At the beginning of August 1985, Ivan Aralica wrote a statement to the editorial board of Vjesnik regarding the campaign and accusations that were levelled against him due to the Ivan Goran Kovačić Award. In the text, he did not refute the political qualifications concerning his former activities at the time of the Croatian Spring, after which he had realised that political work is not for a writer. Aralica pointed out that in the scholarly and colloquial terminology there was no distinction between the term “nationalism” and “chauvinism.” He noted that the term “national” replaces “nationalist,” and that “nationalist” is the same as “chauvinist,” and that the latter qualification had been imposed upon him, which he could not accept because any hatred toward man or a nation was totally foreign to him.

He stressed that to him it is quite strange that the author is separated from his literary work and concluded his defence by saying: “Should I say that I do not demand any political rehabilitation for myself […] I am horrified with the idea that I would hate someone, I feel deep regret for those who hate someone. Hatred makes me unhappy, even when I am not involved” (Vjesnik, 3 August 1985).