Ante Paradžik (10 February 1943 – 21 September 1991) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n right-wing politician and communist-era dissident. Paradžik was one of the founders of the Croatian Party of Rights.

Early life

Paradžik was born in 1943 in

Ljubuški Ljubuški is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the West Herzegovina Canton, a unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravica cascades lie within the municipality, near the settlement of Studenci ...

. His father disappeared in 1945 as a member of the armed forces of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

. After finishing elementary and high school in Ljubuški, Paradžik enrolled at the Faculty of Law in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

, and later continued his law studies at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

. Hailing from a poor family, Paradžik occasionally worked as a manual laborer in the summer. He also volunteered in

youth work actions Youth work actions (Serbo-Croatian: ''Omladinske radne akcije'', often abbreviated to ''ORA'', Slovenian: ''Mladinske delovne akcije'') were organized voluntary labor activities of young people in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The ...

, earning the title of

udarnik An udarnik ( rus, уда́рник, p=ʊˈdarnʲɪk; English plural udarniks or udarniki), also known in English as a shock worker or strike worker (collectively known as shock brigades or a shock labour team) was a highly productive worker in th ...

three times. In 1968 Paradžik was elected into committee of the Union of Students of Croatia ( hr, Savez studenata Hrvatske, SSH) at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, and in May 1971 he was elected SSH's president, shortly after joining the League of Communists of Croatia. Paradžik studied social rights and worked ''pro bono'', and he also advocated social justice. For 19 years he was without passport and deprived of human rights, after he participated in Croatian Spring in 1971. After Croatian Spring ended, he was imprisoned, and released after collapse of

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socia ...

in 1990.

1990s activity

Paradžik was one of the restorers of Croatian Party of Rights on 25 February 1990.Puškaš, Zvonimir. Hrvatski demokratski nacionalizam (HDN): organizirani otpor jugokomunističkoj tiraniji 1948.-1990. godine, p. 255. Hrvatski forum, 1997. He was also elected vice-president of the party and leader of War Command of

Croatian Defence Forces The Croatian Defence Forces ( hr, Hrvatske obrambene snage or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS ...

(HOS). Ante Paradžik was very dangerous to the government of Franjo Tuđman as the leader of paramilitary

, opposing every compromise with Serbian representatives in the conflict. He advocated Croatian statehood and independence, uniting what he saw as Croatian historical and ethnic lands:

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and Syrmia. At the founding meeting of Croatian Defense Forces, Dobroslav Paraga explained that Croatian Party of Rights organized armed volunteer detachments whose fighters had already been fighting in the first line of fire in critical areas of Croatia. Paradžik accused the Croatian government of dividing Croatian lands in negotiations with Slobodan Milošević and added that their party (Croatian Party of Rights) would not recognize any partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At a meeting of leaders of Croatian Party of Rights with officials from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, they adopted a charter about creation of an anti-hegemony coalition of movements and parties of Albanians, Bulgarians and Croats, with the goal to push Serbia within its 1912 borders.

Death

Days before Paradžik was assassinated, the Defence Minister of Croatia, Ivan Vekić, told Paraga and Paradžik to instruct Croatian Defence Forces to cease the blockade of the barracks of the Yugoslav People's Army, or face disarmament by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Paradžik was assassinated in front of the building of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Croatia on 21 September 1991. After his assassination, Slobodan Milošević requested (at a peace conference held in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in November 1991) that Franjo Tuđman disarm

and soon afterwards Tuđman issued a command to disarm the Croatian Defence Forces and to ban the Croatian Party of Rights as well as the Serbian nationalist party Serb Democratic Party. Even though the Croatian Defence Forces had formally been disarmed, they continued to be active in the Croatian War of Independence. The last unit was dissolved on 5 April 1993 in central Bosnia. Paradžik was married with three children. His best man was

Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša (born 25 July 1948) is a Croatian politician who used to be a leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate. As president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party through the 1990s he remains to date the ...

, Croatian liberal politician and participant in Croatian Spring.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paradzik, Ante 1943 births 1991 deaths Croatian nationalists People from Ljubuški Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Party of Rights politicians Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Croatian independence activists Assassinated Croatian politicians People murdered in Croatia Croatian murder victims Deaths by firearm in Croatia Assassinated Yugoslav people Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni