visit of Croatian opposition to the USA is beginning to resemble a crossroads, although veiled by still non-transparent events and processes which will follow, among other primarily the outcome of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in B&H. Therefore, nobody should be surprised that rhetoric of regime officials and media changed after their return to the country. Now they are welcomed by derision that Albright had received them against her will, and then refused to talk through an interpreter because she was obviously not interested in what they had to say. In this way the HDZ revealed that in the whole story they were hurt the most because for months now Tudjman has not been able to arrange an invitation to the USA, and that the agreed invitation for Mate Granic arrived only after the five-member opposition delegation had returned home.

The opposition should be more concerned about the situation within its ranks than the customary gossip. After the visit to the United States, regardless of how stimulating it may have seemed, it does not look any better, it might even be worse. It leaked in public that one of the leaders of the SDP who still did not wish to make his name known intends to abandon the party and found his own. He is a man who is much more popular outside the party than in it, because for quite some time he has distinguished himself by the attempts to pull the SDP towards the "centre" (as he himself says, but it often resembled more a discrete coalition with the HDZ). But he is now wisely advocating a large coalition of all or majority of opposition parties, obviously calculating that if an open clash occurs between him and the party, it would discredit the party and bring him a profit.


Source: Split weekly "Feral Tribune," July 18, 1998