How best to sum up the last chapter of the Motovun golf saga? This is not an easy job, for the narrative is getting murky. And ever murkier. Perhaps the best way to get a feeling of what is going on is to follow the articles published in Glas Istre (The Voice of Istria). Ever since the fateful public discussion of the environmental impact study of golf development in Motovun on October 21, 2008, Maša Jerin has written all of them. A brave journalist, she has held onto the case quite tenaciously for months. From her account of that meeting in Glas Istre on October 23 and 24 it is clear that it was a sham. The mayor turned the event, which was supposed to be dedicated to an orderly discussion of the study itself, into a political gathering where the citizens were supposed to vote for or against golf.

The first noteworthy event after the so-called public discussion was Jerin’s announcement on January 22, 2009, that the president of the commission vetting the environmental impact study, Dr. Velimir Šimičić, was effectively fired by the Ministry of the Environment. Well known for his 1995 study promoting golf in the context of Croatian tourism, which was battered by the war, he was opposed to excessive development in Motovun. The Ministry of the Environment, which set up the commission, used his retirement from the Ministry of Tourism at the end of last year as an excuse for removing him altogether. He was shocked, of course. Jerin’s article clearly showed that the whole vetting process had stretched way beyond the legally required period, showing that the responsible ministry had difficult time pushing the study through.

On January 29, 2009, Jerin announced that the commission, now headed by an official from the Ministry of the Environment itself, passed the study, although three out of nine members in attendance were opposed to it. Dr. Šimičić was present on his own request, but he was not allowed to speak at the meeting. On February 1, 2009, Glas Istre published my letter to the editor in response to the news in which I argued that professional judgment of commission members could not be subjected to voting as each member was responsible for a particular domain—such as cultural heritage, agriculture, or golf itself. The opinion of three out of nine members of the commission still makes the study unacceptable. This letter I also sent to the Environmental Minister, Marina Matulović-Dropulić, but she has never responded to it, as is her custom.

Jerin’s article of March 17, 2009, announced the Ministry’s decision to accept the environmental impact study of golf development in Motovun, but this announcement was still unofficial. This was followed by her article about the official announcement of the acceptance by the Ministry on March 26, 2009. This second article also announced that Green Istria, a leading green non-governmental organization on the peninsula, would take the Ministry to the court for all the irregularities in the vetting of the environmental impact study. And there were many such, indeed, over a period of more than a year from the first meeting of the commission, which took place in Motovun on March 20, 2008.

In the meanwhile, Jerin has published a large number of articles about golf in Istria. She has tried to show that golf does not necessarily come with all the apartments, houses, and villas attached. In one of these articles she investigated the situation in Slovenia, where in more than a dozen existing golf developments there are few buildings attached beyond the usual clubhouse and a few other facilities required by the sport. She showed quite persuasively that the argument that golf cannot pay for itself without the apartments, houses, and villas, which is the mantra of all investors into golf in Croatia, does not hold water.

What will happen next? This is very hard to guess. The legal process between Green Istria and the Ministry of the Environment may take years. The upcoming local elections may change several of the key players in golf development in Motovun. But the global economic crisis is likely to have the decisive impact on the Motovun golf saga. Although Jupiter Group, the investor from London, will do whatever can be done to get all the papers allowing it to build one day a whole village next to historic Motovun, they will do so primarily because of the resale value of these papers. Once the crisis is behind us, they could well be worth a mint once again. But here we are talking about years. Perhaps as many as five years, too.

Addendum I (June 16, 2009)

On my last visit to Zagreb I was introduced to a man very close to a number of people in top government positions. The person who introduced me to him knew he had something interesting to tell me concerning the Croatian branch of the British investor in golf development in Motovun. And I was hardly disappointed. The man claims that the money seeking investment outlets in Istria and Dalmatia, where Jupiter Group operates, actually comes from top government officials in Croatia. The British asset management company may be experienced in attracting such investors, but otherwise it is only a convenient front. Of course, the top government people are doing their best to make sure their investments make a good return on their own soil. Although I am far from a fan of conspiracy theories, this twist to the Motovun golf saga strikes me as perfectly plausible. It surely explains pretty well why I am now in court for writing about the collusion between foreign investors and state, regional, and local politicians (“Croatia Spells Conflict of Interest,” October 3, 2008).

Addendum II (June 21, 2009)

Few people I talk to about the possibility that golf development in Motovun involves top government officials as investors, too, fail to mention that I may be in considerable danger for bringing all this to light. I always reply that I am quite conscious of the danger, but that I hope that it is reduced to the extent that I am outspoken about everything, including the danger itself. My Residua is my shield, as it were. If anything would happen to me, the culprits would be obvious enough. The only problem I face in this regard, I add prudently, is the libel or slander law, which limits my ability to point my finger at the culprits I am reasonably sure about. Anyhow, a good police inspector would have no trouble nailing them down. All he would need to do is follow the money once again. Simple! Or so I would hope.

Addendum III (April 7, 2025)

Pray, who was the man from the first addendum, and how did I get in touch with him? It was Zvonko Habuš, an inventor and entrepreneur of renown from the Croatian capital. He asked Vjeran Piršić, the leading Croatian environmentalist at the time, to help us meet, for he was concerned about my safety under the circumstances. With Vjeran’s help, Zvonko and I met in a Zagreb café on one of my visits. He made sure that no-one would notice us inside the café, too. His story amazed me, indeed, and I realized at long last that I was in considerable danger. Billions of euros were involved back then. Soon enough, I sent a letter about organized crime behind golf development to Croatia’s president at the time (“Croatians as Foreign Investors in Croatia: A Letter to Croatian President Stjepan Mesić,” August 30, 2009). A few months later, I reported the whole thing to USKOK, the Croatian institution dealing with organized crime (“My Maternal Grandfather,” November 2, 2009). And Zvonko and I became quite close a few years later. We would meet every now and then and talk about everything under the sun. We laughed a lot, as well. But why have I remined silent about him for such a long time? Not even USKOK has learned about his name, I hasten to add. His revelation was hardly a joke, to be sure, and I made sure that his name would remain a secret for as long as he was alive. Sadly, I learned this morning that he had passed away a couple of months ago. I called him at first, but I learned that his number was not in use any longer; and then I googled his name on the World Wide Web, and stumbled upon his obituary. Goodness gracious! Five years my senior, he was in poor health for a few years already. Zvonko Habuš will remain close to my heart till my last breath, though. Farewell, dear friend!