Studia Carpathico-Adriatica I. 2020 The Slovak-Croatian Commission of Humanities at the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia Studia Carpathico-Adriatica, Vol. I. The Slovaks and the Croats on their Way to Independence: History and Perspectives Studia Carpathico-Adriatica Vol. I. The Slovaks and the Croats on their Way to Independence: History and Perspectives Edited by Martin Homza a Željko Holjevac Bratislava 2020 Studia Carpathico-Adriatica is the yearbook of the Slovak-Croatian Commission of Humanities Editorial Board: Marta Botíková, Miroslav Dudok, Krešimir Filipec, Ivan Gerát, Jadranka Grbić Ja­ kopović, Željko Holjevac, Martin Homza, Zrinka Kovačevič Stričević, Maja Rupnik Matasović, Mirijana Repanić Braun, Andrej Vrteľ, Svorad Zavarský © Martin Homza & Željko Holjevac © The Slovak-Croatian Commission of Humanities, Bratislava 2020 Reviewed by Ante Nazor & Pavol Matula Graphic design by Tereza Fedora Homzová Typography by Matúš Brilla Slovak texts translated by Castor Enrique Sanchez Rodrigues Published by the Slovak-Croatian Commission of Humanities Printed by Stredná odborná škola polygrafcká, Bratislava The motif on the cover is motivated by the frst silver denarius of Coloman of Galitia (MON- ETA REGIS P SCLAVONIA, around 1235). The motif from the front script comes from the tombstone of Stephan Zápoľský (after 1499). ISBN 978-80-89728-23-7 Contents Željko Holjevac: Editorial 9 Martin Homza: A Few Words on the Establishment of the Slovak-Croatian Commission for Humanities 12 The Slovaks and the Croats on their Way to Independence: History and Perspectives Nikica Barić: Croatia’s Road to Independence 22 Emília Hrabovec: The Slovak Exile and the Way to the Independence of Slovakia 28 Julija Barunčić Pletikosić: The Role of the Catholic Church in Creating the Modern Republic of Croatia 59 Miroslav Londák – Elena Londáková: Slovakia’s Early Spring (1963 – 1967) 66 Peter Jašek: Contacts between Slovak and Croatian Political Exiles in the 70s and 80s 79 Beáta Katrebová Blehová: The Split of the Czecho-Slovakia in an International Context: An Outline of the Issue 91 Ondrej Podolec: Milestones in the Development of the State Legal Status of Slovakia in the 20th Century (Parallels with Croatia) 111 Ana Holjevac Tuković: The End of the Croatian Homeland War: Military Operations and Peaceful Reintegration 129 Tomáš Černák: Political Situation and Acts of Violence at Football Stadiums in the Early 90s in Croatia and Slovakia 140 Albert Bing: Croatia’s Transition to the European Union 153 Aleksandar Jakir: The Challenge of Dealing with a Difcult Past in Croatia 171 Željko Holjevac* Editorial Úvodník / Uvodnik he frst volume of the journal Studia the disintegration of the common state TCarpathico-Adriatica, which is in of the South Slavs and the internation- hands of the readers, contains articles al recognition of the Republic of Cro- writen on the basis of papers presented atia as a new state forged in the war at the scientifc conference The Slovaks for independence. and the Croats on their Way to Independence: Emília Hrabovec in her paper on Slo- History and Perspectives. The conference vak exile and the path to Slovak inde- was held on 18 June 2019 at Comenius pendence notes that the initial political University in Bratislava. In this volume, situation of the Slovak exile was much six Slovak and fve Croatian authors more complex than the situation of most analyze the Croatian and Slovak road to other nations in Central and Eastern independence, having in mind both the Europe. The Slovak exile – similar to historical roots and future perspectives. the Croatian exile – had to struggle not The collapse of communism in Eastern only against the communist regime, Europe, democratic elections, the break- but also for the return of its own state- up of Yugoslavia in a bloody war and hood. In this light, the establishment the peaceful partition of Czechoslovakia of the World Congress of Slovaks, which were the framework conditions in which advocated the idea of state independence Croatia and Slovakia evolved from feder- of Slovakia, was of particular impor- al units of Yugoslavia and Czechoslova- tance, invoking the universally recog- kia into independent states in the early nized principle of self-determination and 1990s. On their path to independence, the principle of full equality of nations. among other aspects, the Slovak and Analyzing the most signifcant activi- Croatian political exile played an impor- ties and atitudes of the Catholic Church tant role, as well as the Catholic Church in the last years of Yugoslavia, and major and other factors. Today both countries turning points in Croatia in the frst half are members of the European Union fac- of the 1990s, Julija Barunčić Pletikosić ing new challenges and new horizons. emphasizes in her article an important In his introductory article on Croa- role that the Catholic Church played tia’s way to independence, Nikica Barić, in the creation of the Republic of Croatia in the most concise terms, chronolog- as an independent state. ically presents the major events that Describing the Slovak early spring led to the deep economic, social and as a catalyst for the Czecho-Slovak political crisis in Yugoslavia in the late spring of 1968 and the federalization 1980s. The crisis in the early 1990s led to of Czechoslovakia, Miroslav Londák and * Željko Holjevac, Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb (Republic of Croatia). Željko Holjevac: Editorial 9 Elena Londáková note in their article – within which autonomy was the high- that, in addition to liberalizing the com- est ambition of Slovak political rep- munist regime and creating socialism resentations. On the eve of World War with a human face, another often omit- II, independent Slovakia was established ted major topic was the Slovak national under German auspices. After the war, emancipation process that culminated communist Czechoslovakia experienced in the federalization of Czechoslovakia development from a centrally governed of that time. state to a federation. As a result of divi- In his article, Peter Jašek portrays sion of Czechoslovakia in 1993, an inde- the contacts of Slovak and Croatian pendent Slovakia emerged as a modern political exile in the 1970s and 1980s. European state. The text deals with the broader context After stopping Serbian and Monte- of relations between the World Congress negrin military aggression by the end of Slovaks and representatives of emi- of 1991, and achieving international le- grants from various Central and Eastern gitimacy by recognition by the European European countries in the Soviet bloc. Community and accession to the United The study also includes the reconstruc- Nations in the following year, the fun- tion of specifc cases of co­operation be- damental goal of Croatian politics led tween Slovaks and Croats in the West. by President Franjo Tuđman was to Beáta Katrebová Blehová presents achieve full sovereignty and territorial the issue of the divorce of Czechoslova- integrity within the internationally rec- kia during 1992 in an international con- ognized Croatian borders. In her article text. Documents stored in the archives on the end of the Croatian Homeland of the former Ministry of International War, Ana Holjevac Tuković focuses on Relations documenting Prime Minister military operations, primarily the Cro- Vladimír Mečiar’s meetings with diplo- atian military-police operation „Storm“ matic representatives from Europe and in August 1995, as well as the peaceful Israel show that the Slovak government reintegration of Eastern Croatia under was not ready enough to divide the com- the jurisdiction of Croatian authorities. mon state of Czechs and Slovaks and in- Tomáš Černák’s study outlines the po- itially preferred a confederation instead litical situation and violence at football of an independent state. The documents stadiums in the early 1990s in Croatia also show that the governments of Slova- and Slovakia. He takes into consideration kia’s neighboring states, as well as those the example of a football match between of some great powers, had in mind Dinamo from Zagreb and Crvena zvezda the possible disintegration of Czechoslo- from Belgrade in 1990 and the match- vakia, but advocated for constitutional es between Slovan from Bratislava and action, which was more than under- Sparta from Prague as well as Ferencváros standable in the context of the violent from Budapest in 1991 and 1992. disintegration of Yugoslavia. Albert Bing’s article deals with In his article on the milestones the long process of Croatia’s accession to of the development of Slovakia’s state-le- the European Union. In addition to re- gal status in the 20th century, Ondrej viewing the most signifcant events and Podolec notes that Slovakia, like Cro- transition processes before the acces- atia, was part of multinational states – sion in 2013, various problems that Cro- Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia atia faced in its „European path“ were 10 Slovo na úvod emphasized, keeping in mind the oscilla- The Studia Carpathico-Adriatica is tions in the mood of Croatian citizens and a comparative Slovak­Croatian journal. the atitudes of the international commu- Bearing in mind the multiple Croa- nity towards the Republic of Croatia. tian-Slovak parallels and connections In an article on the challenges of deal- in the past and present, the journal is ing with the problematic past in Croatia, a step forward