Government of the Republic of Croatia
Trg svetog Marka 2
10 000 Zagreb
To the attention of: Dr Ivo Sanader, the Prime Minister
Dear Sir,
I am passing this civil petition on to you regarding the conduct of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA). The petition has also been forwarded to the Committee for Internal Politics and National Security and the Council for Civil Supervision of Intelligence Agencies. I would appreciate if you also, in accordance with your statutory authorities, joined in the stopping of a years-long SOA persecution that I have been exposed to. I am willing to inform international officials and the proper journalists associations and associations for civil rights protection, which are of vital Croatian national interests, on the results of your engagement and parliamentary investigation.
Yours faithfully,
Freelance journalist and blogger
Željko Peratović
Zvonigradska 33
10 000 Zagreb
Zagreb, 14 March, 2008.
Croatian Parliament
Trg Svetog Marka 6
10 000 Zagreb
Council for Civil Supervision of Security-Intelligence Agencies
Mile Ćulumović, the president
Parliamentary Committee for Internal Politics and National Security
Ranko Ostojić, the president
Subject: CIVIL PETITION AGAINST SOA CONDUCT
Dear Sir, my name is Željko Peratović. I am a freelance journalist and blogger from Zagreb. I am addressing you so that you, in accordance with your statutory obligations, take necessary actions regarding the protection of my basic human and professional rights and freedoms, Pursuant to Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. Following the conducted parliamentary investigation, in 2005 the Council and the Committee jointly concluded that «there is a reasonable doubt that POA (Counter-Intelligence Agency) violated those rights». The same have been systematically violated to date by SOA, a POA legal successor.
As you have probably learnt from the media, on 17 October, 2007, criminal investigators from the Zagreb Police Department searched my under-age daughter’s flat in which I live. I was arrested under the suspicion of disclosing (publishing) state and military secrets.
Besides DORH unofficial statements claiming that my arrest was the result of « a nonsense in the police» and president Stjepan Mesić saying that it was the police case so he did not want to declare himself since the police is not in his competence, I have been claiming from the start that the intimidation my family and I have been exposed to was initiated, supervised and mostly conducted by SOA.
Apart from indications and information I have personally received as the confirmation of the above mentioned, last week the following Internet sites:
http://cnn.blog.hr/2008/03/1624367674/soa-zeljko-peratovic-drzavni-je-neprijatelj-broj-jedan.html and http://pollitika.com/soa-zeljko-peratovic-drzavni-je-neprijatelj-broj-jedan,
published an article with the SOA accompanying documents, which, if authentic, confirm my suspicions I was stating regarding the role SOA had in the violation of my human and professional rights and freedoms.
Therefore, I request from the already mentioned Council and Committee to set up a joint commission that will verify the authenticity of documents published in the afore mentioned blog addresses, or, to be more accurate, located in the following hosting addresses:
http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=str1kz9.gif ,
http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=str2am3.gif i http://www.divshare.com/download/3945111-7c5 and establish whether SOA has violated my, as well as the rights and freedoms of the other «suspects» who have been said to comment on 45 lines: Željko Bagić, Romano Bolković and Vjekoslav Brajović, and, accordingly, ask for the responsibility (including criminal liability) of the competent ones or establish that my objections have been unfounded.
The published documents point to SOA’s repeated and multi-type breaking the law. Besides being suspected of disclosing already released state and military secrets, which is a precedent as well as nonsense in the past repressive practice of the young Croatian country, I have also been incriminated by an accusation that I «was jeopardizing the safety of SOA employees by making their names and positions known». That is nothing but a doubt used to divert attention from the fact that I only mentioned the SOA employees’ identity in the context of articles on nepotism and corruption in the process of reorganization of the security-intelligence system and the personnel policy of Tomislav Karamarko, the SOA director. It is also one of Tomislav Karamarko’s personal motives for insisting on breaking the law and violation of my rights and freedoms.
The document titled « The analysis of the article/commentary background on blog 45 lines» clearly shows that SOA has continued to vilify me with its «interventions on blog», and even to suspect me of contributing to the Milan Levar, a witness to war crimes in Gospić, murder. On many occasions, I wrote and stated that Tomislav Karamarko, the current SOA director, who was the head of UNS (Office for National Security) at the time and after the murder of Milan Levar, participated in the obstruction of preliminary investigation activities connected to the mentioned murder. I hold that the «SOA intervention» on my blog saying that «I disclosed Milan Levar’s movement to suspects» is a direct pressure that SOA exerted on me in order to keep quiet as a potential witness in the investigation of Milan Levar’s murder. The comparison of the alleged SOA document and «SOA intervention» on 45 lines can be seen on the website:
http://peratovic.blog.hr/2008/03/1624374633/koga-bloga-soa.html.
Update, 16. 04. 2008:Amnesty International is particularly concerned about the slow pace of prosecutions for war crimes in Croatia and the apparent ethnic bias of investigations, most involving only Croatian Serb perpetrators. The organization is also worried about harassment and intimidation of victims and witnesses, as well as journalists reporting on war crimes. Croatian authorities have not made accountability for war crimes a clear political priority. The EU has a responsibility within the accession process to demand that they do so.While in Brussels, Irene Khan will also introduce the screening of an Amnesty International film documenting impunity for war crimes in Croatia and address the European Policy Centre on EU asylum policies in the context of security.Amnesty.org, 15. 04. 2008
Parts of AI’s documentary: “Croatia: A Wall Of Silence” about cases Gospić, Levar and Peratović. Full video you must see under link.
I have indirect information that SOA was illegally involved in the police procedures regarding my case. According to some sources close to SOA, Tomislav Milčić, the chief of staff, was personally appointed by Tomislav Karamarko to run the operation «45 lines». He was allegedly involved in the illegal search of my personal things, during which my digital camera’s memory card on which a part of the interview with the former agent of the Yugoslav secret agency SID, Josip Majerski, was destroyed (see http://peratovic.blog.hr/2008/01/1623938621/ipak-me-policija-naljutila-obracam-se-hhou.html).
According to my sources, Tomislav Milčić does not have proper qualifications needed for the job position to which he was appointed by Tomislav Karamarko, the SOA director. There is publicly available information according to which the German administration of justice, at some time, expressed its disapproval with the SOA employee, Tomislav Milčić, taking part in the Croatian authorities’ noncooperation regarding international legal help in the case of Krunoslav Prates being on trial as an accessory to the murder of emigrant Stjepan Đureković. These days, one of the German judges said that he would turn the Republic of Croatia to competent EU institutions on charges of the above mentioned noncooperation. Therefore, judging by this example of the head of staff in SOA, it is obvious that not only SOA statements, claiming that my articles are directed against national interests – accession of Croatia to the Euro-Atlantic integrations, are unfounded but, on the contrary. It is SOA conduct which is directed against accession of Croatia to the Euro-Atlantic Integrations.
There is a reasonable doubt that in my case, it is sources from SOA who were leaking information to the media. For better understanding, please check on the articles in Slobodna Dalmacija -
http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20071020/novosti02.asp and Nacional - http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/39138/.
Therefore, I would like the addressees to carry out the parliamentary investigation into this case as soon as possible. Due to SOA illegal conduct, besides the above mentioned rights and freedoms pursuant to Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, I have also been denied the right to work and I am afraid for my family and my physical existence in Croatia. I suggest the following to be summoned as potential witnesses:
1. Željko Peratović
2. Tomislav Karamarko
3. Josip Buljević
4. Tomislav Milčić
5. Romano Bolković
6. Željko Bagić
7. Vjekoslav Brajović
8. Jasna Babić
9. Berislav Jelinić
Due to multiple conflicts of interest which I am willing to explain in detail during the parliamentary hearing, it is my recommendation to prevent Mr Tomislav Matijević, the Committee secretary, of having any contact with the information of this petition.
Yours faithfully,
Freelance journalist and blogger
Željko Peratović
Zvonigradska 33
10 000 Zagreb
Note: I have informed the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, CHC and CJA about this petition.
