Last Friday, Europe finally said a provisional ‘yes’ to Croatia. The approval marks the beginning of the end of what has been an arduous ten-year journey for the country – that still hangs under uneasy balance between Europe’s monitoring and the referendum.
And the issues have been, and are, manifold. First, there was the question of General Gotovina, a sentenced war criminal that large portions of Croatians consider a hero. Literally on the run from the tribunal, Mr Gotovina was actively aided by members of Croatian Government, which precluded Croatia’s future accession. Today, the issue is still far from resolved. Most of the populace point to double standards of the West: they admit it is possible to commit war crimes in a campaign of liberating one’s country but also argue no victor army prosecutes own generals. The disproportion lacking between the aggressors and those defending themselves is especially galling. One but needs to take a look at pictures of Vukovar and Knin after respective war events.
The second issue comes in the form of non-existent reforms. Locals say the West has own agenda, and is merely sanctioning the reforms that work but on paper. Not much has changed in Croatian judiciary, the statement runs, and corruption looms large. The papers even go that far to suggest this is a rare example of a government investigating itself for corruption. What people are slowly becoming aware is that corruption resides within the ways of the people and that every time one opts to bribe a doctor or get a job for his kid through his contacts with friends – one is essentially committing the same crimes as the ‘big fish’. What is at stake here most are the very principles of the separation of powers in democracy and the possibilities of state officials to act autonomously – if the ruling party uses state consulates in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the election process or the police chief talks and arranges things daily with the same – well, one can but be appalled by these claims.
The third big issue was the border dispute with Slovenia. Slovenia even actively blocked our negotiations. The settlement was indeed achieved, but none in Croatia save the few ruling elect even know what they agreed upon. This is a blow that comes after the people, via their numerous representatives, had to step back and undeclare the ‘sea belt’ that would have been a designated, and protected, space for Croatian fishermen.
Then, there is the question of the referendum. It goes against the common sense that one should negotiate and sign the contract before asking own people about this – but there you have it. Recent polls exhibit about fifty per cent of support and fifty per cent of Euro-scepticism. The campaign for Europe has started on national TV. About the sole argument for Europe in minds of the people is submitting to regulated norms, but the counter-argument points to the economic imbalance between Croatian people and companies and those European.
This particular author is against joining. All of history shows one cannot be friends with a superpower. The idea even runs against the official propaganda that we strove to be free for 14 centuries. Although this is constructing history in retrospect, I’d rather Europeans came to visit, us extending the warmest welcome one can imagine.
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