Between the Hammer and the Anvil

Forum leader Milorad Pupovac recently visited Belgrade, and told VREME after holding a number of important contacts in the Yugoslav capital: "The recognition of Croatia by Yugoslavia is something that will happen very soon. It will certainly be preceded by recognition of Slovenia as an independent state. The recognition of Croatia is thus only a question of time, but we would like it to take place as soon as possible."

Why was it that in your drive to realize your initiative you approached political parties rather than regime?

Political parties represent the people, and should be the ones who can say on its behalf what is its will. And its will most certainly is for the war to stop and for a political solution to be found that will be acceptable to all sides in this tragic disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. Apart from this, it is not the authorities that bring the people its future, but political parties, in particular those that advance one step ahead of the conscience of their own people, create its future and work to extract it from all the evils of the past and present. I did not meet anyone from the Socialist Party of Serbia, but that does not mean that I will not do so in the future. Contacts with them can wait - they have sufficient problems of their own. Some meetings with people from the federal administration did take place but we consider them less important in this round.

Although you urged Serbs in Croatia to vote at the coming elections there, your own Forum will not appear at them...

We are not a political party - we are a non-partisan organization trying to shape a new Serb policy and elements of new relations between Serbs and Croats in Croatia. It is much more important that we work on this than to take part in elections which are at this stage much more a matter of the Croatian political Majority and relations within it than the Serb political minority. If we do not take part in the elections that does not mean that we won't take part in Croatia`s political life, either as individuals or as an organization, or that we are not ready to participate in processes that are in the interest of both Serbs and Croats.

You said once that it is not as important for Serb deputies to be sitting in the Croatian parliament as it is for the Serbs to vote for those parties that can guarantee them the realization of their aims. Which political forces in Croatia are the ones the Serbs can rely on?

Yes, the Serbs in Croatia should vote for representatives of the Croatian political majority. They can place their trust in the Croatian People's party, the Croatian Socio-Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Union and other left-wing parties, as well as in certain candidates of the ruling party who have proved to be people one can trust, people ready to offer the Serbs a certain level of stability.

What is the position of urban Serbs in Croatia?

Urban Serbs are that part of Serb people that is between the hammer and the anvil. They feel both the suffering of the Croats and the suffering of the Serbs, and also their own suffering, the worst of which is that both the Croats and the Serbs expect from them something they are capable of accomplishing only to a certain extent: to protect the Croats and raise their voice for the protection of the Croats, and to protect the Serbs and raise their voice for their protection.

Another problem is that of Croatian citizenship.

The Republic of Croatia has adopted a Law on Citizenship that is generally speaking a good law, except for two articles which might be disputed. The problem is the manner in which it is being applied. The Republic of Croatia and its citizens that voted at its elections, fought for it in the war, and then it decided to make a post festum selection of them by applying this law.

The authorities wanted to accomplish succession of the state territories, but not of the citizens that were there. Non-Croats are the ones affected, although we and some other parties in Croatia did what we could to correct the effects of the law, but obviously not enough. The problem of the people without citizenship is enormous. Go to Brussels, and the people in the organization FAR will spell out the word "domovnica" (certificate of Croatian domicile), and ask with amazement what it refers to...