YESTERDAY the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjártó came down on Index and "some media in Croatia" claiming that they are "fake news factories that don't mind turning the nations against each other by using their lies."

Szijjártó's report, sent via the Hungarian Embassy in Zagreb and posted on his Facebook profile, mentioned the accusation that Index incorrectly translated the inscription about Rijeka on the monument of "Hungarian Calvary," which was unveiled in Satoraljaujhely on Saturday. "Of course that's not true," said the Hungarian top diplomat "because the inscription on the memorial derives from Lajos Kossuth's expression, "Fiume - Hungarians, To the Sea."

"Of course that the Hungarian government is interested in good relations with Croatia, but it seems that some media in Croatian have completely different goals," concluded Szijjártó.

The infamy of an incorrect translation 

Firstly, let's deal with the infamy of an incorrect translation. Yes, in Index's article about the monument at issue, there was an incorrect translation of the inscription for about half an hour, before it was corrected. 

Szijjártó's insistence on the incorrect translation as the crucial element of this entire story is actually manipulation by which he wants to camouflage the fact that this whole monument is questionable itself, as well as the policy of Hungary towards Croatia, which unfortunately is not entirely in good neighborly relations. If it was, then Hungary wouldn't always provoke with extolling its size before the Treaty of Trianon, they wouldn't continuously publish the maps where they rule the Croatian territory, and they wouldn't erect monuments. Then Orban wouldn't hold a speech in the center of Osijek about "the Hungarian Baranja," and a huge picture of "Greater Hungary" wouldn't be displayed at his party's headquarters. 

If it was, then, for example, the Hungarian citizens could travel to Croatia without restrictions since last Friday, as they can travel to Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Those countries don't have a significantly better epidemiological situation than Croatia, some of them even worse, but Hungary lifted the restrictions for those countries. However, not for Croatia. Where are good neighboring relations now?

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They're quoting the poet who, when asked, said he had no idea what Croatia is

Let's go back to the questionable quote about Rijeka. It's about, as Szijjártó has triumphantly educated us, a line from a 19th-century Hungarian poet and politician, Lajos Kossuth, the same poet that, when asked about Croatia, answered that he had no idea what Croatia was and asked to be shown Croatia on the map if it even existed. 

Using the brief inaccurate translation as an excuse, Szijjártó is actually applying the well-known tactic of the right-wing politics, which makes up that "Za dom spremni" is not a fascist, but "an old Croatian salute," and tries to convince people not to believe their own eyes but the lies they're served. Similarly, the Croatian citizens should believe that accusing Kossuth and revealing the monument, which glorifies the period when Croatia was under rule by Hungary, represent good neighboring relations. 

Let's imagine that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reveals a monument with an inscription "Karlobag - Serbians, To the Sea!" Would it be cultivating good neighboring relations? If we believe Szijjártó, yes. If we believe in common sense and our own eyes, then no.

The Hungarian Minister thinks he can edit Index

But, that is actually secondary in Szijjártó's reaction.

The most important and the most dangerous is the fact that the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs seems to think that he can edit Index (or some other critical Croatian media) and Index's writing about the Croatian-Hungarian relations. Perhaps Szijjártó believes that this is Hungary and that he can enforce media censorship in Croatia, just like his boss Viktor Orban does in Hungary. 

It's about a scandalous attempt to be involved in Croatian internal matters, about a hegemonic attempt to intimidate Index. If the Serbian government failed to intimidate Index for its critical writing about Aleksandar Vucic's behavior during the coronavirus pandemic, then the Hungarian government will fail too. The Croatian government's attempts to edit Index have always failed, and they've been trying in different ways, then the Hungarian government will definitely fail too. If everyone who, more or less, frequently sends death threats to Index's editors and reporters has failed to intimidate Index, then Szijjártó's attempts are quite funny.

Hungary has two ministers of Foreign Affairs - one in Budapest, and the other one in Zagreb

Such intimidations are nothing but completely unacceptable, as well as the freedom of the press being under such political pressure, and yet more when it comes from a minister of foreign affairs from another country. Szijjártó's insinuation that Index "wants to turn the nations against each other" is especially mean. Quite on the contrary, Index has a long tradition of fierce opposition to nationalism and chauvinism, and criticism of certain actions of the Hungarian (or Serbian, Croatian, etc.) government is undoubtedly not warmongering an international conflict.

Szijjártó's reaction is not something that the Croatian citizens should be worried about the most. It's arrogant and manipulative, it represents the attempt of editing the Croatian media, it's merely a diplomatic incident, but our biggest problem is that Hungary has two ministers of foreign affairs. One resides in Budapest, and the other in Zagreb, on Zrinjevac. It's our problem: we don't have a Croatian minister of foreign affairs, but a Hungarian one. 

The arrogance of the Hungarian minister is the result of the Croatian government's abhorrent kowtow to Hungary 

Szijjártó's arrogance is the direct result of Gordan Grlic-Radman's abhorrent kowtow to Hungary, as well as the entire Andrej Plenkovic's government. The constant prostration before Hungary, inaugurated by Ivo Sanader with his corruptive malversations of Ina, and continued with Kolinda Grabar - Kitarovic with her attract on the Croatian government straight from Budapest, reached its peak with Plenkovic and his silly minister Grlic-Radman, the man for who one cannot say that his tongue runs ahead of his mind because it would imply that he has a mind.

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Instead of a Croatian minister of foreign affairs defending the freedom of the press in Croatia against the international attracts, Garlic Radman and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) justify Szijjártó because they equally hate the freedom of the media, especially Index's critical stance. That's something that we, the Croatian citizens, should be worried about much more - having a government that works in favor of Hungary, and that hates the freedom of the press. 

In the end, Szijjártó will be easy to cope with, as this textual kick in the butt demonstrates. But what will we do with the HDZ's government and Grlic Radman who would sell and betray their own mother, and let alone not Croatia?