Leader Accused of Muzzling Critics of Government

Like most newspapers in post-war Croatia, Novi List imported a new printing press and other equipment a while back, hoping to upgrade its operations.

But unlike newspapers that toe the government line, Novi List suddenly found itself fined about $2.5 million in customs fees and punitive taxes.

A cynic might think that Novi List’s position as Croatia’s most prominent anti-government newspaper had something to do with the fines, which could bankrupt the publication. “Croatian government officials and politicians cannot stand criticism,” said Jagoda Vukusic, head of Novi List’s Zagreb office and president of the Croatian Journalists’ Society.

While Novi List appeals the assessment--under Croatian law, printing presses are exempt from import fees--the battle represents only one of many attempts by the nationalist government of President Franjo Tudjman to stifle Croatia’s remaining voices of opposition, say diplomats, human rights activists and many Croatians.

In recent months, Tudjman, a U.S. ally, has attempted to jail journalists critical of his government. He also rewrote laws to ease libel prosecutions and meted out punitive fees to some media while closing others.

Stomping on the independent press is nothing new in Croatia, which fought its way out of the crumbling, Communist-run Yugoslavia to become an independent republic in 1991. What is curious, however, is Tudjman’s timing.

The crackdown coincided with his government’s bid to join the Council of Europe, a first step to full membership in the European Union--which carries numerous economic benefits.

But for the first time in its 47-year history, the council rejected its own preliminary ruling and, citing Tudjman’s “increasing authoritarian tendencies,” put Croatia’s application on hold.

Analysts in Zagreb suggest that Tudjman may be going after the press because of his own lagging popularity and the poor showing of his political party in elections last fall.

Attacking his critics as traitors and spies, Tudjman had Croatian law rewritten to make it easier for the president and four other senior officials to order criminal prosecution of journalists on libel charges. In May, the first criminal libel case since Croatian independence was opened against two staffers from the Feral Tribune, an especially irreverent weekly.

Witnesses are set to begin testifying next month in the trial of editor Viktor Ivancic and reporter Marinko Culic. They are accused of offending Tudjman in a report that ridiculed the president’s controversial plan to promote “reconciliation” by burying Jews, pro-Nazi Croat fascists, Serbs and other enemies together at a World War II memorial.

Zagreb’s most popular radio station, independent Radio 101, has also been struggling to hold onto the broadcasting frequency it has used for the last 12 years. Station managers accuse the government of throwing up repeated legal obstacles and then offering the frequency to other, tamer broadcasters.

Times researcher Mirta Jusic in Zagreb contributed to this report.