Ivo PukanićThe last thing Ante Gotovina needs before his trial is a politicization of his case. Those who have come together for this cause, everyone but Ivic Pasalic who in turn has sent in his satellites, guarantee that the Foundation must serve two goals. The first is political promotion of the right-wingers, long since compromised political dead men. The second is to stuff a dollar or two into their pockets, a dollar collected from poor Croats abroad and from state-held companies who will have to donate to the Foundation on a government decision. Does Ante Gotovina, about to fight the greatest battle of his life, need various political losers and speculants to promote themselves using his name? Have his attorneys agreed to the establishment of the Foundation? The perfidy of the organizers of this show has gone so far as to hire the son of the SDP president for its “promotion” in order to demonstrate “national unity” on the issue. And the goal was very simple – to keep the opposition quiet and prevent any criticism. But why did Ivo Sanader consent to such a disgrace?

After having to abide by the Constitution and law and do all in his power to find Gotovina and send him to the Hague, he was faced with the fury of the right-wingers. In order to justify himself before them and to win back lost popularity points, he was ready to consent to just about anything asked of him concerning Gotovina's defence. He never asked how much it would cost, nor did he give much thought to the political consequences of his move.
He didn't immediately realize that his decision to establish the Foundation made him godfather to a very dangerous organization with a large appetite which, under the motto “seeking out the truth on the Patriotic War” is using state money to throw Ivo Sanader not only out of HDZ, but also out of politics.
It should be said once and for all that all the seeking the “truth about the Patriotic War” is absurd. Every honest citizen knows that this was a legitimate and just war to free the country from Serbian aggression. The problem is that indictments were raised in the Hague not only against the three generals, but also against Croatia. And Croatia needs to be defended – in the Hague. Igor Zidic, Ljerka Mintas-Hodak and Borislav Skegro will not be the ones to defend it. It will be defended by the best lawyers in Croatia and abroad and the Croatian state needs to ensure they have the best possible working conditions – all the necessary documents and a just fee. It is a great illusion that Croatia will be able to defend itself through the institution of “friend of the court”. It will have to act bravely, hire the best attorneys and, if necessary, “battle” fairly in the Hague to protect its interests. Had Ivo Sanader presented the problem in that way, and presented an exact amount and a transparent budget before the Parliament, I'm sure that a consensus would have been reached and money from the budget found. Namely, at this point in time, nothing is more important than proving the innocence of these three generals and proving that Croatia was not built upon a criminal operation.

With the establishment of the Foundation, and not the transparent financing of the entire process, the government is showing its weakness. Ivo Sanader will have to firmly take all strings in hand and create a healthy situation, for otherwise, this will all turn into a thousand scandals. Nor should it be permitted that attorneys charge at their free will. Attorney fees are very transparent in the US and Great Britain, where we should hire attorneys to represent Croatia and work closely with the teams of the three generals. Croatia needs to take a very principled approach in the Hague and fiercely defend its interest, for there is no longer any reason to curry favour with Carla Del Ponte. The government has done its work and proved that it was not protecting the Hague fugitive. And now that he is in the Hague, Sanader and Mesic should have no fears of openly saying that everything must be done to defend Gotovina, Cermak and Markac of the charges against them. And that will not happen if the first steps taken are shameful, hiding behind a ridiculous Foundation. The entire state should strongly and clearly stand behind this project. That is the only way we will win.