Vladimir Gotovac
Encyclopedia
Vladimir "Vlado" Gotovac (18 September 1930 – 7 December 2000) was a Croatia
n poet and liberal
politician.
Vladimir Gotovac was known as a very talented poet but was also stigmatized as a Croatian nationalist in socialist Yugoslavia. In many of his interviews Gotovac expressed the frustration of not having the types of freedom afforded those living under more democratic regimes.
in the early 1970s. Unlike the Prague Spring
in Czechoslovakia, the Croatian Spring wasn't violently quashed by military use, although it resulted the period known as “the silent republic”, alluding to the Yugoslav government’s tremendous skill in suppressing any opposition or criticism.
Before being arrested in 1971 Gotovac became the editor-in-chief of Hrvatski Tjednik ("The Croatian Weekly"), which historian Marcus Tanner explains, “was a real phenomenon – a mass-circulation newspaper with an enormous audience that went way beyond the confines of the Communist Party and made a national reputation.”
Yugoslavia
, Gotovac, like many patriots living in Yugoslavia, was harassed and eventually arrested in 1971 and sentenced to four years in prison, based on charges of being a “separatist” and “nationalist”. In an interview with Swedish television in 1978 he reflected rather dejectedly about his experience:
The one most important for him was freedom of speech
. As an eminent writer in Croatia he not only experienced tremendous difficulty publishing his ideas, but was also denied the right, as a public figure, to criticise. Despite the prevalent western view that Yugoslavia, not under Soviet domination, was becoming a liberal and open society, Gotovac’s experiences show the contrary.
Despite the hardship Gotovac endured, he continued to write in prison, with his most famous piece being his diary, Zvjezdana Kuga ("Starry Plague"), published some twenty years after his release in 1978. And whilst he spent his pre-prison years working as a journalist and editor for TV Zagreb as well as writing literary pieces, he gradually moved into politics after being released from prison.
His experience in Croatia, dominated by communism, did not manage to pervert or shatter his own view of socialism; rather he felt that the sort of socialism he believed in had nothing whatsoever to do with communism, an ideology that he viewed as nothing more than centralist totalitarianism, of which its followers, he said, “are incapable of thinking freely. They do not know what freedom is!”
Gotovac believed liberty could only thrive if embraced by a pluralist society, which guaranteed people’s legal and political rights.
In 1989, Gotovac joined the newly-formed Croatian Social Liberal Party
. Due to his passionate eloquence he became one of its most prominent members. As such, he worked very hard to find proper balance between Croatian nationalism and liberalism
.
The most important event of Gotovac's life happened in the summer of 1991 in Sabor during the protest rally held in front of Yugoslav People's Army
headquarters. Gotovac made passionate and defiant speech answering the generals who at the time made all kinds of threats against Croatia.
In mid-1990s Gotovac replaced Dražen Budiša
at the leadership of Croatian Social Liberal Party
("HSLS"). His tenure was brief but it also revealed his lack of political talent. During the Zagreb Crisis
he allowed himself to be manipulated into embarrassing negotiations with the Croatian Democratic Union
, which harmed the reputation of party and its unity.
In 1996 he was chosen as president of the HSLS, where he told his audience: “Do not fear, this is our country and we have the right to rule it as we like!” In that same year he ran as a presidential candidate, but was assaulted during the campaign. He did not win the presidency instead it was claimed by Franjo Tuđman, a fellow former dissident. But Tuđman’s victory was disputed by Gotovac, who accused him of manipulating the results. As president, Tuđman did not undertake the sort of reforms hoped for by Gotovac and others, rather he became autocratic, suppressing the media if it dared to criticize him or his system, as well as limiting the civil and political rights of Croatian citizens. The following year Gotovac split from the HSLS to form the Liberal Party.
Vlado Gotovac participated in a region wide movement of writers becoming politicians, for this occurrence took place in Poland
, Hungary
and Czechoslovakia
, with Václav Havel
being one of the most famous writers turned statesman.
Gotovac tried running as a candidate of Croatian centrist and liberal opposition on 1997 presidential election. During the campaign rally in Pula
he was assaulted and injured by a Croatian Army officer, later revealed to be member of elite security unit guarding Franjo Tuđman. The incident, however, didn't have much impact on the campaign nor Gotovac showed any ability to use it to his political advantage. While his rhetoric attracted urban and more educated voters, he lacked Tuđman's charisma and populist skills of SDP
candidate Zdravko Tomac
. He finished third in the race.
This led to the formal split in HSLS. Dražen Budiša, advocating more populist rhetoric and future coalition with HDZ, regained the party leadership. Gotovac, who advocated HSLS remaining true to liberal principles, left HSLS and formed new Liberal Party
. This party failed to attract majority of HSLS membership and its voters.
Ironically, Budiša, instead of aligning with HDZ, made a coalition with SDP instead in 1998. LS was left out of it and LS entered Sabor in 2000 only by joining the bloc of centrist parties led by Croatian Peasant Party
.
On December 7, 2000 Gotovac died in Rome
, aged 70, from complications caused by hepatitis
, too weak to receive a liver transplant.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n poet and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
politician.
Vladimir Gotovac was known as a very talented poet but was also stigmatized as a Croatian nationalist in socialist Yugoslavia. In many of his interviews Gotovac expressed the frustration of not having the types of freedom afforded those living under more democratic regimes.
Early activism
In the late 1960s, Gotovac joined the Croatian movement demanding political and economic reform, which eventually led to the Croatian SpringCroatian Spring
The Croatian Spring was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia as well as democratic and economic reforms.-History:...
in the early 1970s. Unlike the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
in Czechoslovakia, the Croatian Spring wasn't violently quashed by military use, although it resulted the period known as “the silent republic”, alluding to the Yugoslav government’s tremendous skill in suppressing any opposition or criticism.
Before being arrested in 1971 Gotovac became the editor-in-chief of Hrvatski Tjednik ("The Croatian Weekly"), which historian Marcus Tanner explains, “was a real phenomenon – a mass-circulation newspaper with an enormous audience that went way beyond the confines of the Communist Party and made a national reputation.”
Imprisonment
Growing up in Tito’sJosip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Gotovac, like many patriots living in Yugoslavia, was harassed and eventually arrested in 1971 and sentenced to four years in prison, based on charges of being a “separatist” and “nationalist”. In an interview with Swedish television in 1978 he reflected rather dejectedly about his experience:
- “No basis was found in my actions or in my activities, but, rather, like in all such processes, criminal actions were assumed and corroborated, not only in my case, but in the cases of a whole group of others whom I know.”
The one most important for him was freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. As an eminent writer in Croatia he not only experienced tremendous difficulty publishing his ideas, but was also denied the right, as a public figure, to criticise. Despite the prevalent western view that Yugoslavia, not under Soviet domination, was becoming a liberal and open society, Gotovac’s experiences show the contrary.
Despite the hardship Gotovac endured, he continued to write in prison, with his most famous piece being his diary, Zvjezdana Kuga ("Starry Plague"), published some twenty years after his release in 1978. And whilst he spent his pre-prison years working as a journalist and editor for TV Zagreb as well as writing literary pieces, he gradually moved into politics after being released from prison.
Life after release
In an interview for a Swedish television channel in 1978 he was asked to elaborate upon his own philosophical beliefs, and he said:- "My entire life I’ve dreamt of a socially just society and exactly for this reason I’ve always been left-oriented. I believed only when justice and freedom existed could human problems be solved. I always believed that only through the solution of these problems could human values be realized. A free individual, an individual who lives justly, only this individual can offer all which the human being has to offer, all of his greatness and all of his human dignity."
His experience in Croatia, dominated by communism, did not manage to pervert or shatter his own view of socialism; rather he felt that the sort of socialism he believed in had nothing whatsoever to do with communism, an ideology that he viewed as nothing more than centralist totalitarianism, of which its followers, he said, “are incapable of thinking freely. They do not know what freedom is!”
Gotovac believed liberty could only thrive if embraced by a pluralist society, which guaranteed people’s legal and political rights.
In 1989, Gotovac joined the newly-formed Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...
. Due to his passionate eloquence he became one of its most prominent members. As such, he worked very hard to find proper balance between Croatian nationalism and liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
.
The most important event of Gotovac's life happened in the summer of 1991 in Sabor during the protest rally held in front of Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
headquarters. Gotovac made passionate and defiant speech answering the generals who at the time made all kinds of threats against Croatia.
Political career
Gotovac entered the Sabor in 1992 where his passion and eloquence made him into one of the most popular and charismatic Croatian politicians. His harsh criticism of Franjo Tuđman and his authoritarian policies made him into one of the rallying figure of Croatian opposition.In mid-1990s Gotovac replaced Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:...
at the leadership of Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...
("HSLS"). His tenure was brief but it also revealed his lack of political talent. During the Zagreb Crisis
Zagreb Crisis
The Zagreb crisis is the name used to describe a political crisis that followed the elections for the City of Zagreb local assembly held in October 1995...
he allowed himself to be manipulated into embarrassing negotiations with the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
, which harmed the reputation of party and its unity.
In 1996 he was chosen as president of the HSLS, where he told his audience: “Do not fear, this is our country and we have the right to rule it as we like!” In that same year he ran as a presidential candidate, but was assaulted during the campaign. He did not win the presidency instead it was claimed by Franjo Tuđman, a fellow former dissident. But Tuđman’s victory was disputed by Gotovac, who accused him of manipulating the results. As president, Tuđman did not undertake the sort of reforms hoped for by Gotovac and others, rather he became autocratic, suppressing the media if it dared to criticize him or his system, as well as limiting the civil and political rights of Croatian citizens. The following year Gotovac split from the HSLS to form the Liberal Party.
Vlado Gotovac participated in a region wide movement of writers becoming politicians, for this occurrence took place in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, with Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
being one of the most famous writers turned statesman.
Gotovac tried running as a candidate of Croatian centrist and liberal opposition on 1997 presidential election. During the campaign rally in Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
he was assaulted and injured by a Croatian Army officer, later revealed to be member of elite security unit guarding Franjo Tuđman. The incident, however, didn't have much impact on the campaign nor Gotovac showed any ability to use it to his political advantage. While his rhetoric attracted urban and more educated voters, he lacked Tuđman's charisma and populist skills of SDP
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
candidate Zdravko Tomac
Zdravko Tomac
Zdravko Tomac is a Croatian politician.A native of Slavonski Brod, Zdravko Tomac began his political career in Communist Party of Yugoslavia. There he rose through the ranks, becoming close associate of Jakov Blažević...
. He finished third in the race.
This led to the formal split in HSLS. Dražen Budiša, advocating more populist rhetoric and future coalition with HDZ, regained the party leadership. Gotovac, who advocated HSLS remaining true to liberal principles, left HSLS and formed new Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Croatia)
Liberal Party was a Croatian political party active between January 1998 and April 2006. During its existence the party ran in two general elections and in each election won two seats in the 151-seat Sabor. LS was a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
. This party failed to attract majority of HSLS membership and its voters.
Ironically, Budiša, instead of aligning with HDZ, made a coalition with SDP instead in 1998. LS was left out of it and LS entered Sabor in 2000 only by joining the bloc of centrist parties led by Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
.
On December 7, 2000 Gotovac died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, aged 70, from complications caused by hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, too weak to receive a liver transplant.