Commemoration marking 45th anniversary of the UDBA murder of Bruno Bušić

Born in Vinjani Donji near Imotski on October 6th 1939, Ante Bruno Bušić was a Croatian writer and political dissident. A harsh critic of the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He was and remains one of the best-known victims of Yugoslav secret police or so-called UDBA.

A commemoration was held in Zagreb's Mirogoj Cemetery marking the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of Croatian writer and political dissident Bruno Bušić. He was killed in Paris, France, on October 16th of 1978 by an UDBA agent at the age of 39. Retired Croatian politician Milan Kovač had this to say at Monday's commemoration: "Bruno was one of the first to arrive at the idea of reconciliation within the Croatian people. Without that reconciliation, today we would not be able enjoy our independent and sovereign Croatian state. He was a visionary who inspired our volunteers in the trenches in 1991."

In his high school days Bušić was involved anti-communist activities in Imotski, having joined a group called Tiho (quietly) in 1957. The group’s goal was to "fight for freedom, equality and the formation of a free Croatia based on democratic principles." It was during these early years that the UDBA began monitoring his activities, and shortly thereafter Bušić and his fellow schoolmates who were involved in Tiho, were expelled from school.

Two years later, they were allowed to return to school, with Bušić going on to enroll in the University of Zagreb, where he earned a degree in economics in 1964. The following year, he was employed at the Institute for the History of Croatia's Workers' Movement, which was run by former Yugoslav general and future Croatian President Franjo Tuđman. In 1966, he was sentenced to prison for his political views, but had escaped to Vienna, Austria during the trial with co-convict Rudolf Arapović. At the behest of Tuđman, who still had great influence in Yugoslavia, Bušić returned to Zagreb and by 1967 had resumed working at the Institute.

In 1969, Bušić moved on to write for the Hrvatski književni list (Croatian Literary Paper). There he addressed numerous issues considered controversial by Yugoslav officials. The paper was eventually banned, prompting Bušić to emigrate to Paris for a period of time during which he attended the Sorbonne. Upon his return in 1971, he became one of editors of the Hrvatski tjednik (Croatian Weekly). That same year the Yugoslav government issued a crackdown on the political uprising called the Croatian Spring (Hrvatsko proljeće). Bušić was among those arrested and spent time in prison until 1973. He left Yugoslavia for the last time in 1975, spending the majority of his in England, but also travelled extensively through the rest of Europe. He wrote for Nova Hrvatska (New Croatia) during this period.

Exactly 21 years after his death, with Croatia having gained independence, his remains were moved from Paris to the Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb and laid to rest next to the dead of the Croatian War of Independence. Vinko Sindičić, a former UDBA agent, was tried for Bušić’s murder, but was ultimately found not guilty in 2000.

Source: HRT