Date: 2/17/88
TO: DIRECTOR, FBI
(ATTN: CID/[censored]
FROM: ACTING SAC, CHICAGO [censored]
[censored] 00:NEW YORK
CROATIAN TERRORIST ACTIVITIES;
IT-YUGOSLAVIA;
00:BUREAU
[censored]
This communication is classified "SECRET" in its entirety.
Re San Francisco airtel to the Bureau dated 1/4/88.
Enclosed for the Bureau are seven copies of an LHM entitled [censored] with two copies designated for Legat, London. Enclosed for receiving offices are two copies of each of the LHM.
[.....]
The enclosed LHM pertains to a telephone conversation between VLADO GLAVAS in Chicago and MIRO BARESIC in Paraguay which was broadcast on GLAVAS' radio program "FREE CROATIA" on January 23, 1988. The conversation was recorded and translated by Language Specialist [censored] of [censored]
REQUEST OF THE BUREAU:
The Bureau is requested to disseminate this communication to Legat, London.
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Chicago, Illinois 60640
February 17, 1988
[censored]
On Saturday, January 23, 1988, a previously recorded telephone conversation between VLADO GLAVAS in Chicago and MIRO BARESIC in Paraguay was broadcast during GLAVAS' weekly radio program, "FREE CROATIA". "FREE CROATIA" is in the Serbo-Croatian language and is broadcast every Saturday between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on WCEV RADIO, 1450 AM, in Chicago, Illinois.
Before playing the conversation, GLAVOS [sic] apologized for the poor quality of the recording. GLAVAS did not say when the conversation had taken place.
The following is a translation of the latter part of the conversation.
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BARESIC (B): ... the Swedish authorities justified that by claiming that Belgrade sent over its killers to kill me. The killers, DRAGON PEJOVIC (phonetic) and RATKO DJUKIC (phonetic) were supposed to make an attempt on me between August 10-12 --- the day when I was supposed to be free. All those threats and blackmailing by Belgrade, that certain things will come to surface when the Swedish and the Yugoslav governments have been dealing in the last ten years with arms sales and other things --- to be made public. Thus, of course, the Swedes were compelled to give in some way in order to stop terrorism on their territory. Thus, in order to keep order and peace, the Swedes did everything possible to have me disappear from Europe. In this case, to ship me to Paraguay.
GLAVAS (G): Since you mentioned those UDBA's hitmen. Could you tell us where, in which city, were they supposed to carry out the crime? Was that supposed to take place in front of the jail? Did the Swedes...
B: The Swedish police, their information service, came to me. I can only be thankful to them. They came to me, told me about that and gave me pictures and names of those men. They were supposed to carry out the killing either on Saturday or Sunday - the days that I had free lately in order to visit with my family. Or, if they were unable to do it at that time, then to carry out the attempt the day when I was freed from the jail.
Therefore, I must say that Sweden is different from other European countries. The Swedish police are quite positive. I, in particular, owe them a lot and I am very grateful to them. I am sure there are many Croatians who believe in God and Croatia [bog i hrvati - and Ustase slogan which was replaced, and then replaced in turn, bog i poglavnik, or "God and the Fuerher"], my fellow followers. They can believe that the Swedish police are better and more capable than any other in the world. I must say that they saved my life.
G: When the Swedish police told you or, better to say, when they informed you, that they caught the UDBA-men, did they tell you where they caught them? What task were they performing? Did they arrest them?
B: Yes, PEJOVIC was sentenced to three years while the other guy had a diplomatic passport later and weapons [sic]. They only accused him of carrying weapons illegally. He has been ordered to leave the country until '91, to go to Yugoslavia. However, since he has family in Sweden, he will be able to come back again to Sweden. That means he still has ---
G: MIRO, tell us, how did PARAGUAY accept you? Was it a friendly or a covered-up welcome?
B: Upon a very lengthy flight aboard the Swedish military plane, HERCULES - my feet and hands were cuffed all the time - forty policemen, armed to the teeth, accompanied me. We flew over Spain to Brazil, then to Paraguay. The Swedish diplomats in Paraguay, headed by the Swedish Ambassador there, and some local officers of the Paraguayan authorities were at the airport to carry out the procedure of my transfer. They simply turned me over to them, as per agreement. There they handed the Swedish passports to me and to my family. The second part of the ceremony, I can say, was very, very nice. The general and his family with other friends welcomed me. The fact alone that the very same day the Paraguayan Minister of Foreign and Internal Services spoke on the radio and TV very highly and positively about me and the Croatian cause, is enough to say that my welcome there was more than friendly.
G: When did you learn by which airplane you were going to travel, where you were headed? Describe to us, how did that whole drama unfold from Sweden all the way to Paraguay?
B: When they led me away from the prison --- There were policemen armed to teeth, just as if they were ready for war. They tied my feet and hands. I was somewhat trembling, felt tense... but I reasoned properly when I saw that there was no other way out... As I told you before, this was not the first time that they were throwing me from one continent to another. I accepted this, how to tell you, as humiliation not only to me but to Croatia also. But that evoked even a greater desire in my heart, more responsibility and love, to continue one day again the struggle for Croatia... Because, as I said before, people without their own homeland are at the mercy of everyone to push them, kill them, persecute... therefore... they simply transferred me to an army base the last night and put me aboard that HERCULES plane. I had no possibility of talking to my wife or my children. The trip lasted 28 hours and it was very strenuous, especially considering the fact the [sic] I was tied all the time - my hands and feet were cuffed. That was over-exaggerated on the part of Sweden.
I can't understand that attitude on the part of the Swedes.
G: The people that accompanied you, were they Swedes only or was that an international group? Were they soldiers or Police personnel? How many of them accompanied you?
B: There were some 30 to 40 persons. Among them was a Croatian, whose name is TOMISLAV PUSIC (phonetic), who was supervising everything. Among them were also a physician and three nurses whose task was to assist my wife and my children. They were also aboard that military plane, in that "little house", to call it like that, --- Germans call it ---
That TOMISLAV PUSIC (phonetic) is known to Croatians; he is a very honest man who worked as a translator at the court in '71. Yugoslav authorities barred his entry into Yugoslavia. He was very correct to me and I have nothing against him. I think there were people from various offices, not only from the political service. There were military men, men from the secret service... so, they were supervising each other in order so that no issues would come out in the future. But which will not come out... In other words, everything was done under strict control so that no negative things would occur.
G: The escorting people, were they armed?
B: They carried all kinds of weapons. They all were armed to teeth.
G: As far as we known, Paraguay had refused at first to accept you. But, after the visit of the Yugo-ruling gang of RATISLAV (phonetic) DIZDAREVIC and LAZAR MOJSIEV, the decision was changed. Is that a matter of an agreement or of a purely official international talk?
B: Personally, I don't know what to say on that subject... I think that the main role... yes, Yugoslavia was trying to put its finger in, but that was more of an official threat from the Yugoslav Government, but they don't have much influence here. I do, however, believe that in all this the Swedish people and the Swedish Government played the main role, and that there was an agreement between the governments of Sweden and Paraguay - They were the main factors to have the Paraguay government take me and my family. I don't think that Yugoslavia has any influence, at least not in this case. That's as much as I know.
G: As we touched upon those miserable Yugos, tell us: were there any arrests of Croatians in Paraguay during their visit? When? By whom and for how long?
B: Yes, that is true. It's very sad that such things can happen, but one has to take into consideration that Croatians in this country identify themselves just like Swedes or Poles do. A few days ago I talked with the people from the government here and I came to the conclusion that our Croatian people here are nobody, so to speak: They have very little influence and they do not impose themselves. Yugoslavia, however, requested through its diplomatic channels that those Croatians be detained for security reasons. And that was done from April 4 to April 14 - they were all arrested indeed. But they were treated very well. They ate with the Police officers. That's what I was told. Also, a few days ago I visited with BLAGO (or VLADO) MIKULIC and others who confirmed to me what had happened.
G: Do you know how many were arrested?
B: All of them. All, with the exception of wives and there was a "capital" of itself, about which I don't wish to talk.
G: Upon your deportation from Sweden, Swedes wrote negatively about you. What is the reason for that?
B: It's my opinion... and that is entirely normal that Swedes wrote strongly negatively about me in order to cover up all that crime and the criminal attitude toward myself and my family. Because, there has been also a transgression of the Swedish law in order to please Belgrade. Their negative writing about me is damaging to me and to Croatia, but, taking into consideration the situation, we cannot... Nevertheless, we shall find out in the future what was done and how things unfolded. That negative writing of theirs... we can still say that for many years and in the later time a lot was written in a positive way. But, when it concerns government matters, when it concerns the Croatian nation that has no freedom today, it is normal that both, Swedes and Yugoslavia, did everything to minimize the effect. Because, my permanence in Europe and in Sweden would have been a great catastrophy [sic] for Yugoslavia. Thus, obviously, Sweden had to find a way to please Yugoslavia. We can consider that like having lost the war. We Croatians can lose the field battle; they can even write negatively about us in their interest to minimize the criminal effect, like the transgression of the Swedish law in this case. But, even though we may still lose some field battles, I believe that we will win the war.
G: How are you and your family doing there, especially now in that hot weather?
B: My wife and children have difficulty with the heat. The little IVAN VICTOR became ill - has ear (hearing) problems caused by the noise aboard that HERCULES plane and we keep running from one doctor to another and to the hospital. We have no insurance coverage and that is a big problem for us, especially because no one should know us or our address. So far, we have no help from anyone. That does not mean that we are forgotten. I am confident that Croatians will, like they did before, help us. But, what is most important - the morale is high and we believe in a better tomorrow and return to our homeland. That is most important for the time being.
G: What is your message to Croatians?
B: I'll try to be short. To tell you the truth, we all should unite in a strong movement and, with united forces, we should destroy that artificial creation and establish a free state of Croatia in which justice and freedom will reign for all the citizens of Croatia. This is my only message for today. I should also add that we stop with pettiness and that we go on to do the big work, because that is what our homeland is expecting from us. Therefore, I call upon all of my fellow soldiers, I call on all of you to be prepared and responsible and to get on to work with full responsibility and that, once and for all, we destroy that dungeon, that prison that is called Yugoslavia, that is a prison for the Croatian people. Let us establish a free Croatian state, because, without a free Croatia things like this will continue to happen. That is normal. Therefore, let us not allow Croatians to be treated in this way. Let us destroy that artificial creation and let us finally be free forever so that we, too, can live like other cultured people of Europe in our free state of Croatia. That is my message to all of you. To the fighters who are lingering in prison in America, Europe, and our homeland, I tell them to hold strong - every beginning has an end.
G: Thank you, MIRO, for this pleasant conversation. Be greeted together with your wife and little children. Continue to be proud like you have been so far. We wish you every success!
B: Thanks also to all of you and I hope that one day we will see ourselves again in Croatia!
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GLAVAS' COMMENT:
MIRO is living in Paraguay presently with his wife SLAVICA, whom he married three years ago. They have two children: VERA VICTORIA and IVAN VICTOR. How he got there is known to all of us. Life in that poor country is hard. With his sacrifice up until now MIRO has deserved that Croatians don't play a deaf ear toward him and his family. I appeal to all of you who call yourselves Croatians to help that great hero. All of you who wish to help, please send your monetary donations to the FREE CROATIA radio program, P.O. Box 14322, Chicago, Illinois 60614.
I repeat the address: Radio Free Croatia for MIRO BARESIC, P.O. Box 14322, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Or you can send or give it to me personally and we will forward it properly. Those who don't wish to have their name published openly, should notify us in time. Our warm fraternal thanks to all in advance.