Dejan Jovic, university professor and ex President’s Chief Analyst. Photo:Flickr

Croatian President Ivo Joipovic has axed one of his chief advisers for slating the country’s 1991 independence referendum as illiberal and undemocratic.

Professor Dejan Jovic expressed his highly controversial thoughts on the referendum on independence from Yugoslavia earlier this week in an academic journal, “Political Thought”.

Recalling the recent referendum in Scotland, others held held earlier in Quebec, and those held in former Yugoslavia, Jovic said those in former Yugoslavia – Croatia included – were “very non-liberal. Maybe they were ‘democratic’ if by ‘democracy’ we mean only the determination of those who have more and who less [votes]. But they were certainly not liberal”.

Jovic said the vote was not liberal because there “was not enough freedom so that everyone, without justifiable fear of drastic consequences, could express exactly what he/she thought”.

Although Jovic stated that this was only his personal opinion, President Josipovic quickly reacted and sacked Jovic as his chief analyst on Thursday.

“This statement was harmful and wrong, and therefore I made a decision to dismiss Jovic,” Josipovic said, adding that the referendum was held in a democratic atmosphere – and had been crucial for Croatia at a time when it faced the threat of war.

Dragica Zgrebec, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party, SDP, said the independence referendum was “an expression of the will and wishes of Croatian citizens”.

Former centre-right Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor attacked Jovic’s statement as “reckless and unacceptable”, adding that the referendum was held so that “the will of the people could be instituted”.

Daily news 24 sata Tomislav Klauski criticised Josipovic’s move and asked if it is possible to comment the indepedence referendum after 23 years.

“I guess that two and a half decades is long enough time to lead a meaningful and non-passionate discussion on the process of breaking all ties with Yugoslavia,” said Klauski.