Dobroslav Paraga
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Dobroslav Paraga (born December 9, 1960) is a Croatian politician.
In his early days Dobroslav Paraga used to advocate secession of Croatia from Yugoslavia and that led him to be persecuted by Communist authorities. Paraga used that persecution as an argument against Yugoslavia and its low human rights standards. Because of that he became one of the best known dissidents.
When multi-party system arrived in Croatia, Paraga initially joined Croatian Democratic Union of Franjo Tuđman. However, new party proved not to be radical enough for his taste, so he and his followers founded Croatian Party of Rights (HSP).
While Tuđman saw Croatian path of independence through negotiations with Slobodan Milošević, Paraga formed the growing chorus of those who preferred direct and resolute military action against Krajina Serbs and Yugoslav People's Army. Because of that his party formed its own militia Croatian Defence Forces (Croatian: Hrvatske obrambene snage, HOS). The party militia became very noticeable for its use of black uniforms and Ustasha insignia, while Paraga himself advocated creation of Croatia that would include Bosnia and Herzegovina and large sections of today's Serbia and Montenegro.
At first, this extremism proved beneficial to Tuđman, making the hawks of his own party look mild in comparison, but as Croatian military fortunes in 1991 deteriorated, Paraga's growing popularity, together with his militia, began to look like a serious threat to Croatian government. Reaction came in the form of arrests, indictments and all kinds of intimidation towards HSP and HOS members, including some HSP members being assassinated in mysterious circumstances. This campaign gradually subsided with HOS units formally joining Croatian Army and escalation of war in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Paraga and HSP had high hopes of becoming the major political factor before 1992 presidential and parliamentary elections, but those hopes, despite HSP colourful rallies being well-attended, didn't materialised in desired result. HSP did enter Croatian Parliament and Paraga came fourth among presidential candidates, but it was clear that the party was far from its zenith. Another blow came in the form of high treason charges against Paraga and his associate Anto Đapić, who were stripped of their parliamentary immunity.
Those charges were ultimately dropped, but the most serious blow for Paraga came when Đapić turned against him and took over leadership of HSP at 1993 party convention in Kutina. Paraga accused Đapić of being in cahoots with Tuđman and tried to retrieve party leadership in court.
This effort ultimately failed, leading Paraga to found new party called Croatian Party of Rights 1861.
