Draxblog III

Slovenia vs. Croatia: First Blood Avoided

Yesterday's incident, during which Slovenian police arrested 59-year Croatian armed with five hand grenades at first looks just like an incident. An isolated incident, work of a troubled, disturbed, war-wounded mind whose alleged intentions - blowing up Slovenian prime minister Borut Pahor - should be described as nothing more than madness.

Media from both sides of the border are mostly trying to calm things down. Slovenia has economic interests in Croatia, as well as plenty of tourists on Croatian beaches. Croatia would also be ill-served by Slovenian-Croatian conflict escalating into spillage of blood.

Yet, this incident was something that simply waited to happen. You can't simply inflame chauvinism by blaming Slovenian neighbours for all the ills that have struck Croatia - including resignation of prime minister Ivo Sanader - and expect such chauvinism to stay in the realms of usually harmless ethnic jokes. Push anti-Slovenian line hard enough and there would be madmen ready to "solve" that problem with the same methods political problems were solved in 1990s.

Thankfully, no blood was spilled. But it could have been, and very easily. Josip Zagajski (the alleged terrorist in question) tried to set hand grenades off while being apprehended. If he died in subsequent explosion, he could have provided anti-Slovenian chauvinists with a martyr figure. If Slovenian policeman or policemen died, anti-Croatian chauvinists from the other side of the border would have new martyrs, while Croatia would be branded as a nation of lunatic terrorists, never worthy of EU entry.

This incident could be something of a waking call for politicians, or at least those more sensible on the both sides of the border. What looks like a petty little border dispute - or one of many topics in EU internal debates over enlargments - could easily escalate into something unimaginable. Just as some seemingly petty constitutional squabbles of late 1980s ended with mass graves being dug around Srebrenica.

 

Glavaš Ran Away

Anyone expecting Glavaš coming behind bars after today's war crimes verdict got another chapter in what appears longest and most embarrasing soap opera in recent Croatian political history. Despite the verdict, Glavaš could get in jail only if he chose to, since his immunity was still valid. Sabor, despite previous speculations, chose not to strip him from his immunity until Mandate & Immunity Committee meets next week. In the mean time, Croatian police couldn't arrest Glavaš nor prevent him from leaving Croatian soil.

The latest information tells that Glavaš found sanctuary in Bosnia-Herzegovina where he allegedly has citizenship. Bosnia-Herzegovina can't extradite its citizens, just like Croatia, and this was abused by many celebrity criminals from both sides of the border. HRT quotes sources that saw Glavaš publicly drinking coffee in Tomislavgrad.

In the meantime, HDSSB issued video-message by Glavaš in which he explains that he was arrested twice and that he won't be arrested for the third time. So, Croatia got itself a remake of a Gotovina Saga, while today's events - whatever you may think about Glavaš's guilt of innocence - represent utter mockery of Croatian justice system and failure of Croatia as a state.

Sesvete Vultures

Before current justice minister Ivan Šimonović, Croatia had three women at that post. All three of them - Ingrid Antičević-Marinović, Vesna Škare-Ožbolt and Ana Lovrin - were failures. Only Škare-Ožbolt managed to reedem herself as very spirited and effective opposition politician. Faceless Ana Lovrin sunk back into anonymity. Their predecessor, Antičević-Marinović, however, became the most irritating of their all, since SDP decided that their former cabinet member was somehow most qualified to comment about legal matters.

And those comments, of course, are nothing more than usual vulture-like political activity or attempts to score cheap points on Sanader thanks to often overhyped criminal cases. Recent bloody robbery in Sesvete and death of a young policeman is just another opportunity to sing same and predictable song.

Ingrid Antičević-Marinović again advocates the Tough on Crime policy in SDP style - introduction of life imprisonment, presumably for worst murderers, while at the same time decriminalisation of so-called "soft drugs" like marijuana in order to "make rooms in Croatian prisons". Her campaign for life imprisonment, of course, intensifies with any high-profile murder and this harsh punishment is supposed to be applied to the criminals that belong to the category of an alleged murder perpetrator. Immediately after Ivana Hodak's murder, Antičević-Marinović advocated life imprisonment for "contract killers". Now she claims that the same punishment should be given to "killers of policemen".

What makes this case even more revolting is former minister's attempt to lay some of blame for policeman's murder on Sanader. She claims that she added life imprisonment to the proposed changes of Croatian Penal Code while being minister - on July 15th 2003. Sanader, according to former minister, erased those changes immediately after taking power in the beginning of 2004. Antičević-Marinović suggests that the mild penal policy - ridiculously low sentences with generous use of paroles and weekend furloughs - actually encourages crime with previously incarcerated criminals seeing no harsh consequences if they get caught while committing even most violent crimes.

What former minister says is partially true - Croatian penal laws are too mild. Even when they are not, their enforcement is joke due to tragically incompenent and corrupt judiciary. Antičević-Marinović, however, had opportunity to do something about it, but somehow this life imprisonment change became major public affair only years after her departure from power. If Sanader is responsible for Sesvete tragedy, so is Antičević-Marinović for not cleaning up Croatian criminal justice system when she had the chance.

Needless to say, while Antičević-Marinović populist crusade for life behind bars might get her few election points, it is almost certain that it would be forgotten the minute she returns to power. Those initiatives are nothing new, and in 1997 it was actually HDZ members of Sabor who pushed for life sentence in new Criminal code. However, same initiative was then attacked not only by liberal and leftist commentators (including Feral Tribune), but also by powerful attorneys' lobby. Tuđman and his government this time listened to the critics and relented. So, Croatia got its present maximum sentence of "long imprisonment" - between 20 and 40 years.

Sanader often hints about Criminal Code changes - one of the most recent and most controversial (from constitutional point of view) was ban on pardons for certain categories of criminals like padeophiles and drug dealers - but those hints usually come to nothing. Being Tough on Crime requires more than passing tougher laws - it requires a lot of money for new prison cells, better-equipped and better-trained policemen, correction officers and prosecutors. And this money is extremely hard to find in current economic situation. So, it is not likely that this latest outrage is going to produce results other than just another display of vulture-like hypocrisy, this time shared by both major political parties.

Generals After the Battle

In last 48 hours Croatian media forgot global economic crisis, soccer, locala elections and even the obligatory topics of Jasenovac and Bleiburg. The reason is in otherwise banal detail of Croatian everyday life - bank robbery - that went disastrously wrong. One young policeman is dead, three are injured - one critically - while the alleged perpetrator - Kazimir Dužnović - was fortunate enough to be apprehended in heavily populated area of Sesvete, in front of dozens of witnesses, thus preventing enraged policemen from avenging their colleague.

So, instead of routine news about unknown pereprators who would eventually be apprehended months later only to be sentenced to few years of prison spent in semi-open penitentiary with obligatory weekend furlough, Croatia is faced with talking heads again asking stupid questions like "why this happened" and "who is responsible". Politicians like Sanader are promising tougher laws, while police lobbies for more budget for body armour, better guns and more ammo for target practice.

Most of the outrage is directed at the fact that policemen were apparently unprepared and outgunned for heavily-armed and ruthless criminal. There are very few questions about Dužnović's prior criminal record and apparently undeserved parole and light prison sentences. Everyone who takes part in debates will, of course, behave like first-class general after the battle. And, like many of those outrages, this one too will die down without any meaningful consequences.

One of the Investigators in Hodak and Pukanić Cases Shoots Himself

T.F., 35-year old assistant commander of Operations Command Centre of Zagreb Police District - who was one of the investigators in murder cases of Ivana Hodak and Ivo Pukanić - committed suicide this morning. Apparently he shot himself in the head while driving a car on the road between Zagreb and Krapina.

This news comes after recent arrest of Sreten Jocić a.k.a. Joca Amsterdam, who is, among other things, formally charged as one of the organisers of Pukanić assassination. 

Jutarnji list quotes "informal sources" that the policeman (in service since 1998) recently had problems with repaying his loans. Conspiracy theories - probably not much wackier than the official version of Mladen Šlogar as Ivana Hodak's assassins - are, however, inevitable.

"All White People Look the Same To Me"

News about alleged arrest of Ratko Mladić in Kenya wasn't the most shining chapter in recent history of Croatian journalism. The brief ecstasy created by the thought of Mladić finally getting behind bars was understandably followed by huge disappointment. Even more so when it turned out that the alleged Bosnian Serb war criminal happened to be Igor Majeski, Croatian expatriate who came to live in Kenya years before the start of late unpleasantness in former Yugoslavia.

Croatian media, of course, couldn't miss opportunity for outbursts of outrage. After touching stories about Majeski having to spend unpleasant hours in Third World jail some commentators accused Kenyan police of gross incompetence. Majeski doesn't happen to look like Mladić at all, so how could those African Keystone cops mistake innocent Croat for the worst war criminal in recent memory? (One blogger tries to explain the mistake with "cultural facial recognition patterns").

Of course, in all that outrage it was conveniently forgotten that Kenyan neighbourhood had its share of "unplesantness" in past years, as well as various characters whose deeds in terms of bodycount and cruelty dwarf everything Bosnian Serbs did. Needless to say, many Croatians couldn't show Sierra Leone, Rwanda or Congo on world map and it is even bigger stretch of hope that they could know the names of people responsible for those horrors. If any of them happens to walk in busy Zagreb or Dubrovnik street, I doubt that any passeby would call police.

Crime, Punishment and Statistics

Being a "rat" is an always risky proposition for members of criminal underclass, but few expect to find it in a same way Paul Duran Jr. did in Oklahoma State Penitentiary. After fighting with another inmate, he was put in another cell, where his cellmate turned out to be an old associate Jessie James Dalton. Reunion didn't end well - 15 minutes later Duran was dead. Dalto, already serving life sentence without parole for murder, has beaten him to death. Dalton, who is very likely to receive death sentence for his act, apparently didn't appreciate Duran's testimony that had put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Prison authorities now are investigating how this criminal justice nightmare occurred. On the other hand, with million people behind bars in USA, statistics point to such encounters happening sooner or later.

Acting Competent

Vladimir Bajić, Prosecutor General of Croatia, made a Freudian slip while trying to advertise wonderful new world of reformed Croatian criminal justice. While addressing participants of a special so-called "Uskok" seminar, dedicated to the changes in Croatian Criminal Procedure Act, he bragged that the new technology and new powers brought by changes in legislations will make Croatian prosecutors "more successful than actors in TV shows".

Bajić probably wanted to say that the prosecutors are going to be more succesful than prosecutors in TV shows. In most likelihood he probably thought more about Law & Order than Boston Legal.

However, the cynical public would probably interpret that statement as "Croatian prosecutors are going to be more successful in pretending to be competent public servants".

One of the models they should aspire is new justice minister Ivan Šimonović. When he replaced incompetent Ana Lovrin following Ivana Hodak assassination, there were many in Croatia who honestly believed that he would purge Croatian justice system from incompetence and corruption. For a while, while he was replacing few prison officials, there was hope. Couple of months and scandals later, it turned out that it was all one big act.

Defending the Indefensible

Yesterday Stipe Mesić said that he would use his presidential prerogatives and revoke all military decorations given to General Vladimir Zagorec. (Whole list of decorations is available here.) Mesić repeated well-established notion of convicted criminals being unworthy of Croatian military honours.

However, Mesić forgot another well-established notion in Croatia - only those persons whose sentences have been upheld by Supreme Court are considered to be convicted criminals. While pending appeals, those persons still enjoy the presumption of innocence and, therefore, can't be deprived of their legal privileges.

Another, more troublesome issue with Mesić's decision is his apparent double standards when dealing with convicted criminals. Namely, there are two Croatian generals who managed to keep their ranks despite being convicted war criminals - Tihomir Blaškić and Mirko Norac. Therefore, in Mesić's worldview simple emblezzment is much more severe crime than butchering innocent women and children.

Faced with criticism from usually dependable suppprters from the left portion of Croatian public, Mesić decided to spin this thing by annoucing that he would take away medals from Blaškić and Norac.

Thankfully, Hague tribunal doesn't seem likely to pass verdict against Ante Gotovina before Mesić term in office expries, thus saving him from some unpleasant decisions in the future.

BREAKING NEWS: Vladimir Zagorec Gets 7 Years of Prison

Croatian judiciary apparently decided that the affair that indirectly led to two major assassinations on the streets of Zagreb must have some sort of closure.

The "rule of law triumphs" spin in government media is inevitable. And the fact that 5 million US$ of embezzled diamonds would get General Zagorec in jail is going to sit well among impoverished voters before local elections.

UPDATE: Short English summary of the case could be found here.