In our first conversation with Mike Palaich we spoke about his important documentary film The Bleiburg Tragedy, particularly with regards to the role of the British authorities in the handovers of the Croatian troops and civilians to Tito, and the subsequent death marches. The British knew that most of the returnees would be killed. However, Mike’s work on behalf of Croatia did not begin with the Bleiburg documentary. We were interested to find out what motivated this third-generation American Croatian to join the fight for Croatian freedom, what he has done and with whom he worked. Here we relate the story of this part of Mike’s life, which is at the same time part of the history of the Croatian emigration and their struggle for the freedom of their people and homeland.

Let us begin from your roots: from what part of Croatia did your ancestors come and when did they arrive in America?

My grandparents immigrated to the United States from Petrinja and Križ, Croatia in the early 20^th century. Grandpa, Franjo Palaić, came first, but the authorities put him back on the boat to be shipped back to Trieste for some unexplained health reason. Halfway out in the middle of New York’s harbor he jumped overboard and swam back to shore. He lived the remainder of his life as an illegal alien. Nineteen-year-old Ljubica neé Vidović, my Grandma, came through the famous Ellis Isle in New York after Grandpa got settled in Detroit, Michigan. They were active in the St. Jerome’s Croatian Catholic church in Detroit.  Detroit is best known as the auto capital of the world. Years later it became known for the original music produced there called the “Motown sound”.

What was life like in Detroit? Were they active in the local Croatian community?

Grandpa was a butcher by trade, not surprising since Petrinja is home to Gavrilović Meats. He ended up owning his own grocery store despite his illegal alien status. Grandmother, my father and aunts all helped by working in the store after school and on weekends. The store was in a section of Detroit that was at that time home to many Croats. They were also members of Hrvatska Bratska Zajednica until WWII when they quit in protest over that group’s alliance with Tito’s communist party. During WWII Hrvatska Bratska Zajednica raised money for Tito’s partisan forces. Of course, America supported Tito so it would have been difficult for any Croat in those days to voice opposition to the pro-Tito fundraising, because opposition to Tito could have been viewed as pro-German and therefore un-American.  It was at this time that the organization changed its bylaws to include other Slavic nationalities to become members in spite of their name. Somewhere during the period of pro-Tito fundraising, the group was quickly compromised by pro-Yugoslav elements. This division also had a profound effect on the Croatian community of Detroit as a whole.  The community would, until 1991, be divided into two factions: pro-Yugoslav on one side and Croatian nationalists on the other. I can say that I never heard anyone in my family refer to themselves as Yugoslavs. We were always of Croatian heritage only. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and America joined WWII, my father joined the U.S. Army. He was always a staunch anti-communist. And, of course, as an American soldier, he fought against fascism as well.

Since you grew up in Detroit with the various Croat factions, was it difficult for you to “see the light”, to realize that the Yugoslav state was not only an artificial state, but also a terrorist state?

Not at all, I experiences first-hand the oppressive tactics used by Yugoslavia through my political activities. My involvement in the Croatian liberation movement began in 1978, when some very idealistic and determined Croats, asked me to help with their cause. I would affectionately refer to them as fanatics. Of all the Croat émigrés, the political émigrés who flooded the Diaspora after the “Croatian Spring” of 1971, were by far the most politically active and dedicated to the concept of Croatian independence. I was stricken with deep respect for the Croatian émigrés that chose to take up the baton of Croatian independence. Every émigré was faced with a life-changing dilemma – almost on the first day of his arrival. The new émigré would have to declare himself a Croat, or remain neutral and, therefore, support the Yugoslav regime with their silence.

Not all of them chose to become involved in the movement. The Yugoslav Secret Police (UDBA) was active in all Croatian communities around the world and they were always watching. For example, petitions were routinely passed around after Croatian mass, picnics, or banquets for one Croatian cause, or another. It could be a petition to a Congressman, Senator, or Member of Parliament. It could be a petition to release some political prisoner being held by Yugoslavia (i.e., Tuđman, Paraga, Veselica, Gotovac, Kovačević). Or, the petitions may have been in response to one of Yugoslavia’s political assassinations highlighted by Amnesty International. In any event, the recent émigré would have to decide almost within days of arriving: Do I stand up against Yugoslav oppression and speak out, or do I stay neutral and, as a result of my silence, allow the Yugoslav government to continue unopposed in their systematic oppression of the Croatian people.

The Croats émigrés gave up everything when they chose to speak publicly against Yugoslav oppression. They knew it meant they could never return home. Mothers and fathers died, sisters and brothers were married, but the Croatian activist could never return – even for the funeral of a parent – for fear of being jailed, or worse, by Yugoslav authorities. I knew people that lived their entire adult life in the Diaspora without returning. I know many more that lived in the Diaspora for thirty, or forty years, only to return in 1991. I watched these activists from afar with respect and admiration for their courage, sacrifice and single-minded focus for their goal of seeing Croatia liberated from Yugoslav oppression. It was this active group of Croatian patriots that embraced me in 1978, and my life took a different path at that point.

Soon after my involvement in the Croatian liberation movement I learned first-hand how repressive the Yugoslav regime was. I began receiving death threats soon after writing some unflattering articles about the Yugoslav regime for Detroit newspapers and the Wall Street Journal. Then, on November 29, 1983, a day previously celebrated by Yugoslavs (what we in immigration called Yugo Dan), my home was shot at with a shotgun as I played with my young children on the floor of my living room. It was probably a major mistake for them if they calculated that threats and intimidation could silence me. I was somewhat stubborn by nature. In addition, I grew up in Detroit, not a place known for breeding delicate people.  I was not about to tolerate a Yugoslav bully from UDBA attempting to silence me.

In the 1980s, Detroit Croatians, with the help of their friends from neighboring Windsor, Ontario (Canada), made a significant contribution to the anti-Yugoslav struggle. You were a leading figure among those activists. What was going on in Detroit at the time?

This was a part of my life that I remember fondly as one of deep personal growth. I was fortunate to come into contact with deeply disciplined and courageous people. At this early stage I was in contact mostly with people in the Croatian Republican Party. This is simply because they were the most active and the most radical group living in my area. I also liked that they (HRS) had the clearest ideology and the most intra-party discipline led by Dr. Ivo Korsky. Petar Ivčec and Marko Stipaničić are the two individuals that can be credited for getting me involved in the Croatian liberation movement in 1978. I lived in Detroit, as I said, and they lived just across the river that separates the U.S. from Canada. We, and all the other Croatian organizations, were very active during this period. Some of the activities were limited to the local level, while some other actions had wider consequences. Ivčec was innovative, creative, and daring. He was, and is, very intelligent and well read considering he did not graduate from university. Stipaničić was, in those early years, an excellent public speaker who lived and breathed Croatian politics. My role in those years was mostly strategic and tactical, although I did act as spokesman for most of the community’s events when it came to speaking to the news media.

What was your first major action in the Croatian independence movement?

My first major action began by passing out leaflets outside of a Convention Center in Detroit in 1980, during the Republican Party Convention. This was the American Republican Party Convention where Ronald Reagan was nominated as the Republican Party’s candidate for U.S. President. I happened to be home sick on one of days during the convention watching Ronald Reagan giving a press conference on national television. What I did not know, until, to my astonishment, I heard Ivčec’s voice on the television, was that Ivčec somehow acquired press credentials with which he was able to subsequently get certified with the American Republican Party officials. Ivčec was on national television asking Ronald Reagan what he would do as an admitted anti-communist when Croats decided to raise up against the Yugoslav government in the future. I learned an important lesson then how much one person could accomplish if he was resourceful and determined. Later as Ivčec was walking down the street outside the convention hall a black limousine pulled along side and the door opened. It was George Bush, who was still the CIA Director. Ivčec still had his press credentials around his neck and Bush recognized him from the press conference. “Do you need a ride”, Bush asked. “No,” Ivčec replied. Even Ivčec was not bold enough to get into a car with the CIA Director while in possession of false credentials. “No thanks”, he replied.

Ivčec was one of my political mentors and many years later I would remember how effective press credentials were. I would use press credentials from a news agency I created (Pan National News Agency) to travel in and out of Sarajevo at the height of the siege in 1993. This included using them to get some people out of Sarajevo during the war.

We would love to hear more about your work during the War of Croatian Independence a little later. Can you tell us something about the “famous” Yugo in America and how Yugo became part of the political struggle.

The Yugo came to America in 1985, under the corporate title Yugo America. The company’s president was a former Ambassador to Yugoslav and friend of Slobodan Milosevic named Lawrence Eagleburger. We had countless demonstrations against the company, as did many other Croatian communities in America. We had the advantage, however, of being the “Auto Capital of the World.” All the major auto publications have headquarters in Detroit, so we had a great deal of access to these publications. We found that we could get the American auto companies interested in our complaint against Yugo, if we emphasized the illegal practice of dumping the Yugo in the U.S. Dumping is a term used when a product is sold in America for a below market price, therefore giving an unfair advantage over their competitors. Also headquartered in Detroit was The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) whose support in opposition to the Yugo we also courted.

In that anti-import environment it was relatively easy to get sympathetic articles with all our concerns, and the American car companies loved our demonstrations against the Yugo. Ivčec and I also had our own separate graffiti campaign at one time. We would go out at two, or three in the morning and cover the city walls and freeway walls with the slogan “No Yugo” in reference to the Yugo auto. One posting was even spray-painted outside of the American federal building in which the F.B.I. offices were located. In a city full of graffiti our “No Yugo” graffiti was named #1 Freeway Graffiti by a local Detroit newspaper. I like to think that our campaign, together with the car’s inferior quality, contributed to the negative perception of the car and ultimately its diminished sales in the US. In the long run, it hurt the Jugoslav exports and the Jugoslav economy, which was our ultimate goal.

In addition to the Croats, the Albanians also fought against the Belgrade regime and the Yugoslav state. What was the relationship between Croatian and Albanian immigrants in the US, particularly in Detroit?

I made my first contacts with the Albanian community of Detroit while demonstrating against an annual festival in Detroit’s downtown area. The festival was billed “The Yugoslav Festival”. This was also an annual event for Croatians and later Albanians who would stand outside the festival passing out literature condemning Yugoslavia and the American governments’ cooperation with the Yugoslavian government. The first year of demonstrations began with just two Albanians who showed up to support us after seeing our demonstration on the local evening news. The next day, the two Albanians showed up with machine guns. They began cutting away the grass that was around a monument in a park area just outside the festival gates. They then lifted the grass like a carpet and placed the machine guns underneath. In this way, if the police checked them they would not have any weapons on them, but they would be ready to use if they needed them against the Yugoslavs attending the festival. It was difficult convincing them that our demonstration was a political one. We had no intention of turning this demonstration into a bloodbath, and ultimately we were able to convince them that we were not there for the purpose of violence.

A couple of years later, we formed an organization called the Croatian-Albanian Alliance. Dr. Ante Čuvalo was one of the original members on the Croat side, as was Petar Ivčec, Marko Stipaničić and I. It was an unlikely alliance from the start. Albanians had a Kosovo republic within Yugoslavia as a goal and Croats were demanding the freedom that comes with independence. Albanians worked closely with the American intelligence agencies and Croats saw those agencies as allies of Yugoslavia’s UDBA. Many Albanians distrusted Croats because they were Slavs. This was, of course, because of their terrible experiences with the Serb population in Kosovo. But, we had a common enemy and that alone was enough to unite us in common political activities against Yugoslavia.

We had no idea at the time how important that alliance would be to the Yugoslav and American governments until we later read reports from the American government describing this Albanian-Croatian Alliance by name and warning that the dissolution of Yugoslavia was not out of the question in the future. U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, wrote in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee report just after our alliance was formed, that America would one day, possibly, have to decide between helping communist Yugoslavia, or helping non-Serb ethnic groups that wanted freedom and democracy in the future. In 1983, I wrote an article as the Director of Public Affairs for the Albanian-Croatian Alliance, that was published in the Wall Street Journal titled “Yugoslavia’s Restive Non-Serbs”. In it the article I questioned whether loans that were made to regimes like Yugoslavia were not just shoring up inefficient repressive structures that could one day explode in our faces.

During that time period, the Croatian community in Detroit and the group from Windsor were rather lively and dynamic; what else was happening in the community at the time?

In addition to the activities listed above I was also involved in sending audio tapes to random addresses that we would find in the telephone books of various cities around Croatia when it was part of the former-Yugoslavia. The tapes would begin with a couple of minutes of music in the beginning (just in case they were intercepted by the Yugoslav Police) and transition into a monologue explaining why Croatia should be free of Serbian domination within Yugoslavia. Some of these tapes would be listened to and kept, while the majority, we knew, would be turned into the police. This had benefit in two ways. First, the people receiving the tape would listen to it and, perhaps, copy it before turning it in. Second, it would create a sense of paranoia within the police. They would never know how many were turned in and how many were kept by the recipients. They also would have to stretch their resources in trying to intercept all the letters coming into the country in an attempt to stop outside agitation from Croatian nationalists like us.

Furthermore, during the 1984, Oympics in Sarajevo we initiated a misinformation campaign directed against Yugoslav security for the Olympics. We were aware that our activities in the U.S. were monitored closely by American intelligence agencies at the request of the Yugoslav regime. We also were aware of several people within the Croatian and Albanian communities who were feeding information to American intelligence agencies. We would make phone calls to each other using ambiguous language hinting at some activity during the Olympics. The phone conversation would go something like this: “What day are you leaving for Sarajevo?” The other would reply, “I don’t know for sure, but our group is entering Yugoslavia through Austria.” “I hear the snow will be melting on Mt. Igman.” We would also “accidently” meet a known informer from the Croat, or Albanian community and begin a conversation with him. “Hey, watch the news next month during the Olympics. Something interesting is going to happen,” we would tell the informant. Of course we were planning no such action, but we knew enough about the power of misinformation to know that all agencies share information that they gather through all their sources. We were please to read in the papers that the Yugoslav regime was required to increase their military presence by several thousand soldiers around Sarajevo as a response. Tanjug reported to the Western press that intelligence agencies informed them that Croat nationalist were planning to disrupt the 1982 Olympics and the increased military presence was warranted based on the gathered intelligence – intelligence that we fabricated. This game, however interesting, was also dangerous. We had to be absolutely certain we could not be charged with conspiracy towards violence, or some illegal act. Our statements could not be construed, even using the most vivid imagination, to mean we were organizing an illegal action that would result in a lengthy prison term. We knew that if we were not careful in our language we could end up in jail for simply conspiring to commit an illegal act.

Pjeter Ivezaj was another interesting case that we were involved with that received national media attention. Pjeter Ivezaj was arrested in 1986, by the Yugoslav secret police, when he returned to Kosovo to visit his family. The fact that he was also an American citizen did not prevent the Yugoslav regime from arresting him, prosecuting him and sentencing him to a lengthy prison term. His so-called crime was taking part in an anti-Yugoslav demonstration in Detroit five years prior to his arrest in Yugoslavia. The news media dropped the ball early on in this case. Not only did they ignore the case, but, when they finally wrote a one-paragraph article about his sentence, they completely missed the main question. To Croatians this was obvious, but how did the Yugoslav regime know he took part in anti-Yugoslav regime demonstrations in Detroit, if the Yugoslav secret police were not actively gathering intelligence on anti-Yugoslav emigré groups in America? The thought that an American citizen could be imprisoned in a communist jail for exercising his American constitutional rights made Americans furious and the American government was left in the very embarrassing position of not being able to defend their communist friend - Yugoslavia. Our campaign to have Ivezaj released from Yugoslavia was successful. He was released in 1986, after just a few months in prison.

Looking back from today’s perspective, how do you view these and other activities?

The activities we were involved in are just too numerous to mention them all in detail. However, they demonstrate that it is important to look back and share this and similar information because I think it is necessary to impress on people that the pro-Croatian, pro-freedom revolution in Yugoslavia did not just begin in 1989. The groundwork began decades before by dedicated people who sacrificed much more than I ever did. That is not to say that Croatian independence would have been realized without other international influences at the time (i.e., Polish Solidarnosc, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan and, yes, even Milosevic with his quest to realize the Greater Serbia).

It was clear to me, and most others involved, that the time had come to focus on the creation of an independent state as well as the destruction of  Yugoslavia. Like any building that first needs a blueprint, if the structure is to be built correctly, a successful revolution needs a post-revolution plan for the new nation state to survive in the long term. It is one thing to tear down a building and another thing to build a better and stronger one to take its place. The good, courageous, dedicated people I was involved with in those early years were more than happy to help cause the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and help to build the new fledgling state. When the second phase of the revolution began in 1991, I left the US with them in hopes of continuing the fight on the ground, in Croatia. Unfortunately, the trip got off to a bad start when I was arrested in the Frankfurt airport and charged with smuggling weapons, ammunition and night-vision equipment into Europe.

Questions by: Ante Chuvalo