That writing is from Zagreb, printed by the Chicago Tribune. I will put a copy of this piece of paper that I have found on which there was not a date, but reading it you will determine when and where all this happened. This article was sent to me by our very good Croatian patriot and my very good friend Mile Markić (1926-2007) who lived in Chicago. Mile Boban.
Here is a copy:
“Terrorists harm cause of Croatians”
By Malclolm W. Broene
special from the New York Times
ZAGREB, Yugoslavia –
“We, like Prague, had our spring. The Zagreb spring, like the Prague spring, was crushed. Now, like the Czechs, we are also silent.”
The speaker raised his voice slightly, to be heard over the din of the phonograph. Noisy music is the customary precaution against suspected hidden police microphones, and it has long been accepted as a normal part of political conversation.
The people in the room were Croats. One recently had been released from prison, where he served four years for his role in the “Zagreb spring”. Another, a former partisan with Marshal Tito’s forces in World II. was equally unhappy.
ALL THOSE present had suffered in one way or another from the harsh measures adopted in Zagreb at the end of 1971 by the central government in Belgrade to put down what it regarded as a full-blown Croatian rebellion. Some refer to it as the “Zagreb spring”.”
The voices of dissent were soon muted. The unrest, such as it was, was put down as swiftly and effectively as was the bref surge of liberalism in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
The “Zagreb spring” , still fresh in memory, began early in December with a speech by president Tito, who is himself a Croat, but built his power base mainly among Serbs during his guerrilla days during World War II.
He stunned the nation by announcing that Croatia was in the grip of “rotten liberalism”, and that the whole country was endangered by a “Croatian counterrevolution.” (And, it seems to me that Tito said in that speech exactly this: “Before the river Sava will flow uphill then the Croats will have their Croatian State.” Mile Boban adds this as one of historical souvenirs and of Tito’s quotations against Croatian people’s longing for their own Croatia State.)
SINCE THEN, dozens of Croatian groups abroad, representing a wide range of political tendencies, have continued their criticism of the Belgrade government. In some cases, criticism has been mixed with terrorism.
Various Y o g o s l a v e representatives abroad have been assassinated, bombs have been planted in Yugoslav offices outside the country, and, last month, an American airliner was hijacked by Croatian emigres who wanted to publicize their cause.
There have been a handful of incidents in Yugoslava itself. In 1972, 19 Croatian separatist guerrillas entered Yugoslavia clandestinely from Austria, attempting to set up an anti-government military base. But they were reported to authorities by local residents and were killed or captured. (For today’s generation the Croatian organization from Australia called “Croatian Revolutionary Fraternity” sent in June 1972. 19 Croatian very trained Revolutionary to rise up a revolt against Yugoslavia for the reinstatement of The State of Croatia. They did not succeed, but their failure did shaked all foundations of the dictatorial state of Yugoslavia, which 19 years later was destroyed and the Croatian State was Proclaimed. This was added August 31 2024. Mile has added this.)
In 1974, two Croatian terrorists killed a Yugoslav policeman in the Mount Velebit area, but were in turn killed.
LAST SEPTEMBER, a bomb that may have been intended for president Tito exploded at the Zagreb railroad station, causing damage but no injuries. (This should be historically examined and establish the truth, because Tito and those in his circle are very well known to invent all kinds of lies. Mile have added this.) Recently, a dozen Croats received long prison sentences for alleged involvement in the bombing.
All the dissidents interviewed resent being thought of as favoring violence. They also say that those who dismiss them as being “mere Croatian nationalists” have grossly oversimplified matters.
There seems to be agreement among nearly all Croats that Croatia is politically quiet despite the attention it has received abroad because of terrorist incidents caused by Croat emigres.
“People like those hijackers who seized an American plane do terrible harm to the Croatian cause,” one woman said. “They reinforce the Belgrade propaganda that somehow Croatian nationalists are terrorist savages, and Nazy sympathazers besides.”
SOME MODERN-DAY Croats continue to demand a fully autonomous state separate from the Yugoslav federation of six republics. But the most people, Croatian national autonomy seems such less important an ambition than the political liberalization of the whole of Yugoslavia.
“The hard hand of political repression is on all Yugoslavs,” one said, “but it presses hardest against Croats. Let’s face it, the Serbs have emerged from a centuries-old struggle with us as victors. We are the vanquished and must suffer for it.”
Of the politically conscious people interviewed, none, including a number of dissidents, thought that Croatia would ever break away from Yugoslavia, and most said they thought President Tito’s death would result in no important changes.
“Despite all,” one said, “we are not just Croats. We are Yugoslavs. All we want is an equal share within our Yugoslavia, not to be poor relations of our Serbian cousins.”
(Now I will copy what is in the square with a map of Yugoslavia. Mile.)
The background
The roots of Croatian nationalism can be traced back to the year 925, when King Tomislav was crowned as the first ruler of the Croatian nation. One of Zagreb’s main squares is still named after him.
Traditionally, Croats have accused Serbs of pre-empting the national riches at Croatia’s expense, starting in 1918 when the two were fused into modern Yugoslavia.
Under Belgrade’s rule the percentage of investment in Croatia has declined, taxes and other obligations have increased and real Croatian political power has waned, dissidents charge.
Before World War II, Zagreb had 27 per cent of Yugoslavia’s industry. Today it has only 3 per cent, as other parts of Yugoslavia have become industrialized. Croatia has a population of 4.5 million, one-fourth of Yugoslavia’s total.
Superficially at least, Zagreb semms more prosperous to the casual visitor than Belgrade. Partly because Belgrade has been so often destroyed by war over the centuries, it looks in some ways like an overgrown village, despite its million inhabitants.
By contrast, Zagreb, with 700,000 inhabitants, is a city of fine Gothic and Baroque architecture, and of broad, tree-lined malls, parks and fountains that came into being under the Hapsburg Empire. Its winding, cobbled streets and other attractions draw foreign tourists in far greater numbers to its luxury hotels than ever seen in Belgrade, and its food stores are both better stocked and cheaper.
Evo prijepisa.
ZAGREB, Jugoslavija – “Mi smo, kao Prag, imali svoje proljeće. Zagrebačko proljeće, kao i Praško proljeće, je slomljeno. Sada, kao Česi, i mi šutimo.”
Govornik je lagano povisio glas, kako bi ga se čulo iznad buke fonografa. Bučna glazba uobičajena je mjera opreza protiv sumnjivih skrivenih policijskih mikrofona i odavno je prihvaćena kao normalan dio političkih razgovora.
Ljudi u sobi bili su Hrvati. Jedan je nedavno izašao iz zatvora, gdje je odležao četiri godine zbog uloge u “zagrebačkom proljeću”. Drugi, bivši partizan sa snagama maršala Tita u Drugom svjetskom ratu. bio jednako nesretan.
SVI PRISUTNI su na ovaj ili na drugi način patili od oštrih mjera koje je u Zagrebu krajem 1971. usvojila središnja vlada u Beogradu da uguši ono što je smatrala potpunom hrvatskom pobunom. Neki to nazivaju “zagrebačkim proljećem”.
Glasovi protivljenja ubrzo su se ušutili. Nemiri, takvi kakvi su bili, ugušeni su jednako brzo i učinkovito kao i kratki val liberalizma u Čehoslovačkoj 1968.
“Zagrebačko proljeće”, još svježe u sjećanju, počelo je početkom prosinca dolaskom predsjednika Tita, koji je i sam Hrvat, ali je svoju bazu moći izgradio uglavnom među Srbima tijekom gerilskih dana u Drugom svjetskom ratu.
Zaprepastio je naciju objavom da je Hrvatska u raljama “trulog liberalizma”, te da je cijela zemlja ugrožena “hrvatskom kontrarevolucijom”. (A, meni se čini da je Tito u tom svom govoru rekao upravo ovo: Prije će Sava poteći uzbrdo nego će Hrvati imati svoju Hrvatsku Državu.“ Mile Boban dodaje ovo kao jedan od povijesnih uspomena Titovih citata protiv čežnje hrvatskog naroda za svojom Hrvatskom Državom.)
OD TADA su deseci hrvatskih skupina u inozemstvu, ponavljajući širok spektar političkih tendencija, nastavili su kritizirati beogradsku vladu. U nekim slučajevima, kritika je pomiješana s terorizmom.
Ubijani su razni predstavnici Yo g o s l a v e u inozemstvu, bombe su podmetnute u jugoslavenske urede izvan zemlje, a prošli su mjesec hrvatski emigranti oteli američki putnički zrakoplov kojim su htjeli publicirati svoju hrvatsku stvar.
U samoj Jugoslaviji bilo je i previše incidenata. Godine 1972. 19 hrvatskih separatističkih gerilaca tajno su preko Austrije ušli u Jugoslaviju, pokušavajući dignuti oružani ustanak protiv
Godine 1974. dvojica hrvatskih terorista ubili su jugoslavenskog policajca na području Velebita, ali su zauzvrat ubijeni. (Opet za našu hrvatsku povijest to su bili Ivan Matičević i Mate Prpić koji su u ime Hrvatskog Revolucionarnog Bratstva došli iz Australije pokrenuti borbeni ustanka protiv Jugoslavije, i u toj borbi sa JNA poginuli 29 listopada 1974. Nadodao Mile Boban.)
PROŠLOG RUJNA na zagrebačkom željezničkom kolodvoru eksplodirala je bomba koja je možda bila namijenjena predsjedniku Titu, pri čemu je nastala materijalna šteta, ali nije bilo ozlijeđenih. (Ovo bi trebalo povijesno ispitati i utvrditi istinu, jer Tito i oni iz njegovog okruženja su poznati po izmišljanju svakakvih laži. Ovo je Mile dodao.) Nedavno je desetak Hrvata dobilo višegodišnje zatvorske kazne za navodnu umiješanost u bombardiranje .
Čini se da se među gotovo svim Hrvatima slaže da je Hrvatska politički tiha unatoč pozornosti koju je dobila u inozemstvu zbog terorističkih incidenata koje su izazvali hrvatski iseljenici.
“Ljudi poput onih otmičara američkog zrakoplova čine užasnu štetu hrvatskoj stvari”, rekla je jedna žena. “Oni jačaju beogradsku propagandu da su nekako hrvatski nacionalisti teroristički divljaci, a uz to i nacistički simpatizeri.” Ovdje se radi o Akciji 10 rujna 1976 Zvonke Bušić i njegove petorke. Mo. Mile Boban.)
NEKI SUVREMENI Hrvati i dalje zahtijevaju potpuno autonomnu državu odvojenu od jugoslavenske federacije šest republika. Ali većini se ljudi hrvatska nacionalna autonomija čini tako manje važnom ambicijom od političke liberalizacije cijele Jugoslavije.
“Tvrda ruka političke represije je na svim Jugoslavenima,” rekao je jedan, “ali najviše pritiska Hrvate. Budimo iskreni, Srbi su izašli iz stoljetne borbe s nama kao pobjednici. Mi smo pobijeđeni i moramo trpjeti za to.”
Od intervjuiranih politički osviještenih ljudi, nitko, uključujući pripadnika disidenata, nije mislio da će se Hrvatska ikada odvojiti od Jugoslavije, a većina je rekla kako misli da smrt predsjednika Tita neće rezultirati bitnijim promjenama.
Pozadina
Tradicionalno, Hrvati su optuživali Srbe da preotimaju nacionalna bogatstva na štetu Hrvatske, počevši od 1918. kada su se te dvije države spojile u modernu Jugoslaviju.
Pod vladavinom Beograda smanjen je postotak ulaganja u Hrvatsku, porasli su porezi i druge obveze, a stvarna hrvatska politička moć je oslabila, tvrde nezadovoljni hrvati.
Prije Drugog svjetskog rata Zagreb je imao 27 posto jugoslavenske industrije. Danas ima samo 3 posto, jer su se drugi dijelovi Jugoslavije indstralizirali. Hrvatska ima 4,5 milijuna stanovnika, jednu četvrtinu ukupnog broja stanovnika Jugoslavije.
Barem površinski gledano, Zagreb se običnom posjetitelju čini prosperitetnijim od Beograda. Djelomično zato što je Beograd tako često bio razaran ratovima tijekom stoljeća, na neki način izgleda kao nerazvijeno selo, unatoč svojih milijun stanovnika.
Nasuprot tome, Zagreb, sa 700.000 stanovnika, grad je fine gotičke i barokne arhitekture, te širokih trgovačkih centara s drvoredima, parkova i fontana koji su nastali pod Habsburškim Carstvom. Njegove vijugave, popločane ulice i druge atrakcije privlače strane turiste u mnogo većem broju u njegove luksuzne hotele nego ikada u Beogradu, a njegove trgovine hranom bolje su opskrbljene i jeftinije.