Croatian Party of Rights - Founding and History During The Croatian War

Founding and History During The Croatian War

The HSP, along with other modern Croatian parties (such as Croatian Pure Party of Rights), claims legacy of the Party of Rights which was founded in 1861 and existed until 1929.

A group of intellectuals restored Croatian Party of Rights on 25 February 1990. Dobroslav Paraga, the first president of the party acknowledged the historical bounds with the older Party of Rights. Soon, party faced splits. Krešimir Pavelić, a former secretary of the party, became president of the new Croatian Democratic Party of Rights. Also, some other rights parties that claimed origin from old Party of Rights appeared.

Croatian Party of Rights didn't participate in the Croatian parliamentary election in 1990, which helped Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) to win more votes.

HSP's political appeal and strength were at peak during the 1991 and 1992 when Croatian Defence Forces, a military wing of the HSP, took heavy burden of defence of Croatia. Paraga was the champion of the Croatian will for freedom and independence. Tuđman was harshly and openly criticized by HSP and Paraga, especially because of cooperation with Serbia and tragic conflict with Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ruling HDZ cooperated with the HSP until the fall of Vukovar, after which the leaders of the HSP and HOS were imprisoned for "terrorist activities" and "obstruction of democratically elected government". Dobroslav Paraga himself, and also the Croatian Party of Rights had to appear in front of the military court on the allegation of insubordination. They were later released.

Paraga's main political and electoral platform was creation of Greater Croatia and total defeat of the Serbian aggressor. In the Croatian parliamentary election held in 1992, HDZ lost 7% of votes in favor of Party of Rights.

One of the party's first post-communist leaders, Ante Paradžik was a political dissident during the former Yugoslavia when he was one of the student leaders of the Croatian Spring, but he was killed during the war by assassination. President of the party, Dobroslav Paraga, who had also run afoul of the Yugoslav Communist authorities in the early 1980s, found himself in a power struggle with his deputy, Anto Đapić. Paraga and Đapić fought a legal battle for the right to use the party name, a dispute that Paraga eventually lost. Paraga later formed the Croatian Party of Rights 1861 (HSP 1861) but by this time he was already politically marginalized.

On 17 September 1993, the leaders of the three rights parties held a meeting in Kutina and began preparations for a new union on a broad common rights program. The initiative for the meeting came from the new leaders of the HSP, Anto Đapić and Boris Kandare, who invited leader of the Croatian Pure Party of Rights, Ivan Gabelica, and leader of the Croatian National Democratic League, Petar Badovinac and Bosiljko Mišetić. The meeting was unsuccessful, and those parties are still acting separately.

During the parliamentary election in 1995, HSP lost popularity due to bad situation in the party in favor of HDZ.