Zagreb: Scientific Conference on Bruno Bušić

On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the assassination of the Croatian political émigré and publicist Bruno Bušić, a scientific conference titled "Bruno Bušić - Life and Work" will be held on Friday, October 16, at the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. The event is dedicated to his life, political activity, and the circumstances surrounding his murder, the organizers announced.

The conference is organized by the "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" Defense and Security University, the Croatian Institute of History, the Croatian State Archives, the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Mostar, as part of the project "Foundations of Croatian Independence."

The program will begin with a screening of an excerpt from the documentary film Croats - Terrorists or Freedom Fighters, after which Bruno Bušić will be remembered by his contemporaries. Among them are Dražen Budiša, one of the prominent participants of the Croatian Spring and former president of the HSLS, and Ljerka Mintas Hodak, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Integration. Historian Ivanka Madunić Kuzmanović and physician Mate Ljubičić will also share their memories.

The scientific portion of the conference will cover Bušić's activities in Croatia, his role during the Croatian Spring, and his life in political emigration, as well as the surveillance conducted by Yugoslav security services and the circumstances of his assassination.

Literary historian Sanja Knežević will speak about Bušić's literary and publicist contributions to Croatian periodicals prior to his departure into emigration, while historian Ivo Lučić will focus on the relationship and cooperation between Bušić and Franjo Tuđman. Attorney Tomislav Jonjić will present a lecture on Bušić and the Secret Organization of the Croatian Intelligentsia, and historian Josip Mihaljević will reflect on Bušić's work at the Institute for the History of the Working-Class Movement of Croatia.

Historians Ivan Hrstić, Lucija Zadro, and Wollfy Krašić will speak about Bušić's connections with members of the political emigration and his preserved correspondence. Nenad Bukvić, Luka Knez, and Bože Vukušić will address the surveillance by the former State Security Service, the reconstruction of the murder, and the question of the judicial investigation. The final part of the conference will be dedicated to Bušić's political ideas and the way his work has been presented in Croatian historiography.

The commemoration of the anniversary begins on Thursday with the laying of a wreath at Bušić's grave, and a memorial mass will be held on Friday at 7:00 PM at the Sveta Mati Slobode (Holy Mother of Liberty) Church in Zagreb's Jarun neighborhood.

The organizers invite Bušić's friends, acquaintances, and associates to share their memories and submit letters, documents, and other archival materials related to his life and work.

Source: HRT