Udba still prosecutes Slovenian journalists

By Igor Kršinar

Dear journalist colleagues

I would like to invite you to follow the trial against me and two photographers on behalf of the former heads of the Yugoslav communist secret police Udba. According to the Slovenian Penal Code defamation in the printed media is punishable by fine or by imprisonment up to six months. On Thursday 13 November at 12.30 at the Ljubljana district court a trial starts for defamation of the former Yugoslav Udba head Silvo Gorenc who felt dishonoured because of articles I wrote in the Reporter weekly magazine in January this year. This is exactly one month after the beginning of the trial for defamation of the former Slovenian Udba head Janez Zemljarič because of the same articles. In these articles I wrote about the murders of Croatian emigrants abroad in 1970s by killer agents of the Yugoslav secrete police Udba. My story followed the extradition of two Croatian former Udba heads against whom recently a trial started in Germany.

Silvo Gorenc was the head of the Yugoslav Udba from 1972 to 1974, before that he was the head of its Slovenian branch and the secretary of the interior from 1966 to 1969 and 1969 to 1972 respectively. Janez Zemljarič was the chief of the Slovenian Udba from 1974 to 1978, after that he was secretary of the interior till 1980 and then president of the government of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia till 1984. They both filed criminal complaint against me and the photographers, since I wrote about their role in these murders revealed by the researcher Roman Leljak who found in the state archive some documents burdening them. Despite the fact that I just cited his words and documents he had revealed, they felt dishonoured, so they decided to sue me. Gorenc also felt dishonoured because I mentioned the brutal murder of the Ševo family in Italy during his leadership of the Yugoslav Udba. This story was broadcasted on the Croatian public television a few years ago. The former Yugoslav Udba chief also prosecuted me because of citing an excerpt from the book Red horizons written by the former Romanian general Ion Pacepa who described Ceausescu’s meeting with Tito and how the latter offered Gorenc for some murders of the Romanian opponents in the West. This book was published in the USA in 1987 and three years later it was translated into Slovene but Gorenc never filed a complaint against the author. This is why I understand these criminal complaints against me as threats to my work and pressure on the freedom of the press.

I wrote more about these cases in my blogs:

http://www.igorkrsinar.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-former-udba-chief-silvo-gorenc.html

http://www.igorkrsinar.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-honor-and-good-name-of-mr-janez.html

Thank you for your attention. Best regards,

Igor Kršinar, journalist of the Reporter magazine

UDBA progoni slovenske novinare

Objavljam pismo Združenja novinarjev in publicistov (ZNP) hrvaškim medijem v zvezi s kazensko tožbo nekdanjih načelnikov Udbe proti meni. Hrvaško novinarsko društvo (HND) me je že podprlo v kazenskem postopku na predlog Janeza Zemljariča.
 
Poštovani kolegi novinari

Molimo vas da pratite kazneni postupak protiv novinara ljubljanskog tjednika Reporter Igora Kršinara i fotografa Primoža Lavrea zbog navodnog klevetanja bivšeg čelnika jugoslavenske UDBAe Silva Gorenca. Spomenuta novinar i fotograf se moraju  u četvrtak, 13. studenoga u 12,30 sati javiti na okružnom sudu u Ljubljani. To je točno jedan mjesec nakon dana kada su se prvi put pojavili u sudskom postupku zbog slične pritužbe, koju je učinio bivši čelnik slovenske UDBAe Janez Zemljarič, to jest 13. listopada. Kršinar je u tjedniku Reporter ovog siječanja pisao o zločinima protiv hrvatskih emigranata, koje je učinila UDBA u vrijeme kada su ju vodili Silvo Gorenc i Janez Zemljarič te u člancima predstavio dokumente koje je u slovenskom državnom arhivu našao istraživač i publicist Roman Leljak.

Silvo Gorenc kazneno progoni novinara Kršinara zbog pisanja o dokumentu iz kojeg se vidi da je bio kao čelnik jugoslavenske Udbe obaviješten o akciji 1972. u kojoj su oteli Stjepana Crnogorca iz Salzburga i doveli u Ljubljanu gdje je nestao poslije ispitivanja. Osim toga Gorenc progoni Kršinara jer je u članku pisao o brutalnom ubojstvu obitelji Ševo uključujući i devetogodišnju djevojčicu također 1972 i podsjetio da je tada jugoslavensku UDBAu vodio Gorenc. Bivšeg čelnika je uvrijedilo i citiranje iz knjige rumunjskog generala Iona Pacepe Crveni horizonti (Red horizons) iz 1987 godine u kojoj je pisao o razgovorima između Tita i Ceausescuja u vezi sa otmicama i likvidacijama političkih protivnika; na jednom tom razgovoru Tito je Ceausescuju rekao da će Gorenc za njega ubiti bilo koga na Zapadu ako on to želi.

U vrijeme kada je u Njemačkoj počelo suđenje protiv čelnika hrvatske UDBAe Josipa Perkovića i Zdravka Mustaća, u Sloveniji su na sudu novinari i publicisti (Leljak) koji piše o zločinima UDBAe i citiraju dokumente iz državnog arhiva. Uvjereni smo da je sudski postupak zanimljiv i za hrvatsku javnost zbog toga želimo da ga pratite.

Hvala na pažnji.

ZNP, Udruženje novinara i publicista Slovenije

Tino Mamić, predsjednik ZNP-a

The former Udba chief Silvo Gorenc prosecutes journalists

By Igor Kršinar

After Janez Zemljarič, the former chief of Slovenian communist secrete police Udba, also Silvo Gorenc, the chief of Yugoslav Udba from 1972 to 1974, filed a criminal complaint against me and two photographers for defamation in some articles in the weekly magazine Reporter in January this year. Like Zemljarič he also felt dishonoured because of some articles about the Udba murders of some Croatian emigrants. According to the Slovenian Penal Code defamation in press media is punishable by fine or by imprisonment up to six months.

When I wrote the story on the murder of the Croatian emigrant Nikica Martinović in Klagenfurt in Austria in 1975, at the time Janez Zemljarič was the chief of the Slovenian Udba, I also mentioned another case revealed by the researcher Roman Leljak. According to the document he found in the Slovenian State Archive, the Slovenian Udba in 1972 had organised a kidnapping of the Croatian student Stjepan Crnogorac in Salzburg in Austria where he had lived and studied. The Udba agents illegally transported him across the Austrian-Yugoslav border to Ljubljana where he was interrogated by Slovenian and Yugoslav Udba officers. After the interrogation he disappeared without traces, it is presumed that he was murdered and buried somewhere in Slovenia. During the interrogation the Slovenian participant Boris Mužič who was then the deputy chief of the Slovenian branch of Udba sent two letters to the then Yugoslav Udba chief Silvo Gorenc in which he informed him about this operation. He asked him for some documents about the arrested Crnogorac and the money for their collaborators in this secret operation who were actually the kidnappers of this young Croatian.

Since my text was basing on those documents Gorenc felt dishonoured although my story was written around two months after some other media had written about it following Leljak’s press conference. Gorenc also felt dishonoured because I asked myself in the text how it was possible that Croatia did not prosecute the murderers of its citizens since the Germans demanded the extradition of those Croatians suspected organising the murders of their own countrymen in Germany. I concluded that sooner or later this would happen and for people like Zemljarič, Gorenc and their collaborators Slovenia will become a prison. I also mentioned other crimes committed by Udba when Gorenc was at its helm, for example the assassination of the Croatian family Ševo in Italy in 1972 including nine years old girl who was also among the victims. This writing was also considered as defamation by the then Yugoslav Udba chief.

Gorenc was also dishonoured by citing the book The Red Horizons written by the former chief of the Romanian secret police Ion Pacepa. In this book he wrote about his memories of his service under the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. He also described Ceausescu’s meeting with the Yugoslav dictator Tito when the latter asked him for a favour, the help on the kidnapping of his opponent Vladimir Dapčević. As a trade-off Tito promised that Silvo Gorenc and then Yugoslav interior minister Luka Banović would murder anybody on Ceausescu’s choice in the West. I wrote also that Gorenc denied the deal because the kidnapping happened in 1975 when he was no longer in charge of the Udba. But I also added that according to the persons attending this meeting the deal was made before his withdrawal from the Udba.

The first article has the title Call Zemljarič for Murder and the second An Angel between the Executioners. Like Zemljarič also Gorenc has felt dishonoured because of the published photomontage on the front page of the magazine, thus he blamed the photographers Primož Lavre and Pavel Perc for doing this. On this photomontage Zemljarič is standing with his Udba companion Gorenc both armed with guns and there is also Milan Kučan, the former chief of Slovenia’s Communist Party, above them as an angel. In fact the photographers have nothing to do with this photomontage, Lavre is even not the author of the published photographs. The photograph of Gorenc was bought from Perc who actually couldn’t know about this photomontage in Reporter. 

After these articles two books were published a few weeks ago in which the story of the kidnapping and the murder of Stjepan Crnogorac is additionally described. Roman Leljak has presented the book Udba and Igor Omerza has presented his new book Call U (Udba) for murder. They both write about Silvo Gorenc’s responsibility for this crime. Since nobody of the former Udba chiefs were prosecuted in Slovenia there will be an opportunity for some issues when the trial for defamation in court starts.

See also: The Honor and Good Name of Mr. Janez Zemljarič

The Honor and Good Name of Mr. Janez Zemljarič

by Igor Kršinar
The former chief of the Slovenian communist secret police Udba Janez Zemljarič filed a private criminal complaint against me and my photographer for the defamation due to three articles in the weekly magazine Reporter. Since I wrote some articles about his role in Udba murders of the Croatians emigrants he has felt dishonoured. According to the Slovenian Penal Code the defamation in press media is punishable by fine or by imprisonment up to six months. Mr. Zemljarič has felt also dishonoured because of two published photomontages on the front pages of the magazine, thus he blamed the photographer Primož Lavre for doing this. In fact the photographer has nothing to do with these photomontages, he is not even the author of the published photographs. On the first photomontage there is Mr. Zemljarič shown as a man with machine gun, there are also photos of the murdered Croatian emigrant Nikica Martinović and his probable murderer, the Udba agent named Hanzi. The first article has the title Call Zemljarič for Murder. On the second photomontage Mr. Zemljarič is standing with his Udba companion Mr. Silvo Gorenc both armed with guns and there is also Mr. Milan Kučan, the former chief of Slovenia’s Communist Party, above them as an angel. The second article has the title An Angel between the Executioners. The third annoying article has the title Face to face with Zemljarič.

In fact there is no valid basis for Zemljarič’s complaint regarding the articles. My articles were written on the basis of a document found by the researcher Roman Leljak in the state archive. According to this document dated 4 February 1975 the chief of Udba section for the hostile emigration Milan Paulin wrote to the Udba chief Janez Zemljarič that they were planning some concrete actions against extremists as they marked opponents living abroad. Paulin mentioned two Croatian extremists, one living in the USA who was planning to visit Vienna, and the second who hadn’t been yet chosen but it was up to Hanzi to find one of the extremists he knew very well. Later they would decide whom Hanzi should target. Zemljarič as chief of the Udba approved these actions writing the manuscript: “I agree with the proposals.” There is also his signature under his written text. On the same day when Paulin wrote to Zemljarič Hanzi got two passports and ammunition for the machine gun. Two weeks later Nikica Martinović was shot dead in his greengrocer in Klagenfurt.

Besides this document in the state archive a document was found which shows that the Croatian emigrants in Carinthia had been observed by Udba since 1962. The document, also signed by Zemljarič, consists of a plan to eliminate an organisation called Bleiburg Honorary Line till May 1975. Martinović was the secretary of this organisation which was planning to organise the great commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the so called Bleiburg slaughter in May 1945. This commemoration would have been held on the former Bleiburg battle field and well visited by the numerous Croatians from around the world. The Yugoslav authorities were very angry whenever emigration groups reminded about the crimes committed by Tito’s partisans after World War II.

Zemljarič claims that he has nothing to do with the murders of emigrants. He denied that the Slovenian Udba murdered Martinović as well as any other Croatian emigrant. According to his words Martinović was assassinated by the Croatian terrorist group called the Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood which he had belonged to. Zemljarič filed a document showing that this organisation admitted the assassination of Martinović due to his treason. But this document is very suspicious since it is not a part of the state archive. Moreover, asking the expert for the Croatian emigrant organisations Mr. Bože Vukušić who is also the author of a book about the Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood he replied that the seal on this document is forged. This seal was used only by the first leader of this organisation who was kidnapped and murdered in 1965, so ten years before the assassination of Martinović. Vukušić sent me the original seals used by this organisation and they all differ from that in the document filed by Zemljarič. Vukušić therefore filed a complaint to police against Zemljarič due to forgery. So it will be very interesting when the trial for the defamation in court starts.