Mastermind during Yugoslav war Even before the onset of the war in the early 1990s, Josip Perkovic and others in the Croatian circle of Yugoslavian intelligence had apparently decided to support not only Croatia’s independence but also Croatia’s later President Franjo Tudjman.
Josip Perkovic, left, during his arrest in Croatia earlier this year Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images Josip Perkovic, left, during his arrest in Croatia earlier this year “Perkovic put the passport in Tudjman’s hand, which Tudjman used to fly to Canada in 1987,” said Zagreb-based journalist Zeljko Peratovic, adding that Tudjman had sought to rally supporters for the Croatian cause. Tudjman later formed an alliance of Croats against Yugoslavia on one hand, and former communist operatives like Josip Perkovic on the other. The common goal? An independent Croatia. Since the saga began, Perkovic is once again in the spotlight. But there is one question very few dare to ask, but investigative journalist Peratovic proceeds anyways. What if Yugoslavia’s deterioration had already been discussed in 1987 before the war? Could it be that the intelligence officials who are accustomed to pulling strings, wanted to secure their power in an independent Croatia? It’s important, says Josip Perkovic, that the conversation is limited to his activities in the international Croatian exile-scene.
