This text is published in «Novinar» (The Reporter), the magazine of Croatian reporter club

Should the reporters protect the national interests or serve the public?

The conflict between the two highest men in intelligence service and the six reporters, in the moment I' m writing this text (Sunday, the 23.May), brings another victim of intelligence.

The advisor of the President of Croatia for national security, Zeljko Bagic, and as several daily newspapers announced (Jutarnji list, Vjesnik and Vecernji list), will be retired, by decision of President Stjepan Mesic.

The President made this decicapesion because of public suspicions that his advisor was in contact with General Ante Gotovina , who was in escape.

It' s pre-election time, and The President is in campaign for the second elections. The main Haag's prosecutor announced her visit, so it would be very inconvenient that Haag gives public critics to President Mesic or his Office that they are not making easy cooperation between Croatia and Haag.

But, as in case of Franjo Turek, who had to step back of the duty of the chief of contra intelligence agency, on the 09. of March this year, and after which was found out that that agency was controlling reporters Davor Butkovic, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak (Jutarnji list), Gordan Malic (Globus), Ivica Djikic (Feral Tribune), Boris Pavelic (Novi list) and undersigned of this text (Vjesnik), it is hard to expect that the headquarters of the state, which has influence on professional destinies of mentioned reporters, officially is going to explain all aspects of changes in the head of intelligence service.

Although President Mesic, in his interview for "Feral Tribune", on the 01. of April 2004., and in his late interviews, did confirmed that Franjo Turek had a presentation, in President's office, about contacts of reporters, former chief of police Ranko Ostojic, and informants, foreigners and domestic ones, and besides that President gave his critics to Turek's actions, other aspects of controlling secret services: the Government, Committee for national security of Croatian Parliament, and Council for controlling of security services, did not claimed or confirmed Turek's illegal actions. Even more!

Committee for national security and internal politics was notified, without critics, report of Council for controlling of secret services, which was On demand of four journalists (Malic, Djikic, Pavelic and Peratovic) investigated is contraintelligence agency controlled these mentioned journalists.

The Council got from contra intelligence service the answer that contra intelligence service does not control, nor on other journalists, within this year, nor today.

The council of Parliament was satisfied with this answer, and the President of the council - Ivan Jarnjak, said that there won't be any discussions about that theme. The premier Sanader was avoiding to give a straight answer was there any Turek's presentation at all.

First evidence that secret services informed Sanader's Government with it's version of Gotovina's visit in Croatia or absence, which included construction of conspiracy of Croatian journalists, former chief of police Ostojic with foreign spies and domestic "intelligence underground", gave one of the Sanader's teem member, the Minister of internal politics, Marijan Mlinaric.

In the interview for Jutarnji list o5.of March, Mlinaric said that foreign secret services in some of our medias, gave the wrong information that Gotovina was in Croatia. Although Mlinaric's statement was based on Turek's information, the Premier Sanader asked from the President to agree with the changing in the head of contra intelligence service.

The journalists who are close to Franjo Turek, especially the director of "Nacional" Ivo Pukanic, stood in his defence, attacking collegues that they are in conspiracy with Ranko Ostojic, and domestic and foreign intelligence, gave wrong informations to Carla del Ponte that Ante Gotovina was in Croatia, and that contraintelligence service was protecting him.

As already even all Zagreb public talk about the identities of journalists from Turek's list, "Vjesnik" first published in which medias work "co-operators of foreign spies", and "Feral Tribune", in accordance with the journalists, published their names.

Malic, Djikic, Peratovic and Pavelic, with encouragement of Vlatko Cvrtila, the President of council for controlling of secret services, sent notes to the Council to investigate were they controlled and spied by contra intelligence service. Butkovic and Cicak did not apply to the Council. Cicak gave explanation that he is not a fool to ask for a help from those who are controlling him. Also the meeting of Parliament's council for internal politics and national security was expected.

The member of that council, from SDP, Sime Lucin, said that it is very important to find out did contra intelligence service secretly controlled the journalists - "Because, if they did, it could be return to situation before 2000., when journalists were controlled  to find out who from the government gives information to medias".   The answer on that should give the Council for civil controlling of services, said Lucin.

Pero Kovacevic, the member of council from HSP, was supporting parliamentary meeting about this problem, as his party chief Ante Djapic said:"We believe that journalists were cooperating with foreign secret services and we want that to be investigated".

Instead of that meeting, which was disabled the majority of HDZ, with Ivan Jarnjak in front, the members of the council were informed by contra intelligence service that service was dealing only with analisis of two texts on theme of Ante Gotovina, which were published last autumn Ivica Djikic and Zeljko Peratovic.

One of the bigger paradoxes of this story is the fact that among mentioned journalists, only Boris Pavelic and the author of this text, several times gave information from good informed sources, presumption that accused ICTY, retired general Ante Gotovina, last year was in Croatia. Other colleagues did not in such direct way talked about matter of his escape.

They criticised behaviour of Turek and Bagic on collecting documentations for liberation of Gotovina or the fact that Turek did not explain enough his role of operative of SZUP in Gospic in 1991. when war crimes have been committed.

Boris Pavelic published last year the information that Gotovina is in area of Dalmatia and that he is preparing for a little operation in France. Totally unexpected, the confirmation of Pavelic's information came at the beginning of this year from "Le Monde". Piotr Smolar in his text on the whole page, in the world famous newspapers, wrote that the former legionnaire and Haag's refugee, in last years October really was on the south of France.

On that text, which was full of details from "criminal" Gotovina's history, till the war started, even later, no demanties came, nor from Croatia, nor from France. In letter which the ambassador of Croatia in Netherlands, Franjo Krnic, in February sent on some addresses in Government, and it was top secret, and it was published by "Nacional", it is said that advisor of main Haag's prosecutor, Anton Nikiforov, confirmed that France gave to the Haag shocking information about Gotovina's criminal history.

The note of Radovan Stipetic, "Jutarnji list", that Croatian medias mostly keep quiet about text in "Le Monde", and by the way, it is destroying legend of Nenad Ivankovic about Gotovina, there could be added that in our newspapers was really very rear to declare a question, was Gotovina hiding in Croatia.

Is that question un-journalistic, illegitimate? Is that possibility less likely that the one that he was hiding in London, as it was suggested by those who were in contact with him?

Can warning be given to us : "we are all  hostages of Ante Gotovina?".

Because, at the end of ruling by Racan's Government, most of the media, laughed at possibility that Gotovina was in Croatia. Persecutions were published, for members of domestic intelligence underground, which, most likely for money to Carla del Ponte, they sell information about Gotovina in Croatia.

At the end, the journalists who were under attack of intelligence did not receive direct confirmation that there were under illegal control, because they were only doing they job. Besides replacing people who were doing that, in order to hide illegal communication with Haag's the accused, were not punished in some other way.

The reporters were not the ones who revealed that communication with Gotovina were a part of state politics, but that was former President of Parliament council for internal politics and national security, Ante Markov, who said, in June last year, after one HSS meeting, to the reporter of "Novi list", that in Gotovina's case were all under control, because our secret services were in contact with him.

Were some of our journalists in contact with Gotovina on account those secret services and was that a part of national interests, and were the obligation of journalists to support such understanding conception of national interests, and why such behaviour is not publicly criticised, are the questions which should be discussed.

Zeljko Peratovic