- Published: 10.12.2019.
Plenkovic: Tudjman greatest Croatian sovereignist
Opening a round table discussion on the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, held on Tuesday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Tudjman's death, Prime Minister Andrej Plenovic praised Tudjman as a great man, statesman, visionary and the greatest Croatian sovereignist.
The key goal of Tudjman's work was to implement the idea of free and independent Croatia, Plenkovic said, describing the period from 1989 to 1999 as the Tudjman era.
Plenkovic said that the experience which Tudjman gained as an anti-fascist fighter during the Second World War and his experience and knowledge as a historian and dissident as well as his clear political vision were crucial for the realisation of the centuries-old dream of an independent Croatia.
Plenkovic recalled the wide support of the Croatian people for Tudjman's concept of a free democracy.
At that time, in 1989, there was no democracy, pluralism or free media in Croatia and in international circles there were still reservations about the idea of Croatia becoming an independent state. An embargo on arms imports was in place and the country was faced with the beginning of the aggression and occupation, he said, recalling the circumstances in which Croatia began fighting for its independence.
In this context Plenkovic spoke about the importance of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) as "the biggest and strongest party which also has that role in the present-day Croatian society".
Plenkovic reiterated that Tudjman's political heritage is so strong that it makes his successors and the HDZ duty bound to strengthen his legacy.
Considering Tudjman's legacy, Plenkovic recalled the liberation of the occupied regions, peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube area, reconciliation among the Croatians and the bonds between the country and its expatriate communities.
Tudjman extended a hand of reconciliation to the ethic Serb minority in Croatia and "that can be done only by a great man and a visionary," said Plenkovic.
Tudjman's son Miroslav told the round table that in the 1980s his father had come to the conclusion that the Yugoslav crisis could be solved only by a model of scandinavisation and mutual recognition of the nations that made up the Yugoslav federation.
Text: Hina