The Croatian Spring and Tudjman's Fall

Even before publication, Tudjman's appointment to the Yugoslav Academy was rescinded and he was removed as Director of the Institute for the History of the Workers' Movement by Rankovic. Even Rankovic's own fall in 1966 did not save Tudjman from mounting persecution. By 1967 he was removed from all offices and duties for stating his views on history and the Croatian language. In 1969, he tost his seat in Parliament. At the same time, Franjo Tudjman became one of the leaders of the great liberalization movement known as the Croatian Spring. That movement reached its peak in the Fall of 1971 before being ruthlessly crushed by the hardline Communist government on Serbia's National Day in December of that year.

On October 12, 19?2, after a brief "trial" Tudjman was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for counter-revolutionary activity and "hostile activity against the State." Upon appeal, the charges were changed to "hostile propaganda" and he was released after nine months and stripped of his civil rights, including the right to publish, speak in public, or travel outside the country. In 1977, Tudjman violated the ban by granting an interview to Swedish television. Although the interview was blocked by a diplomatic protest from Yugoslavia, Swedish television aired a one minute excerpt and the text was published in Sweden's Dagens Nyheter and Germany's Der Spiegel in October 1977. Within months it had been translated into English and published throughout the world.

On November 17, 1980, Tudjman was again indicted for the crime of "maliciously and falsely representing socio-political conditions in Yugoslavia." The communists' Orwellian doublespeak may have reached its apex when, in an indictment for speaking to a foreign reporter, the prosecutor wrote: "It is well known that [Tudjman's statements) are untrue because in the SFRY not only in its constitutional and legal decrees, but in the everyday life of its inhabitants as well, complete equality of all nations and nationalities in all areas has been realized, as has full freedom of the expression of opinion."

Tudjman's crime was that of having publicly stated that there was no freedom of speech in Yugoslavia. His eloquent defense was published in a number of languages and became a part of the literature for the democratization of Yugoslavia: "Everything I said was an expression of my personal belief in accordance with the ideals for which I fought in the Socialist Revolution and the anti-Fascist War" he said.

Tudjman was sentenced to three years in jail and loss of all civil rights for eight years. Before entering prison in November 1981, he was admitted to a Zagreb hospital with a heart condition. Despite a world-wide outcry that included naming him a "Prisoner of Conscience" by Amnesty International, Tudjman was sent to the infamous Lepoglava prison in January 1982 where he suffered a series of four heart attacks. Another investigation was launched in 1988 in yet another attempt to silence Tudjman, but by that time the new direction of the tide in Europe was clear. His civil rights were restored, he obtained a passport and undertook the foundation of a new political movement.

HDZ and Victory

On November 29, 1989, Tudjman and his newly formed Croatian Democratic Union, known by its Croatian initials HDZ, issued an appeal to the citizens of Croatia and to its communist-controlled Parliament to form a new multi-party government. The appeal called for a repeal of the Communist Party monopoly, secret and direct elections for Parliament, unrestricted travel, and freedom for political prisoners.

During this transition period the HDZ was the first al party to expressly call for self determination for Croatia, including the right to secession. Although the Yugoslav Constitution specifically guaranteed that right, it was considered treason by Belgrade.

In light of the dramatic changes sweeping Europe, the Croatian Parliament voted in February 1990 to legalize opposition parties and grant freedom of political affiliation. In April and May, the first free elections were held in Croatia with some twenty political parties competing for seats in Parliament. Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Union was victorious with 205 of 349 seats. The Communists, who had ruled for a half century, secured only 77 seats. Franjo Tudjman was elected President of the Republic.

On July 26, 1990, the Parliament dropped the word "Socialist" from the name Republic of Croatia and ordered the red star removed from all state symbols. Still, Tudjman and the Croatian government sought a new accommodation with the other republics of Yugoslavia through a confederation of sovereign states. Serbia's unwillingness to even negotiate for such a confederation led Croatia and Slovenia to declare independence on June 25, 1991, at which time Franjo Tudjman became the first President of the independent Republic of Croatia.

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