The Presidential Years 335
active since 1964, when he ceased to be the secretary for foreign affairs.^385 His
designation was a balm for the wounded pride of the Serbs, although nobody
had any illusions that this isolated intellectual could have any decisive influence.
“While Tito exists and he is the leader, the LCY will be what it is: an amor-
phous Stalinism, liberalized and conformist,” wrote Dobrica Ćosić.^386
The downfall of Ranković triggered a large purge in the UDBA and the
party, especially in Serbia and Montenegro. The purge spread to Slovenia and
Croatia, as well, although the secret services in the two republics had always
been in the hands of the local political elites.^387 Thousands of officials were
arrested, condemned to jail, expelled from the party, or dismissed. The LCY
committees at every level competed to openly denounce the corruption and the
abuses of the services, declaring that such crookedness would now finally end.
The newspapers were full of hypocritical questions, like “how it was possible?”
or polemics over “our version of Stalinism” and revelations about the illicit activ-
ities of the UDBA. Among other misdeeds, it was discovered that in Croatia
alone the secret police had amassed 2 million files, which meant that nearly
every adult had one.^388 The worst crimes of the postwar period, including the
massacres of the collaborationists and the outrages perpetrated against the peas-
ants and the Cominformists, were not, however, mentioned. “They were not
discussed,” wrote a friend of Ranković, “because it was not possible for them to
wash their hands like Pontius Pilate.”^389
The Croats used the occasion to get rid of their “Rasputin,” Ivan Krajačić
(Stevo), who had been the main organizer of Ranković’s downfall. He provided
the pretext for his own removal on 3 July 1966, at the inaugural ceremony of
a huge monument in memory of Ustaša victims at the Jasenovac concentration
camp. After the official ceremony he entered the banquet hall, where party
grandees from each of the republics were assembled and, in a state of euphoria
over his recent triumph, he began shouting at the Serb delegation: “Out of
here, Chetniks! Here rest honorable Croats. We have built this concentration
camp for you Serbs! For Chetniks and Gypsies! We have killed too few here!”^390
Tito was shocked and outraged when informed. Krajačić was expelled from
the Croatian Central Committee and other offices because of “bad health,”
which did not, however, mean that he had fallen from grace. For his birthday
on 28 August 1966, he was awarded a high state honor and was warmly greeted
by Jovanka and Tito himself.^391
The Reorganization of the UDBA
and the Liberalization of the LCYAt the end of July 1966, a commission of twenty members was created, which
was instructed to reform the Service for National Security. As Milan Mišković,