| Zeljko Peratovic Croatian Parliament
III Pile 25 Trg Svetog Marka 6-7
10 000 Zagreb 10 000 Zagreb
phone: 01 606 1570fax: 01 606 1569 Council for supervision of safety services
mobile: 091 22 999 66 President doc.dr.sc.
Vlatko Cvrtila
fax: 01 63 03 458
Preissue of citizens
Dear Sir,
I applied to this Council at the middle of March of this year with appeal to start a research on quotations from newspapers
that I was in the group of six Croatian journalists who were under secret supervision of POA (Counter-intelligenceagency), and its director at that time, Franjo Turek, showed us, in
his presentation in President' s office and in front of some members of Government, as collaborators of foreign secret service, and that we were spreading wrong informations about residence
of deserted Haag's refugee, retired general of Croatian army, Ante Gotovina, in Croatia.
As you informed me, the Council didn' t find anything illegal in act of POA, which said that I wasn' t eavesdropped. The
Parliament' s commitee for internal politics and national security also found that there wasn' t any illegal measures from POA, in case, on which, besides me, complained my colleagues
journalists Ivica Djikic, Boris Pavelic and Gordan Malic.
The appearance of Zeljko Bagic, who recently was the adviser for national security of President Stjepan Mesic,on
national television in show «Nedjeljom u 2» («On Sunday at 2»), on 5th of December this year, urge me to present to the Council one more issue, with appeal to start research of behaviour
of POA, respectively the rolle of Zeljko Bagic and recent director of POA, Franjo Turek, in violation of my human and professional rights.
One part of conversation between colleague Aleksandar Stankovic
and Zeljko Bagic, which I emphasize, was transcribed from video tape, went like this:
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Stankovic: Why President Mesic didn' t in case of Turek' s presentation, to be more precise, the sping of six journalists, acted the same as in the case of Helena Puljiz, and took their side at once?
Bagic: Because it is not correct. There were not any sping.Stankovic: Gordan Malic says that he was spied.
Bagic: Gordan Malic is lying.Stankovic:
He said that one minister told him that.Bagic: Gordan Malic is a liar.
Stankovic: Than the government is lying, too...
Bagic: Gordan Malic is one of the journalists who told many lies about possible movement of Ante Gotovina. Read all his texts.
Stankovic:Is Malic protecting Gotovina?
Bagic: I don' t know what is Malic doing.Stankovic: Or is he sick when he' s doing that?
Bagic: I don' t know that. Ask him. I sent him a message like that, also. So, he was the source, among other things...
Stankovic:
Obviouslly Carla Del Ponte didn' t belive you, but she believed Malic, and these who are you accusing for collaboration, with I don' t know who.Bagic: That' s not my problem. I want to say responsibly, as a person who was in that system, not why came to that...That presentation...So, I can say what I'm allowed about that, which was seen by a President of Republic, Premier, minister Marijan Mlinaric, minister Skare Ozbolt. So, that presentation was not against Haag' s court
Stankovic: I didn' t ask you about Haag' s court, but about the journalists who were spied...Bagic: That presentation was not held for collaborators, I mean finding general Gotovina, the people who work on finding general Gotovina. It is not correct. That presentation did not talk about obstruction of finding general Gotovina.That presentation was very precise. It was talking about influence of one intelligence service of one country on Croatian teritory. That presentation was talking about one individual, foreign agent, who was doing a subversive act on Croatian teritory. Giving wrong informations, collecting knowledge which was not...
Stankovic: And how come that those six journalists were the subject of research.Bagic: I did not say that. I said no journalist. I responsibly claim that. The service, whose job is that, and should get every praise, noticed, registrated and documented subversive activity of agent of foreign service. Among other things, that agent was using one Croatian citizen, in his informations...
Stankovic: And that is?Bagic: I' m not allowed to say that.Stankovic: In fact, you have already said in some interviews. But O.K...
Bagic: I didn' t say that in any interview. I am careful about what I' m saying. The service noticed the agent. The service did not overheare or put under supervision any journalist. And that agent, in fact, pushed through the story to the six journalists.
Stankovic: But your explenation is just like Smiljan Reljic' s, Ivan Jarnjak' s,Markica Rebic' s, that the journalists were not the subject of research, but they have only been at that moment in that company...
Bagic: I don' t know what they have been doing. In my time, said minister Lucin, when I was sub-president of Council for coordination, in one year there were 46 persons who were eavesdropped, who have no connections with journalists, what so ever...
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Considering that last few months my name was mentioned several times among other six journalists in medias, about whose
collaboration activity Turek held a presentation in the headquarters of the state (in the same context, the colleagues Ivan Zvonimir Cicak, Davor Butkovic, Boris
Pavelic, Ivica Djikic and Gordan Malic were mentioned), it is doubtless, that about me and mentioned colleagues Stankovic and Bagic have talked.
Bagic introduce himself in the talk-show (emission) also as a former coordinator of secret services, that means, sub-president
of the Council for coordination of secret services. From the quoted appearance in «Nedjeljom u 2», and also in interview for «Nacional», in August this year, we can presume that Zeljko
Bagic is, or personaly at Turek' s presentation, or he was directly involved in its organization, maybe even making the conclusions which were presented to the head lines of the state, which
means that he can be trusted as an authentic witness.
By the things he said, it comes out that Franjo Turek presented evidences by which the agent of one foreign intelligence
service, by his subversive act in Croatia, «pushed through the story to the six journalists», and which the journalists were spreading through Croatian medias in over 600 texts, about
possible movements of Ante Gotovina.
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Ante Gotovina, Mirko Norac
and Ivan Andabak
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In other words, the mentioned Croatian journalists were giving wrong informations to
the people of Croatia, in account of foreign intelligence service. Or, that mentioned journalists acted as a collaborators of foreign intelligence service.
As it is the matter of really hard accusations, because of which, even since March this
year, since the scandal with the presentation has come to surface, have been violated my human and professional rights, no matter how the POA and Bagic came
to the conclusion that I have worked for foreign intelligence agency, I' m asking from Council and other state institutions to research the whole subject.
I declare, that I didn' t collaborate with foreign secret services, or domestic
undreground, giving wrong informations to Croatian public and Haag' s court about residence of Ante Gotovina.
About his movements I wrote only on basis of informations I could get, and I believed it were reliable, with the
intention of informing the public.
I must emphesize several more facts which are reliable, because of which I' m convinced that Zeljko Bagic is
co-author of those accusations on my account and other five colleagues.
After Croatian political talk-show, «Otvoreno», which was broadcasted in late evening hours, on Thursday, 25th of
November, in which I was the guest, together with former President' s adviser for national security, in HTV
studios on Prisavlje, Zeljko Bagic. He asked me several times in front of witnesses: Davor Gjenero, political
analysist and doctor of science Vlatko Cvrtila, the president of this Council, how much money did I get from
foreign countries, for my writting about Gotovina. «How much did they pay you to write like that», he said. In
presence of Mr Gjenero and Cvrtila, Bagić accused me that I collaborated with Dragutin Franciskovic, who hated foreigners.
I remind that retired officer of Croatian army, Dragutin Franciskovic, was several times, in certain medias,
nominated as s chief of domestic intelligence underground, which was spreading wrong informations about
Gotovina, and one his photography was appeared in papers, for which he said that it could only be photographed by POA.
In interview for «Vjesnik», Mr Franciskovic, on accusations that he was the chief of mentioned underground, he
disapproved and accused Zeljko Bagic and Franjo Turek that they created it and gave to the public. When the
accusations about Franciskovic' s treacherous rolle appeared in public, concerned for his physical saftey, director of police force at that time, Ranko Ostojic
, offered to that retired officer of Croatian army, police protection.
I must remind that some medias, writting about people who give wrong informations to Carla Del Ponte,
mentioned even money, as a motive for act of betray.From this, I draw a conclusion that even at the head of
the state, on mentioned presentation, was said that I was, not only spreading wrong informations that Haag' s
deserter Ante Gotovina was in Croatia, but that the foreigners gave me money for that, so I've done it for one foreign intelligence agency.
That some parts of the presentation, which I suppose, was state secret, appeared in public before, will testify
some texts in weekly magazine «Nacional». Some of it were signed by the owner of that papers, Ivo Pukanic, a
person who publicly admited , even after interview with deserter Gotovina, that they stayed in conntact by telephone.
The newspapers whose owner is Ivo Pukanic, accused me in one text, that I was spreading wrong informations in
Croatia and Serbia, that deserter Ante Gotovina and Milorad Lukovic Ulemek Legija
, a person from Serbia, accused for murder of Serbian Premier, Zoran Djindjic
, knew each other since Ligue of the foreigners and that they were connected by business with heavy drugs.
Pukanic didn' t also hide his friendship with Zeljko Bagic. Especially was interesting text with title «Gotovina has
been seen 600 times, without an evidence», which was signed by Eduard Sostaric, in «Nacional» nr.472, who was
former worker of headquarters of Croatian army, in intelligence departement.
Even from the title of the text we can see that Sostaric and Bagic have the same number – 600 informations
about Gotovina' s refugee residence, and which Bagic mentioned in context of Turek' s presentation. Even the
contents of Sostaric' s text, in which he mentioned the six journalists, collaborators of foreign intelligence service
and their texts, led to conclusion that those were informations from Turek' s presentation.
I' m not satisfied with explenations which can be heard these days in the back offices, somewhere even publicly,
that President Mesic reacted on Turek and Bagic' s manipulations, in way that he accepted their retreat from the functions they had.
That didn' t help protecting my human and professional rights, because gentlemen Bagic and Turek, continue to
manipulate with datas and conclusions which they draw, if you ask me, illegaly, and which should represent the official state secret.
Not only that, Zeljko Bagic continue to publicly slander all six accused journalists. He offended Gordan Malic,
saying that he was a lier. He offended me in front of respectable polytologists, and I supposed he was doing that even in other companies.
Two more things worry me.
Slandering of Mr Dragutin Franciskovic is dangerous, not only because of possibility of physical attack of some
of big fans of deserter Ante Gotovina, but also the fact that he was friend of late Gospic' s witness of war crimes, Milan Levar
, who introduced me with him.
As it is known, Franjo Turek did not ever, not even in court in Rijeka, explained what he did as an operative
worker of SZUP, saw and heared in Gospic in 1991., at the time of preparation and act of shameful war crimes
over civilians, mostly Serbs. Even President Mesic resented that to him afterwards.
About Turek' s unclear rolle in dark happenings told me late Milan Levar, and I wrote about that several times, and the same objection publicly was giving by Dragutin Franciskovic.
I' m affraid that Dragutin Franciskovic and myself are targets of Bagic and Turek' s slanders and because of
knowledge about Turek' s staying in Gospić in 1991. which we presented in public. Turek obviouslly doesn' t want
anything to be found about that, and I don' t have any intention to give up the thought of investigation of that , which I consider as my professional and civilian duty.
One person, who was very close with Zeljko Bagic, told me that I could be in very bad position because of my
attitude towards Turek' s presentation.
After I said to that person that I would give my best to publicly unmask Bagic and Turek' s manipulations with
that presentation, the person warned me that it was better not to do that – «because you have a family». The
identity of that witness I can offer to the Council, if the discretion is guaranted, at least untill the hearing in front of members of Council is over.
Besides all the concernes, I remind that I don' t believe that POA didn' t use measures of secret supervision
over journalists, when it was collecting datas about our subversive acting, which Turek presented
The colleague Malic said that one minister told him that she saw a photograph of him and a worker of Haag' s
court. Dragutin Franciskovic said that POA took photographs of him, and the evidence was the photograph published in newspapers, for which he didn' t take a pose.
In my sane mind, it' s not clear to me how can you, without measures of secret supervision, prove that a foreign
spy «pushed through the story to the six journalists». Can you do that by analysing contents of 600 texts of
Gotovina' s residences and comparing it with secretly collected thoughts of some foreign spy, without supervision of conntacts of that spy and those journalists?
I will conclude. As a citizen of Republic of Croatia and a journalist whose writting was often under pressures,
threats, even physical attacks, I' m asking from the Council to investigate quotations of my issue and protect
my human and professional rights, if it is neccessary, even criminal reports against mentioned former chiefs in spy-organization.
I tried to protect myself, by giving an interview to the journalist of Croatian radio, Petar Stefanic, who worked on
a introductory part of talk-show «Nedjeljom u 2», with guest Zeljko Bagic, but that interview, because of unknown reasons to me, was not broadcasted.
Also, I leave myself some freedom, to present the content of this preissue to other state authorities and
institutions, non-government associations, and medias. In faith that the results of practise of Council of this
preissue will be more convenient then the one before, I will be at your disposal for all additional questions about other evidences, on which I based my concern.
Best regards,
Journalist Zeljko PeratovicIn Zagreb, 06.12.2004.
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