Following a spate of brutal police measures to repress those who disagree with government’s policies in Croatia you have just declared in the parliament that this is a democratic country with broad freedoms. You are quoted in the press as saying that “no-one should be persecuted or taken into custody for thinking differently.” But is this really the case? Is Croatia a country in which one is free to think differently?

As a matter of fact, Croatia’s democratic record is marred by a large number of writers brought to court for slander. As the press regularly reports, slander is one of the favorite charges of those in power against those who criticize their actions. A while ago it was Predrag Matvejević who was brought to court on such a charge. A few days ago it was Miljenko Jergović who reported similar threats. And these are only the best known among Croatian writers. The very law concerning slander is a shame for Croatia, but the government and those close to it keep using it quite regularly to repress those who think differently.

I, too, have been brought to court on slander charges for criticizing government policies in my municipality in Istria. My criticism appeared on a private website with literary content and in English language, which is rarely visited by Croatians. And all I wrote in a few sentences was that the mayor of the municipality and the municipal council were in a conflict of interests regarding the sale of land to a foreign investor engaged in unsustainable golf development. Having lived in the United States and Britain for most of my adult life, I have never imagined such a charge possible in a democratic country with broad freedoms you claimed in the parliament.

Croatia is at an impasse. Either you will follow up on your claims about democracy in Croatia with a thorough review of all repressive laws, which will subsequently be changed in accordance with democratic traditions of the western world, or you will limit yourself to hollow claims that no-one in the western world will take seriously on account of those very laws. The choice is entirely yours.