In the new episode of the podcast "At Don Stipe's", filmed in Kistanje, was a guest Prof. Dr. Sc. Mihovil Biočić, a renowned pediatric surgeon, university professor, and wartime director of the Split Hospital Center. During the extensive interview, Biočić provided details about his medical and political career, the role of the Split hospital in the Homeland War, the unspoken victims among children, and his efforts to preserve the truth about Croatian history through books and public engagement. The conversation covered topics ranging from the founding of the HDZ with Dr. Franjo Tuđman, through ethical dilemmas in medicine and the relationship between religion and science, to criticism of contemporary historical interpretations and the importance of Croatia's demographic renewal.
War medicine and the role of KBC Split: Treating thousands of wounded from Bosnia and Herzegovina
As the wartime director of the Split Clinical Hospital, Biočić witnessed the transformation of the hospital into a key medical facility for southern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasized that more than 31.000 citizens of BiH, a significant portion of whom were Muslims. For such humanitarian engagement and top-notch medical care, Biočić received an official letter of thanks from the then President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, which emphasized that the help provided in Split will not be forgotten.
Biočić described how the hospital, despite its initial unpreparedness and lack of experience with war wounds, managed to establish a system that functioned even in the most difficult moments. He pointed out that doctors in Split treated all those in need regardless of nationality, and that there were no sections for nationality in the medical documentation, but were guided solely by medical ethics. Currently preparing monograph on the war journey of KBC Split, which will be a scholarly document about the people – doctors, nurses, and technicians – who worked selflessly during the war.
The painful truth about 402 dead Croatian children and criticism of media silence
One of the most moving parts of the conversation concerned the suffering of children in the Homeland War. Biočić presented data showing that 402 Croatian children, while they 1084 woundedHe particularly criticized, as he says, the "silence in the public sphere" about these victims, while at the same time other cases, such as the murder of the Zec family, are constantly commemorated and dramas are written about them.
He cited examples such as the murder of a four-year-old Martine Stefancic, in which seven bullets were fired, and the suffering of children in Slavonski Brod, where seven children died in one day. Biočić warned that many of these children do not have monuments, and their families have not received compensation, while on the other hand, according to him, the victims of the aggressors are often glorified in the media. As a pediatric surgeon, he emphasized that the murder of a child is the greatest crime that no ideology can justify.
The political change of 2000 and the fight for the rehabilitation of Filip Lukas
Biočić also recalled his dismissal from the position of director of KBC Split after the change of government in 2000, which he called "Bartholomew's Night of Croatian Healthcare". At that time, according to his words, 90% of the management personnel in medicine were dismissed on the basis of political constructions, not professional analysis. After a nine-year court process, he won final judgment which confirmed that his dismissal was illegal and vindictive.
He also spoke about his involvement in the rehabilitation of Dr. Filip Lukas, the long-time president of Matica Hrvatska, who was sentenced to death by the communists after the war. Biočić pointed out that Lukas was a great intellectual who opposed both royal Yugoslavia and the Ustasha regime, and was legally rehabilitated only in 2017 at the request of Matica Hrvatska Vinkovci and the association "In the name of the family". He sharply criticized the current authorities in Zagreb who have abolished Lukas' street, calling it ignorance of history and ideological blindness.
Science, religion and the demographic renewal of Croatia
In the podcast, Biočić emphasized that as a doctor and a practicing believer, he does not see a conflict between faith and science. He referred to great scientists such as Max Planck, Isaac Newton and Francis Collins, claiming that the greatest minds in history were believers. He quoted Albert Einstein as saying that "science without faith is poor, and faith without science is blind."
He paid special attention to the community Janjevac in Kistanje, which he sees as the core of Croatia's demographic and moral renewal. He praised their devotion to family, faith and homeland, emphasizing that it was precisely these values that enabled their survival for 700 years in Kosovo. Biočić believes that the fight for the Croatian state has been won, but that the battle for the truth and the demographic survival of the people must continue, guided by examples such as Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, whom he describes as the most moral figure in Croatian history.
Photo: Screenshot
