From: George Bogavac <K2GT@UNB.CA>
Subject: CROATIAN ELECTIONS
Organization: University of New Brunswick
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 14:20:18 GMT

THE GLOBE AND MAIL     Thursday, July 30, 1992
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TUDJMAN'S DIFFICULTIES COME WITH THE TERRITORY

by Philip Sherwell; Special to The Globe & Mail


  For towns about to acquire new MPs, there is a
marked absence of election fever in Vukovar, Knin
and Petrinja - no campaign posters, political
rallies or polling booths for the Croatian vote
to be held Sunday.
  Nor will the overwhelmingly Serb residents of
those towns be voting. Although they live within
Croatia's internationally recognized borders, the
territory in which the towns are located was lost
during fighting against the Serb-dominated Yugoslav
army last year.
  It is a situation that has complicated matters
for President Franjo Tudjman and his ruling Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ).
  As the former Yugoslav republic goes to the polls
for the first parliamentary and presidential elections
since declaring independence last year, Mr. Tudjman
and the HDZ are under opposition fire for making no
progress on regaining the occupied territory and for
holding votes for MPs to represent lost towns.
  Meanwhile, Mr. Tudjman is running a lacklustre
campaign, relying on his status as an incumbent.
  He called the snap election hoping to capitalize on
support before discontent swells over the occupied
territory, which represented one-quarter of Croatia.
In the polls, he remains the front runner, though he
is likely to be forced to a runoff by his closest rival.
  However, Mr. Tudjman's authoritarian style does not
sit easily with Croatia's claim to be a pluralistic
Western democracy.
  HDZ hard-liners have recently cracked down on political
opponents and the media. Dobroslav Paraga, leader of the
extreme nationalist Party of Rights (HSP), was recently
detained for allegedly plotting a coup. Milorad Pupovac,
chairman of a moderate Croatian Serb group, is being
prosecuted by hawkish state prosecutor Vladimir Seks, an
HDZ powerbroker, on charges of defaming the state.
  Anti-government journalists have been targeted by Mr.
Seks under a law against "verbal offences".
  If Mr. Tudjman and his party are returned to power,
observers fear that the emboldened HDZ hawks could
pursue their initiative, threatening the fledgling democracy.
  Meanwhile, the chaos surrounding election preparations
and the compilation of voter lists has prompted opposition
parties to claim dirty tricks. They fear many of the 500,000
refugees who feel little gratitude to Mr. Tudjman will find
their names missing from the lists on Sunday.
  Instead of leaving open seats such as Vukovar and Knin
in occupied territory, as Western diplomats believe
would have been preferable, the autorities are pressing
ahead with elections for them.
  Refugees from those areas will, in theory, be able to
vote wherever they are now living. And in what is little
more than a publicity stunt, polling stations will be
set up near the occupied territory for anyone who wants
to cross the frontier to vote.
  Croatian citizens living abroad, such as the large
expatriate community in Canada, will also be able to
vote. But officials in the Croatian capital of Zagreb
acknowledged this week that they had not yet clarified
who qualifies as a Croatian citizen.
  Mr. Tudjman is followed in the polls by Drazen Budisa,
leader of the Croatian Social Liberal Party.

  The wild card is Mr. Paraga, the leader of a party that
venerates the Nazi puppet regime responsible for slaughtering
Serbs, Jews and gypsies during the Second World War.
  Glossy party posters portray young black-clad, Kalashnikov-
toting soldiers from its paramilitary wing.
  Mr. Paraga pledges that the war with Serbia will be
continued until all Serb forces have been ousted from
Croatia and Bosnia, which the HSP considers part of Greater
Croatia.
  "The fight will not be over until Belgrade gets the
Vukovar treatment," he said, referring to the Croatian
town flattened by pro-Serbian forces.
  At his packed rallies, well-dressed Croatian yuppies
give the Nazi salute in a chilling display.
  In contrast, Mr. Tudjman's election meetings have been
poorly attended and his speeches have been little more than
confused  historical rambles.


Reprinted w/o permission.
George Bogavac