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Journalists to be Tried in June For Mocking Croatia's Tudjman
ZAGREB, May 17 (Reuters) — Two prominent Croatian journalists face trial in June for mocking autocratic President Franjo Tudjman, independent local media reported on Friday. The case involving the weekly Feral Tribune has drawn attention to the former Yugoslav republic's authoritarian style of government, despite a democratic constitution, that has stalled its bid to be integrated in Western Europe.
Novi List, an independent daily, said court papers had been given to Feral editor Viktor Ivancic and lead writer Marinko Culic ordering them to stand trial on June 14 for alleged criminal libel of Tudjman. They face possible prison terms of up to three years under a law enacted by parliament last month banning ``defamation'' of state leadership without defining what offences would be.
Feral, a satirical and investigative weekly, was prosecuted for an article in April that ridiculed Tudjman for his wish to rebury World War Two Croatian fascists at an existing memorial to their Jewish and Serb victims. Tudjman, 74, who was a communist Partisan fighter during World War Two but embraced Croatian nationalism later, floated the idea as part of a plan to convert the Jasenovac monument into one dedicated to all ``Croatian victims of war,'' including the pro-Nazi "Ustashas."
But Foreign Minister Mate Granic said on Thursday Croatia had been advised by its main patron, the United States, to drop the idea — presumably because it would offend Jews and Serbs at
home and abroad. The Nazi puppet "Ustasha" regime that ruled Croatia in 1941-45 murdered tens of thousands of minority Serbs, Jews and gypsies, many of them at Jasenovac, historians say.
Tudjman ordered Feral Tribune prosecuted in what diplomats said was a new government crackdown against critical media ahead of important regional elections. Polls indicate the government party will suffer heavy losses in a popular backlash against corruption, nepotism and economic mismanagement by the ruling HDZ party.
The government has also targeted Novi List, Croatia's only large independent daily, levying a huge $2.5 million fine for minor import tax violations. Editors said the fine could drive the paper into bankruptcy but there are unconfirmed reports that the penalty has been put on hold pending a reassessment of the case.
State police also shut down an independent Zagreb tabloid on a murky charge of "ecological offences" but the paper was allowed to reopen two weeks later. Analysts believe Novi List's reprieve and the return of the Zagreb weekly resulted from protests by independent journalists which alerted the European Union and put Croatia's pending
admission to the Council of Europe in jeopardy. Indeed, the Council's 39 member governments decided on Tuesday to put Croatian membership on indefinite hold.
They cited Tudjman's new swoop against media critics and refusal to accept an opposition party victory in elections for the Zagreb city council, violating his government's recent commitment to meet democratic standards of the Council.
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Berserkistan, May 17 After European Snub, Croatia Promises to Become More Democratic
Berserkistan, May 9 · Croatia Blamed for Human Rights Abuses
Berserkistan, May 8 · Croatia Charges Journalists with Libeling Tudjman
Republic of Croatia, Office of the President
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