US embassy cable - 04ZAGREB179

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 000179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, HR, Political Parties/Elections 
SUBJECT: FASCISM FALLS OUT OF FASHION IN CROATIA 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please Treat Accordingly 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (SBU) Until relatively recently, expressions of extreme 
nationalism were considered acceptable in Croatia's political 
and social dialogue.  That seems to be changing.  Croatians 
have gotten the message that extreme nationalism is 
incompatible with their ambitions of accession to 
Euro-Atlantic institutions.  In stark contrast to election 
results in Serbia, held about the same time, only a few of 
Croatia's most extreme nationalists won seats in the new 
parliament.  The jingoist balladeer Marko Perkovic "Thompson" 
has been ostracized for hate speech which would have been 
acceptable to many in Croatia less than two years ago.  PM 
Sanader's HDZ courted and won the support of the ethnic Serb 
party in parliament, which would have been unthinkable under 
former President Tudjman.  Sanader has also made a clear 
gesture acknowledging culpability of Croatia's WWII-era 
fascist regime in the Holocaust.  It is certain that extreme 
nationalist sentiment is still a factor in Croatia, but the 
general recognition that it is nothing to be proud of is a 
step forward.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) When the Tudjman-era HDZ was ejected from power in 
January 2000, most voters cited corruption and financial 
mismanagement, not a rejection of extreme nationalism, as 
their motivation for change.  Ironically, the event that 
served to bring most Croatians to the realization that 
expressions of extremism were damaging to their interests was 
a surge of nationalist fervor brought on by the ICTY 
indictment of retired General Janko Bobetko in the Autumn of 
2002. 
 
Croatia Chooses Europe, Not Nationalism 
--------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) The Racan government dithered for months about 
whether it dared to serve the ICTY indictment on the aged, 
ailing General Bobetko whom the right had dubbed a "hero" of 
Croatia's war of independence.  Throughout the "crisis" -- 
which PM Racan claimed brought Croatia close to real civil 
unrest -- the international community maintained a firm line: 
either cooperate with ICTY or abandon aspirations of 
integration with NATO and the EU.  Bobetko died before he 
could be transferred to The Hague, but the stalemate dragged 
on long enough for the wave of emotional response to pass and 
for most Croatians to decide that they were ready to 
sacrifice one of their symbols for a future in Europe. 
 
Cleaning out the HDZ 
-------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) The HDZ, long the standard-bearer of Croatian 
nationalism, was during the Bobetko "crisis" completing its 
own transformation, although some skeptics still believe this 
transformation is largely superficial.  Ivo Sanader first 
defeated Tudjman henchman Ivic Pasalic in a bruising battle 
for the party presidency and then began a systematic purge of 
Pasalic's supporters.  Together with Miroslav Tudjman, the 
son and spitting image of his father, Pasalic founded a new 
political party to be a home for nationalist HDZ members 
disaffected by Sanader's more centrist political message. 
 
The "Thompson" Phenomenon 
------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) While Pasalic expected some of his support to come 
from HDZ hardliners, he also counted on an apparent 
resurgence of extreme nationalism among younger Croatians for 
new strength.  The popular singer Marko Perkovic -- known as 
"Thompson" (after the submachine gun) to his fans -- was 
packing in huge crowds in the Summer and Fall of 2002 to hear 
jingoist ballads laced with references paying homage to 
Croatia's WWII-era fascist state, known as the "Ustashe." 
Tens of thousands of Croatians too young to have served in 
the "Homeland War" brazenly displayed "Ustashe" symbols and 
shouted anti-Serb slogans at a series of "Thompson" concerts. 
 
 
Nationalism Fails at Croatian Polls 
----------------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) In the Spring of 2003, when political parties began 
positioning themselves for elections later that year, Sanader 
strategically staked out the center-right, declaring that, if 
elected, an HDZ government would be committed to Croatia's 
integration into Europe, even at the cost of cooperating with 
ICTY.  When elections came around on November 23, voters 
responded.  Poll results show that some of the HDZ 
nationalists drifted away to the hardline Croatian Party of 
Right (HSP), but Pasalic's anti-Europe, anti-ICTY message got 
 
nowhere; his party won not a single seat while Sanader's HDZ 
won nearly half the seats in the new Sabor.  The HSP won a 
total of eight seats, a good result for the HSP as a party, 
but a sound defeat for extreme nationalism in Croatia. 
Croatian political columnists were quick to point out how 
this result contrasted with recent parliamentary elections in 
Serbia. 
 
Sanader's HDZ In Coalition With Serbs 
------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) Sanader stunned Europeans skeptical of his centrist 
vocation when he inked a deal with the new parliament's 
ethnic Serb party, the SDSS.  In exchange for their three 
votes, the SDSS got a pledge to speed the processes of 
refugee return and restitution of property expropriated from 
Serbs displaced during the war.  While the new government has 
yet to produce results on the difficult issue of refugee 
returns, Sanader's effort to reach out to Serbs has made even 
his most skeptical critics sit up and take notice. 
 
8.  (SBU) "Thompson" has fared even worse than Pasalic.  A 
free speech NGO recently posted a transcript from a live 
version of one of Thompson's ballads.  In the plain light of 
day, Thompson's vile hate speech has turned the stomachs of 
most Croatians.  Croatia's PEN Center has long been a critic 
of Thompson, but on January 24, even the Croatian Bishops' 
Council -- which from time to time still disputes the extent 
of the Holocaust in Croatia -- sharply criticized his "hate 
speech and glorification of crimes."  President Mesic, who 
continues to bear the standard for Croatians who oppose 
extremism, condemned Thompson's lyrics as "shameful" and 
wondered how people who support fascist ideals could still 
exist in Croatia.  The recent arrest of a Zagreb street 
vendor of parephernalia bearing "Ustashe" symbols shows how 
much things have changed. 
 
Sanader Gesture at Holocaust Commemoration 
------------------------------------------ 
 
9.  (SBU) In preparation for Croatia's January 27 
commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Sanader made an 
appearance and an appropriate statement -- together with 
President Mesic -- at an exhibit of photographs which paid 
homage to victims of the Holocaust.  While this was a 
continuation of former PM Racan's recognition of Croatian 
culpability in the Holocaust, it marked another departure 
from the practice of Tudjman's HDZ. 
 
10.  (SBU) Extreme nationalism is still present in Croatia, 
but its blatant expression is no longer acceptable in public. 
 All of Croatia's responsible political leaders recognize 
that extreme nationalism is incompatible with Croatia's bid 
for NATO and EU membership.  It seems to us that Croatia's 
voters -- whether they voted for the HDZ or its political 
opponents -- made a conscious choice to move forward, even if 
it means sacrificing some of its nationalist icons -- such as 
ICTY indictee Ante Gotovina. 
FRANK 
 
 
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