The Tie for Justice (Part 2)

decency to correct the irregularities and wrong doings of past administrations and return at the very least, all Billich artwork to the Billich Gallery that is currently in the possession of the Municipality of Lovran. Instead, they have chosen to continue with the deplorable wrong doings.

I again travelled to Lovran in 2022 to present a petition and for the �irst time after three years this time I was able to speak with the Mayor in person only after meeting him in the corridor. We were not invited into his of�ice to continue with our discussions, but he instead opted to brie�ly speak with us in the corridor. Although he did agree to enter into dialogue so that we can �ind an amicable solution, the communication came to a halt soon after. The Mayor was again avoiding dialogue and it was only after being approached by Jamie Walker of ‘The Australian’ that Mayor Simonič became somewhat responsive again. ‘The Australian’ published a seven-page story titled ‘The Obsession is Surreal’ on October 30 by Jamie Walker and it seemed that negotiations were �inally heading towards a mutually amicable arrangement.

made by Quadro Nero and the valuations presented to the courts. Our formal offer was presented in writing and from that point on, the Mayor and the Municipality of Lovran ceased replying to any correspondence from us. This entire matter is a gross miscarriage of justice that continues to be carried out by the Municipality of Lovran against their greatest and most celebrated son, especially considering the monetary support, precious time, passion, dedication and effort that he has invested into the town of Lovran over so many years. This is truly a shameful act.

Even if legitimate, these unusual debts that were owed to the Municipality pale in comparison to what Billich has donated, contributed and invested into Lovran, let alone the collection of model ships and original art they now have in their possession, which is in fact genuinely worth millions of dollars.

This is just one of many injustices committed against Charles Billich, Christa Billich and the Billich Gallery in his country of birth. All that team Billich has been asking in recent years, is for the art to be returned to the Billich Gallery even if it meant buying it back.

The Municipality of Lovran should have the moral

This however was short lived. After turning silent yet again, it was discovered that the Mayor and Municipality of Lovran intended to auction off the remainder of the Billich paintings without any consultation with us.

The decision to auction the paintings was published in the ‘Novi List’ newspaper on February 24. It’s now May 2023 and Mayor Simonic and Lovran have continued not to respond to any of my many attempts to communicate with them since late 2022. Since the article was publi- shed in ‘Novi List’, Lovran has been secretive and fail to respond or provide any information about the matter. Although ‘Novi List’ implied on multiple occasions that they would publish a right of reply from Team Billich, also requesting a Croatian translation which was provided within 48 hours, they are yet to publish a response as at June 3, 2023.

The serious concern is that Lovran intends to secretly hold the auction without any transparency, like they have done so before so that the paintings end up in the hands of their own circle of people and not in the hands of the artist.

I will head back to Croatia to visit Lovran for a �ifth time in June or July of this year to try and put a stop to this ludicrous auction, but I am also on a separate mission to take further action into shutting down an unauthorized company proclaiming to be an of�icial Billich operation. Based on sourced archives, the company claims various rights to the Billich brand. It is currently dormant but continues to be registered under the radar. The alleged Directors have been asked to terminate the registration immediately but have refused to do so. We believe they have been waiting for the time that Billich is no longer with us, to resurface and falsely claim all rights for everything relating to Billich as per the subject notes in the court registered paperwork.

Our campaign over the years has evidently been interfering with the ill intentions of fraudsters and corrupt individuals, but we will continue to put up a �ight and hope to soon draw closure and bring justice to Billich.

(Continued from page 15)

Steve RAVIĆ

You also fail to properly address the in�iltration of such agents in the Australian community over the decades that were sent by the Yugoslav secret service with the sole purpose to create false �lags against the Croatian community in collaboration with the likes of the highly controversial Lionel Murphy and now convicted murderer and former police detective Roger Rogerson who actively worked against the Croatian community.

Have we already forgotten about the shutting down of the Yugoslav Consulate in Sydney after the Yugoslav security guard shot an Australian Croatian teenage boy Joseph Tokić who was protesting against the Yugoslav occupation of Croatia? Fortunately, Tokić survived after having a bullet lodged in his neck.

The communist regime of Yugoslavia was relentless in its efforts to paint the worst possible picture of Croatians on a global scale in an attempt to eradicate the very existence of Croatia and Croatians, yet reporters like Schneiders and Koob choose to ignore the persecution of Croatians and instead publish material that has already been debunked. The communist lies and propaganda continue to resurface unnecessarily through journalists that act more like tabloid hungry rogue reporters or as if they have a vendetta against Croatians.

I shall now provide a history lesson 101 for the ignorant reporters of misinformation:

While a variation of the salute ‘Za Dom’ may have been adopted during World War II, the fact remains that it dates back centuries and has been used throughout history by Croatians. It is most known for the Battle of Szigetvár of 1566, where Nikola IV Zrinski, Viceroy of Croatia and leader of the Croatian and Hungarian forces, took a heroic last stand said to be outnumbered ten to one against the invading Ottoman forces that were led by Suleiman the Magni�icent. Although the Croatian and Hungarian fortress fell, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire died and the Ottomans were destroyed and unable to continue beyond the Croatian borders. This battle has been regarded to have saved the rest of Europe from an Ottoman invasion.

‘Nikola Šubić Zrinski’ is an internationally famous opera composed by Ivan Zajc in 1876 paying homage to the battle and has become a cultural export of Croatia. It is important to understand that this song that includes the salute ‘Za Dom’ is performed by choirs all over the world and was once banned by the commu-