Rada Borić: The Croatian state leadership is consistent in producing a dangerous nationalist myth

Interviewer: Haris Ljevo

Member of the Zagreb City Assembly Rada Borić, although 65 years old, rightly bears the epithet of the most active Croatian activist. 

She is the author of the first Croatian-Finnish dictionary, worked for many years as a lecturer of Balkan cultural history at the University of Helsinki, and also lectured at Indiana University in the USA. The reputable American magazine Forbes included Rada Borić on the list of the seven most powerful feminists in the world.

During the war, she worked at the Centre for Women Victims of War, and in 1995, she launched the Centre for Women's Studies, and is a member of the Women's Network of Croatia.

Vice-president of the New Left and a university lecturer, on the occasion of December 8th, the Day of Remembrance of Women Victims of War, she speaks in an interview with the Patria News Agency about the verdict against Prlić and others, the reactions of the Croatian state leadership to the verdict, the attitude towards victims, assistance to women during the war, the rise of the radical right in the region and Europe...

NAP: How do you comment on the reactions of the Croatian state leadership to last week's verdict against Prlić and others?

Borić: The reactions were, unfortunately, expected. The Croatian state leadership has shown that it not only disrespects the decision, or rather the verdict of the Court of which it is a founder, but that it disrespects the victims who suffered due to the policy of a previous state leadership, and is only consistent in the continuity of producing a dangerous nationalist myth.

NAP: The reputable The Guardian described Plenković as the first prime minister of a European government to pay tribute to a convicted war criminal. How do you view this and how much will it affect Croatia's overall reputation in the world? 

Borić: Regardless of the criticism coming from Europe and the world, which only on some occasions, often selectively, reacts to the unacceptable attitude of the government/governments towards war crimes, or the growing fascism, we as citizens should be more concerned that Prime Minister Plenković and President Grabar Kitarović, as well as part of the Croatian public, do not understand the damage they are doing to Croatia with their reluctant, I would say disingenuous, condemnation of war crimes and criminals only for the sake of that same world. For our own sake, it would be important, apart from that world, to talk about the victims and condemn the crimes committed in the name of nationalist policies.

NAP: Croatia, as a member state of the UN, a founder of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, accuses that same Court of being a political court and that it has not brought reconciliation to the region. How do you comment on this, did official Croatia perhaps expect the Court to only issue verdicts that favor Croatia?  

Borić: It is contradictory to accuse the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia of being a political court, when we know that the same court, even the same judges, acquitted some Croatian generals accused of war crimes, and when other "state leaderships" use the same rhetoric about the court being political when verdicts do not go in their favor. 

The idea that Croatia will appeal to the Security Council due to the verdict is nonsensical, because that same Council "strongly condemned the Republic of Croatia" back in 1994 and demanded "an immediate cessation of all forms of interference and full respect for the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

NAP: You are one of the signatories of the letter sent to the Croatian Government and Parliament requesting compensation for the victims of HVO camps. Is it realistic to expect this to happen, considering how Croatia is treating the verdict against the HB six?  

Borić: It seems important, while candles are lit on the main square of Zagreb (otherwise, one needs to "obtain a permit" for public gatherings and events) under the photograph of the convicted general Praljak with the inscription "hero", to also hear other voices: voices that place the victim at the center of the discussion about the verdict and that call for an end to the production of hatred which is escalating into a call for possible new conflicts.

The Civic Committee for Human Rights sent an open letter to the Croatian Government and Parliament stating that "instead of declarative and unconvincing condemnation of all crimes", we propose that the Government of the Republic of Croatia provide funds for the compensation of victims of concentration camps run by the HVO". Is it realistic to expect the Government, apart from attempting to mitigate the initial statements after the verdict with "hindsight", to have the strength to compensate the victims, I fear not, but it is our civic duty to seek compensation for the victims, as we witness that victims of crimes, unlike criminals, do not have the support of their states. Perhaps this will also encourage victims to self-organize and submit a joint claim for compensation. 

NAP: For a quarter of a century after the war, we are stuck in a vicious cycle from which there seems to be no escape. Why is there no strength or courage to confront war crimes in order to finally move forward and build better relations in the region?

Borić: The heirs of the political elites who decided on "war and peace" in these areas are not interested in confronting past crimes. It is in their interest to complete the "division of spoils" that their predecessors began. Fortunately, there are civic initiatives and organizations in the region that have spoken about crimes, that have supported victims, and that today, in contrast to nationalist euphoria, speak in favor of "others", even if they are called and attacked as traitors. And several political parties, such as the coalition of parties Nova ljevica, to which I belong, Zagreb je naš, Radnička fronta, and Za grad, have condemned the inappropriate behavior of the Croatian political leadership by their absence from the commemoration of the convicted general Praljak in the City Assembly.  

The Women's Network of Croatia, of which I am a member, as well as the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, are also voices of resistance to official Croatian policy. It is important to say, also for the sake of the women refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina whom we supported during the war at the Centre for Women Victims of War, that Prlić, Stojić, Petković, and Ćorić were also convicted of rape and sexual abuse, and that women also have the right to seek compensation.

We cannot move forward unless governments, in our case the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Parliament, confront the established historical facts and finally stop denying or relativizing crimes. Confronting committed crimes is a prerequisite for reconciliation; it can enable the rejection of prejudices and value judgments that produced war crimes. 

NAP: Croatia, like other countries formed after the breakup of Yugoslavia, is facing the rise of radical right-wing organizations. How did this happen in a region that had one of the most organized anti-fascist movements in Europe during World War II?

Borić: This question requires a lengthy analysis. The root, I think, lies in the fact that the losers of World War II could not come to terms with the fact that their project of national (nationalist) states did not succeed; this is partly visible in the desire to realize the project of Herceg-Bosna. Imagine, instead of official Croatian policy boasting that it was on the side of the victors of World War II, it is now revising history, glorifying Ustašism, and tolerating the destruction of anti-fascist monuments, removing the name of Josip Broz Tito from squares and streets, and the mayor of Zagreb is negotiating with apologists of Ustašism regarding the monument to Ivo Lola Ribar...

However, all of this is in line with the strengthening of the European right; the rise of right-wing organizations is a reflection of neoliberal capitalism. Inciting hate speech and fear of others, especially refugees and migrants today, or the abolition of women's rights are part of the same paradigm. And of course, anti-fascism then becomes an obstacle.