Tudjman Extreme Nationalist As Well As Strong Leader

To the editors:

Regarding Berislav Marusic's opinion piece "The Croatian George Washington," (Opinion, Dec. 20) there are some rather simple answers to the question, "Why has there been such a cold response from the West [to the death of Croatian president Franjo Tudjman]?"

Tudjman came to power in Croatia at a critical time in the history of the former Yugoslavia. He won the elections in Croatia by preaching a fiery, intolerant nationalism, rallying Croats to the point of view that only Croats knew how to govern Croats, and that Croatia was for them alone. At a time when ethnic unrest was being stoked on the Serbian side by Slobodan Milosevic, Tudjman jumped in on the other side and denounced Serbs as eagerly as Milosevic denounced other nationalities.

Tudjman did successfully lead Croatia to a break from Yugoslavia, holding off a much more powerful Yugoslavian Army. But in so doing, he perpetrated human rights violations on the Serbian population of Croatia, displacing many, forcing them to swear to loyalty oaths and dismissing them from jobs.

Perhaps most tragically, the radical and implacable nationalism of Tudjman and Milosevic contributed strongly to the disintegration and bloodbath that occurred in the neighboring republic of Bosnia. With their insistence that all Croats or all Serbs be united in one unified, ethnically pure state, they and other narrow-minded leaders tore apart communities in Bosnia that had peacefully coexisted for decades.

Yugoslavia found itself in a precarious, fragile situation entering the '90s. There were in large numbers throughout the country moderate citizens and politicians, Croat, Serb, and of other ethnicities, who hoped to see the country transform itself peacefully into a loosely knit confederation in which all citizens would play a part in governance.