VoiceofCroatia.Net Web Magazine

Sanader at the highest pitch of injustice:

He wishes to "shock Croatia and Europe," and "make sober" European diplomats!

Ivana Arapovic

2 Jul 2009

The world press has been generally very gentle with handling a hasty resignation by Croatian prime minister (and two other ministers), presented on 1^st of July 2009 and accepted by the Parliament today.

For AP/WSJ, he's been "generally popular" (or the most popular, according to EUobserver), he "transformed the party -- once a bastion of nationalism in the Balkans -- into a Western-style conservative party"; while for FT, he [the organizer] has left "unfinished battle against organized crime" and so on and on.

Certain European politicians expressed even their regrets at his resignation and encouraged the country to keep up with the EU reforms.

Thus, Mr Sanader's lobbying reached "the highest pitch of injustice": He seems just when he's not.

The European diplomats and the world press don't seem to be able or willing to capture his duplicitous character. However, they're in for a rude awaking. Sanader goes to pieces and tries to shock them in his latest, exclusive interview (JL) !

This undaunted dictator, in a "democratic move", attacks the European politicians so to keep a pretence that he resigned (at least partly) because of the stalled EU-Croatia talks.

He said he "wished to shock them," so that they "get sober" and stop "blackmailing" Croatia.

While it's true that there have been some sort of blackmails (for example, with respect to HDZ's and ICTY's "unconditional" cooperation!), Mr Sanader's "lobbying" and "negotiations" had greatly contributed to it as he was "proving his credibility"! Croatia has been on the trial bench, but it's "blackmailed" in prime minister's eyes only when he's not unconditionally cherished: Now when he cowardly flees the government and attracts some criticism for it.

He also envies something to Croatians in his address. Although he amassed a great wealth through his political career, Mr Sanader approached to the Croatian people the inability to face reality and cut the spending!

It's very strange for a man who's perceived as "more than half of the party", who "cannot be replaced," by his political "opponent" Ljubo Jurcic who suddenly worries about HDZ more than about his own SDP party! A few powerful political animals forged the milestones of a bipolar party system (HDZ-SDP) so that they can abandon the sinking ship unscathed, and still remain in power. Finally, Mr Sanader designated Mme Jadranka Kosor, who has always given a full licence to all his scandals, to overtake his position of prime minister!

How popular he is, says the fact that "his mood changed when he saw the reactions" accusing him of "betraying and fleeing" Croatia on the verge of collapse.

If European diplomats and Croatian people should mutely indulge in flattering and cajoling the Great Beast, and continue to deal with his compliant cronies whom he delegates himself so to preserve his corruptive influence, at least Sanader's Austrian Affairs should reveal the secrets of his power. It's clear from it that he's not the one who would fight organized crime! (VoC thanks to our reader for the link to this "old but interesting article on Sanader's past").

Yet another, American reader, reminds us that their (Mr Sander's and Mr Zuzul's) "unexplained wealth" has been built "at the expense of taxpayers of Europe and North America that have sent billions in government to government transfers to aid reforms in Croatia."

By all odds, Croatia's "lobbying" proved to be purely egoist, costly and misdirecting. After the latest Sanader's interview, shall anyone still afford to mistake a semblance for the reality, Sanader for the democrat, a bungler for the criminal!? May he face reality (and justice), and honestly demystify his "departure". If he finished the birthday cake with Jadranka Kosor, for the entire country is yet to taste the waste of his corrupt, derelict politics.

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God, what have they done?

(Re: "Europe’s authoritarian regime")

Ivana Arapovic

17 May 2009

Not once, Croatian governmental persecutions, falsifications and confusions deserved the title of the Treason of the Century at VoC. All corrective comments, based on publically available sources and many (contradictory) statements by Croatian government itself, were considered by the "secret" governmental "lobbyists" as espionage, sabotage, and so on and on. For they were going into the NATO, into Europe. And how far did they get?

Croatia's current image is best portrayed in a recent outline written by the Adriatic Institute and conveyed by numerous media, including Croatian Business magazine. Finally, we can sit and read how these gangsters and the clowns of democracy are honoured in the world that they claimed to obey when they finger-pointed and criminalized all that was better than themselves and their "programmes" of "moving ahead."

Shall we still hear, "Sanader must do it," "Europe is asking it from him," "He's pressed by the world" and so on and on, when we complain about his communist practice? Tito had to "do it", too, but who cares? Naturally, the government wouldn't condemn its ideological grandfathers, and sadly, even traditionally healthy forces of influence now send us the link about final battle between David and Goliath.

But let's not get too optimistic: It's still the battle for the chairs and preserving what Gen Rojs described as "who stole, he stole" – yet, who might have objectively estimated what our "most capable leaders ever" can do. David didn't reappear neither to lead our battle for Croatia nor to choose the leaders compatible with Croatian people's tradition and culture – a domain in which Croatia systematically failed. We must be still "too little" and the situation "too complex"..., let's watch what the big ones do…

Without turning to the past, of course, as they like to say in HDZ circles... The "future" has already arrived: Even Croatian military – as soon as it joined the NATO – has been openly described, for the first time, as part of governmental criminal network, in the circles said to be conservative. Thus, the government's effort to finger-point the innocent people as criminals or even war-criminals (real criminals never being investigated as per world's or Europe's standards, but those of communist Yugoslavia) did "pay off." The message has been received by the world. The only thing, today's Croatian generals don't look very much Croatian… (Here or here or here) They seem to be able to advance or escape the persecutions by hitting the road to Afghanistan, while Croatia is being ruined, and no one would fight for it, apart from "David."

When VoC wrote about Croatian lobbying and the US/EU promoting (financially, too) the tyrants, PM Sanader publicly invited President Mesic to solve the issues behind closed door. Croatians obviously dealt with the University diplomas trade; hence, no one, as per my best knowledge, raised the issue of transparency in spending of the received money ("investment"), although it didn't enter Croatia without huge concessions at the expense of Croatian strategic interests and its national security. Also, the results of heavily paid "lobbying" in the US, and not to mention the detailed expenditure list, are transparent only through the worst image ever of Croatia – the public spending accountability is truly not required in Croatia. Even when its cost is fatal, and bloody.

If the "neo-liberal model gave all that it could give" and the "dogma about almighty market that regulates and solves all by itself, including itself, has been proven as definitely failed", as President Mesic just informs us, we must notice that they took all that they could, and then they failed – with no accountability whatsoever.

Back to the article(s) that inspired this comment: If Croatian president and government wonder now – "God, what have we done" – see the list…

PS. Thanks to the Adriatic Institute for their articles/links.

27 July 2008

Ivana Arapovic

The official reports on the capture of The Hague’s indictee Radovan Karadzic have little success in producing the ovations by the world’s public opinion, while the peoples who witnessed or suffered from Milosevic’s and his allies' wars prefer to recall Karadzic's war-time friendly encounters with western politicians and diplomats: Lord Peter Carrington, Malcolm Rifkind, Lord David Owen, Cyrus Vance, Bernard Janvier, Madeleine Albright, and so on and on (1) – to name just a few.

In the wartime, Karadzic and his western counterparts spoke the same language, a “diplomatic” one; but it seems today that he is the “worst” among Balkan war-lords, “worse than Milosevic”, the “intellectual architect” of the so-called Balkan wars, and deserves the “death penalty” according to Mr Richard Holbrook (2).

The western diplomats are speaking out, while the public opinion remains unmoved, most likely confused with the ICTY’s supposed great victory over the war criminals. He’s arrested, so what.

First, the ICTY got compromised by its particularly obvious political agenda in the “region” that resulted in a real purge of every political, intellectual and media voice against its delusional point making all parties in the region equally guilty, Serbs, Croatians and muslims. Its demands purged the region of fundamental freedoms and sound political discussions in the public arena: even the journalists were tried in The Hague’s court. The worst of all: they installed ex- and neo-communists in the governmental offices in Croatia, in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: they perhaps changed the ideological name and the coat, but the communist governmental practice got restored almost in full.

Hence, there’s no real rational analysis of the Karadzic case either in international or regional media, not to mention official political speeches, even though a simplest chronology should be able to establish the fact: Karadzic et al. were to be defeated in the wartime, but anyhow they were defeated in Croatian operation Storm 1995 (the entire Greater Serbia project received a death penalty during liberation of one third of Croatian territory, and another “Srebrenica” in Bihac pocket was prevented). What should, now at least, truly strike the mind of every logical person is the question why the Storm commanders are tried in The Hague, too!? Why they had to be “discredited” on demand of the ICTY? Without answering this question and undoing the injustice towards innocent Croatian generals who stopped the bloodshed (and stopped Karadzic, Mladic, Milosevic etc.) in Croatia and in Bosnia, when it really mattered, the hypocrisy of the so-called ICTY’s trials deserves the death penalty, too.

Next, the ICTY’s post-war intervention in the region – contrary to its announcement of reconciliation via truth and justice – delivered a decisive blow to an important post-Cold war process of opening communist archives and settling fundamental issues on communism and its key players, once and for all.

Even though the war victims would like to see Karadzic’s archives with which he’s been threatening former Balkan players from the West, it seems that the long-promised communist archives would not have caused less international turmoil… Karadzic’s capture cannot erase the fact that the ICTY has created “war criminal suspects” on the Croatian side, particularly among those who were not tainted by communist past, such as the Croatian greatest figure from a brilliant operation Strom, general Ante Gotovina, the former French legionnaire who was captured much earlier than Karadzic! It defies every justice to see Karadzic – next to him in The Hague.

Karadzic has no longer presented a national security threat or danger to Croatia or Bosnia (he could have been easily let to Serbia to try him), but the old communist elites and the old communist secret services still do across the entire region. Hence, Karadzic’s capture cannot change the fact that Croatia acts as having another obscure supra-national authority, if not a para-nation above its neck so that the former Yugoslav communist leader Tito and other communist criminals be more and more aggressively celebrated as great leaders in Croatia – the so-called “nationalists” being proudly suppressed by the Croatian leaders. Indeed, little remains that still can be recognized as Croatia in moral, ethnical or political respect.

As for Croatian authorities, it is evident from all their political and diplomatic discourse that they have no authority whatsoever in shaping Croatia, although they pride themselves in re-shaping the entire region and giving a good example to others. They seem to be satisfied with the empty glamour of their titles with no real significance, and with their colossal comfort, in contrast with fast-growing economic and social dependence of Croatia that’s living off huge loans from the European Union and the USA – reminiscent of former communist Yugoslavia, isn’t it.

Therefore, the international public opinion has little reason to get agitated by the pomp of arresting since long-time defeated Karadzic, but rather by the processes that the ICTY’s farce has created in the region.

"Reconciliation" and "democratization" are only restoring communist ideologies in Croatia and its neighbor countries, and the cult of their criminal leaders.

Finally, the communist tyranny is in origin of the Yugoslav army's and its paratroops' 1990s wars that the western press identified as “the bloodiest carnage in Europe since the second world war.”

Great forces, great powers, or great leaders celebrating Karadzic’s capture should be reminded that the victims of communist Yugoslavia or Greater Serbia ideologies prefer to be let in peace now – there was no their help when it was truly needed and that’s it. He can be tried elsewhere, better ever than never, but there’s an active danger operating via the ICTY trials that should be addressed: They restored only the communist spinning doctors and their cheap actors in the region and none should pretend that justice is delivered with Karadzic.

The communist ideology, whatever it’s renamed into today, delivered too much evil – but it still reigns. There should be some trial benches for its actors, too. At least as numerous as those in The Hague. Then, perhaps, some innocent people against whom no crime can be proven shall be liberated from The Hague; otherwise, the farce is only growing and will escalate in the conflict, once more. And who can take it, again.

Perhaps, this article will get us out of the box and give some direction to justice, should someone still believe in it in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, or Serbia, and in the international community, after all (if such entity can still be treated as functional.)

(1) The edge of madness, The Guardian, Wednesday July 23 2008

(2) Holbrooke: Karadžić zaslužuje smrtnu kaznu, Jutarnji list, 26.7.2008.

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Mr. George W Bush is visiting Croatia on 4 Apr 2008. Croatian government promised him to make the idea of the NATO attractive to Croatians who preferred to be defended by their own armed forces (instead of shipping them to The Hague etc.). A mass media campaign is being on for about 2 years and it reached its peak [1]. Today, in all major Croatian media you can only hear about “criminal” Croatian generals, "great support” for NATO, and so on and on.

4 persons killed under tragic and unclear circumstances in Zagorje, Croatia: Ret. Gen Korade’s war-time friend, the man who stabbed Korade prior to the war and Croatia's independence, and an elderly woman with her grandson; 300-500 members of special police are looking for the general Korade (Ret.) for he “might know” something about these crimes. So far, no other indication about his involvement has been provided, nor the connection between these crimes shown. The neighbor countries are offering to “help” hunt the man who was not found at his residence. He did enjoy a disputable reputation after the war and proved to be a handy media “tool” to denigrate all Croatian volunteers. The media fires against all that wore Croatian military uniform in the war at the high ranks, Croatian volunteers are being stigmatized as never before.

The crime that happened and the way it was executed by firearms and knives, in an atrocious way, was actually the everyday manus militaris of the Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitary units (Chetniks) against Croatian population in 1991-1995 but it wasn’t proper to write/speak about it ever after, for we would be “spreading the hatred”, “the past had to be forgotten”, “we should turn to the future”, the peace with the Serbs is a must. But when it’s to denigrate Croatian volunteers, every incident is translated onto entire Croatian volunteer population.

It cannot be serious. If the connection of the Homeland war and all that goes wrong in Croatia may be established so irresponsibly (even if the former Croatian war volunteer decided to take “justice” into his own hands in a private encounter), then, one can also speculate about the link between the general media campaign against ALL Croatian war-time generals (who were on the battlefield) and the arrival of Mr Bush to Croatia.

But let’s not speculate like Croatian media. Let’s turn to the “bright side” and to the NATO. Mr Bush says he will not install permanent military bases in Croatia and media translates it into “There will be no military basis in Croatia” (so to calm the population who also wants to preserve the most beautiful coast and islands in Croatia as well as their own military basis under Croatian control). So there will be the military bases, yes or no? Permanent or not? [2]

The government refuses to hold a referendum about this issue. The NATO entry does not have an impact on Croatian sovereignty, the prime minister explains.

Hence, although there will be no “PERMANENT” bases, the government and Mr Bush are promising to Croatians the investment influx and prosperity. Croatian economy will flourish according to them. But, all studies in defense economics, empirical and all other research, show elsewhere in the world that the positive spillovers of military activity on domestic economy are occurring only in mid and long run, that is, if there’s a CONTINUED/permanent development/investment in the defense sector and, I would add, a good coordination between civil and military sector. However, such reasoning is pushed into the cheapest political polemics (and please don’t make us open the books, Mr Bush doesn’t like to read, it would be depressing), while the media and government brain-washing in Croatia won’t accept any rational. Our government and diplomacy know what is best for Croatia better than most Croatians and western experts…. They defy all science and practice.

Croatians should get the access to the agreements Croatia is signing all these years. But it’s not possible nowadays. There was still some transparency in 1998 and we could ask some questions about the NATO, but not now.

I recall asking a simple question on Croatian responsibilities and duties vs. those of foreign parties to which I have never received a response. Precisely, please, I have been wondering all these years what the “or” means in the articles stipulating the terms of Croatian international cooperation: “the stipulations of this agreement remain in vigor until the end of operation OR if the parties agree otherwise.” (Croatia MOD -NATO meeting of 1 Jun 1998) [3]

It would be too much to ask which operation, when it ends, who the parties are, and whose interests they represent. Who benefits from the investments. Croatian responsibilities and concessions are a must, and truly endless, all the rest is “or”, “or.” This is a trademark of Croatian diplomacy (esp. in Dayton agreements etc.). Croatia is the country of wonders, indeed. A strange experiment.

So far, the “or-or” in Croatian politics means: “Croatian war veterans or NATO/Mr Bush”, “Croatia or EU.” No Croatia.

Who wouldn’t become wary of all this? Croatia still has not moved forward a single step since 1998. Backwards only. No transparency whatsoever. No objective facts. No truth. Just the lynch against Croatia for all occasions.

If we recall that Yugoslav general Kadijevic, the Serbian war criminal, was offering the services to the NATO for the Balkans until just recently, we might get an idea what is going on. Or - we might never find out, to be sure.

[1] Uniforma s mrljom - generali u ratu s pravosuđem Slobodna Dalmacija, 28.03.2008.

[3] “Odredbe ovog sporazuma ostaju na snazi do završetka operacije ILI ako se stranke drukčije dogovore”, clanak 22 Sporazuma, NATO dokumenti. NATO-RH, 1. lipnja 1998.

Although such visits are announced 1-2 weeks prior to taking place (our media says), Croatian public has the honor of learning the news somewhat early: Mr George W. Bush is visiting Croatia in April 2008.

During his official visit to the US in 2006, Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader tempted Mr. Bush to come to Croatia for its splendid coastline – and we won’t argue about the attraction of this proposal even when it’s made to the president of the largest military force in the world, or especially not then. Croatia is beautiful.

There’s an entire media hassle of the announced security preparations that are already wheeling heavily onto Croatia and its fast-stirring deficit. Thus Croatia should be all agitated to receive Mr Bush so to forget the men who made it possible, in 1991-1995, by permanently defeating the Greater Serbia threat.

No peaceful separation of Montenegro or Kosovo from Serbia would ever be possible either without Serbian capital defeat served by the Croatian Armed forces during the Storm 1995.

Hence, shouldn’t Croatia be preparing to receive its heroes back? If they’re not good enough to be in Croatia, how Mr Bush could possibly be. He’s involved in quite controversial wars, unlike Croatia who only defended its soil. Why is Croatia tried still?

Croatians supported many times Mr Bush and his political party, but he remained deaf par rapport of ridiculous accusations by the ICTY. His government had even put the price on the head of the most innocent western-trained Croatian soldiers against whom the ICTY pointed – based on the hardship of creating the accusations by the Serbian terrorists and criminals. Mr Bush has one last chance to correct it during his visit to Croatia.

But it’s quite strange that this information on Mr Bush's visit was leaked by the “Western diplomatic sources” only to learn a little later that the former Croatian diplomat Ivan Grdesic expects Serbia to receive the message… What’s the message? Perhaps, “Serbia, if you don’t change, we’ll go on with Croatia?” Mr Grdesic is the same “Croatian” diplomat who argued over the past years in Washington D.C. that Serbia should take the lead in the region as Croatia was "strategically irrelevant." It cost him some protests from the Croatian American Association, and from many others.

It’s possible that the traitor government of Croatia wants to send some message to Croatia too. Should the trial against Croatian generals build on the current of events preceding it, little good is to be expected. The government of Croatia might be only using Mr Bush to scare off the opposition that might upraise against the government when the unjust trials commence, and justify the huge security expenses in the wake of the trial against the Storm.

All together, the timing of The Hague’s trial against Croatia and the Storm heroes (March 2008) and the fashion of announcing Mr Bush’s visit to Croatia (April 2008) leaves little space for optimism, unless the message is sent first and foremost to The Hague. Croatia wants its heroes back to Croatia, first and foremost. Otherwise, yet another paradox in Croatia would be a capital testimony of cheep domestic public relations and betrayal, as usual.

Finally, the best message to Serbia – if that’s what the “western diplomatic sources” are honestly aiming at – would be bringing back home the innocent Croatia’s heroes from The Hague - and not only from The Hague. But they cannot even visit Croatia – although they freed Croatia. It would be only just and fair that they welcome foreign visitors in Croatia.

Croatian elections offered an empathic political landscape with only two parties in arena - HDZ and SDP - and there was no real contest during entire electoral campaign.

HDZ scared off the voters by ideological revival in SDP so that the voters were put on general alert against a “greater evil” (SDP) and were invited to vote, in spite of all betrayals, for the lesser evil, HDZ.

Apart from some isolated incidents with communist and Ustashe songs in the electoral camps of SDP and HDZ respectively, this “ideological battle” served as a smokescreen that wiped out all right-center parties from Croatian political scene, which lost their voters due to this false alarm.

If the ideological battle were real, HDZ’s leader Ivo Sanader would remove Tito’s name from the most beautiful square in Croatia’s capital instead of Budak’s and Francetic’s monuments. On 14 Dec 2005, the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted resolution 1481, entitled “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes,” but Sanader has never pronounced himself on this issue, not to mention putting it in place in Croatia.

On other issues in this supposed ideological conflict, such as Croatian Diaspora’s votes and Catholic education in public schools, HDZ’s leader only washed his hands by saying these themes were “less important” right now so there was no real conflict here either. But it was somehow assumed that HDZ would be inclined to the Diaspora and to the Church (Tudjman’s heritage), that SDP would be against them, so the voters (not only from HDZ’s electoral base but also people that I used to know as rational) started proclaiming HDZ as our Saviour even! There’s little of Catholic spirit in all this, given that no man can be godish to such a point, but it sells well in a post-communist country without challenging this new HDZ’s doctrine!

As for real themes and HDZ’s real accomplishments, there was no contest of different views whatsoever. HDZ carefully suppressed all opposition to his foreign policy not only from Croatian media but also from his opposition through the deal stipulating that those issues wouldn’t be a subject of discussion during the elections. While Sanader was entirely centered on, and directed by the “unconditional cooperation” with The Hague’s tribunal throughout his entire mandate and his only visible accomplishments in the field of foreign policy were pleasing everyone but Croatians, and sending Croatian soldiers to The Hague’s prisons and to Afghanistan, he somehow managed to marginalize these controversial and contradictory themes, until they completely disappeared at the peak of the electoral campaign, exactly when the majority of the voters were making up their mind.

If we were deprived of the real contest, we get it at the end of the elections, at last! HDZ beats SDP by 10 seats but it runs equal chances as SDP for forming the government with the left-center parties, the only ones that still preserve some influence in Croatia’s political design. President Mesic refuses to give the mandate to either party until they prove that they can form the government. While he’s not in rush to make decision, our God-given Saviors are finally sweating to earn the position.

The only coalition partner Sanader was able to secure so far is the representative of the Roma minority of Croatia, who is also favorable to the same-sex marriage legislation. It’s not a big surprise; however, a supposed conservative Sanader should have remembered his “ideological” color that was promising to secure him an ultimate victory over SDP’s liberal ideas. Love of power has no bounds though.

There’s even the threat of rallies from HDZ’s ranks against Mesic’s hesitation to proclaim the winner, and SDP’s refusal to concede the victory to HDZ, even though Sanader put quite many limitations to such manifestations of people’s will since he distanced from General Norac, betrayed General Gotovina and other war-time commanders in Croatia’s war for independence.

Meanwhile, the news from The Hague is bad. General Gotovina wasn’t approved awaiting his trial in home custody even though it’s been 2 years since he’s in prison with entire Croatia falsely accused. He's the man to whom our candidates should thank for having the opportunity to run electoral campaigns in free Croatia. And this reveals Sanader's accomplishments abroad: He's listened to only when he betrays his country, its heroes and liberation war, while he has built no other credentials or alliances for Croatia on the international scene.

On the other hand, the Catholic Church in Croatia is not happy with the “lesser evil” and overall elections: The right-center parties completely disappeared, while there’s no real difference in HDZ’s and SDP’s agenda, and democracy deteriorated. The Church activists are considering the ways of making political parties accountable for their electoral promises to the voters, given their inherent tendency to betray them.

While the egos keep escalating, and show what the entire contest is about (power and nothing else), we can only thank God Croatian politicians, Ivo Sanader in particular, are finally fighting hard for something in their life, and that something still doesn’t fall in their hands from heaven. They've never put an effort in fighting for some Croatian cause as fervently as for their positions now. Everything else remains the same anyhow.

I’m not Mesic’s fan, God forbid, but he too did something good, for once in his life. Although, no one likes the fact that Croatian elections are in his pity – Croatians deserved at least as much as to see the real face of their prime minister or would-be prime minister, and some contest, at least after the elections.

No statesman in the world would have ever sent his country's highest-ranking soldiers to the prison on demand of an international tribunal and then state that he is “pleased that the tribunal appreciates his cooperation…”

No statesman in the world would take pride in the fact that his country “established” an international tribunal which tries its liberation military operations (Storm) for a “joint criminal enterprise” and “war crimes,” and furthermore, state that the “Tribunal’s mandate and mission have been achieved,” that “the peace has been restored and confidence is growing” – and especially not when the peace was achieved by the very operation (Storm) his tribunal put on its trial bench…

No statesman in the world would have ever find in it a “precious lesson,” especially not at the moment when the only lesson learned in that Tribunal is that there is no justice. His tribunal – the ICTY - couldn’t even punish the worst Yugoslav Army and Serbian Chetnik butchers in Vukovar.

If Vukovar – a symbol of Croatian suffering – received such “justice” – what "mercy" can we expect for the winning Operation Storm that ended all such sufferings in both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and permanently defeated the aggressor?

No statesman in the world would still promise a “full support” for an international tribunal that wronged his country as badly as the ICTY wronged Croatia, and thus block every action by other countries against its injustices by promoting it as a “vehicle for justice and for asserting the values of humanity.” The only “value” his tribunal asserted is the occupation, murder and destruction of Croatia and its people.

Thus, the only concrete “value” that Ivo Sanader’s “vehicle for justice” (ICTY) accomplished” is a false indictment against Croatia and its liberators, General Gotovina in particular, who ended Milosevic’s, Karadžić’s, Mladic’s, and other butchers’ wars. The guilt was individualized only for Serbian war criminals, and for so few of them, while Croatia is on trial for “joint criminal enterprise” of ending their occupation.

No statesman in the world would fail to bring up the issue of false accusations against the brightest and cleanest military operations that ended the horrible war (Storm, of course!), and its most honorable commanders, and even claim that the justice would be “fully served” just by "extraction" of only few Serbian war criminals ("Karadžic and Mladic as well as Goran Hadžic"), and only for “war crimes committed in Vukovar and Eastern Slavonia.”

No statesman in the world would prosecute, or let be prosecuted, its countries highest-ranking officials who defended not only parts of the country but most of the country that was under 4-year occupation by the 3^rd or 4^th largest military force in Europe (Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary units), even if an international tribunal demands so. The justice would be fully served only when the innocent Croatian liberators, wrongly accused by the ICTY, would be liberated.

But, there’s such "statesman" in Croatia, whose words from his speech at the UN General Assembly I just quoted above. His name is Ivo Sanader. Asking justice after all his praise for the tribunal that he endorsed, once again, upon Croatia, defies all justice. Nothing obliges the ICTY to serve justice for Croatia, given that its prime minister is so full of gratitude to it!

Indeed, there’s no such traitor in the world who would be so “decisive” to save a Tribunal but not his country's innocent, wrongly accused, generals whom he seeks to ruin. Ivo Sanader is indeed the only such statesman in the world. That’s the only lesson learned from his speech before the UN General Assembly, and that there will be no justice soon for Croatia.

Hence, wonder not that Ivo Sanader opened his speech by acknowledging the President of the ICTY, H.E. Judge Fausto Pocar, even though the latter, just a few days before Sanader’s speech, had tried, via an unofficial document, silence every criticism against the ICTY (Vukovar case). But Ivo Sander is “pleased” with him from the outset.

"We spoke about further cooperation between Croatia and the ICTY, but I cannot tell you more about it at this time,” states for the journalists Ivo Sanader at his official vlada.hr website. But he told us everything.

Croatia can be confident that its prime minister has blatantly betrayed it, once more.

If president Mesic let his prime minister go and give this speech instead of him (about which they initially had an argument), Sanader couldn’t have disheartened him.

After all this, what can we expect from the UN's Mr.President, Distinguished Representatives, and excellencies. Nothing. No justice.

CELEBRATION over the capture of Croatian General Ante Gotovina should be tempered by the consideration that he was unquestionably a victim of Croatian internal politics. Because of his popularity through ‘Operation Storm' he was considered a ‘threat' to politicians of both parties and particularly a threat to the current President of Croatia, Sepic Mesic. The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services is examining whether the War Crimes Judge, Carla Del Ponte, ignored evidence of forged documents which showed Gotovina was set up by officials working for Sepic Mesic. The forged documents at issue concern transcripts of a meeting on 31 July 1995 between former Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and senior members of his military leadership, including Gotovina. In the transcript, Tudjman is recorded to have urged his military commanders to “hit the Serbs so hard that they will disappear forever.

Shortly after this date Croatian forces under Gotovina's command, assisted by US and UK advisors, launched a massive military operation known as Operation Storm to recover the Croatian province of Krajina. Anticipating this action the local Serb commander in Krajina ordered all his military, and Serb civilians, to leave the province. This resulted in the flight of over 200'000 Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia. Del Ponte, alhtough she knew of the forgeries, argued to the tribunal that the transcript proved Gotovina's primary objective in Operation Storm was to ethnically cleanse the Serb population from Croatia. There is not an iota of proof that Gotavino carried out any of the war crimes he is accused of. To suggest that Gotovina's arrest will solve Croatia's problems about EU entry disregards the real problems the country faces. Lurking just beneath surface of business and economic life throughout the country is an octopus of corruption with its tentacles reaching into government itself. Chop off one arm and the creature grows another, making its insidious way through cement and chemical factories, shipyards, hotels, fish factories and every form of previously state-owned company. It started with privatisation when, to encourage free enterprise after the fall of communism and the collapse of the Yugoslav state, the government sold off huge chunks of its former industries. It is reflected today in the skeletons of these rotting enterprises, deliberately bankrupted and sucked of all life and flesh, which litter the coast and business world of Croatia. The buyers, many ex regime managers and former party bosses, weren't after the businesses - but the real estate to sit on - and they remain today an ugly barricade to genuine investment in Croatia. Gotovina had a reputation of not tolerating corruption and, had he aspired to politics and succeeded, there is little doubt that his first battle would have been against the ugly realty of today's Croation mafia - the octopus!

Are the arrest of, and false accusations against Croatian General Ante Gotovina a joint criminal enterprise against him put in motion by (1) the corrupt Croatian government (and especially its diplomacy and HDZ); (2) Belgrade/Serbia and Savo Strbac in particular); (3) Carla Del Ponte.

“I don’t know. I have no opinion about it. If he was in Foreign Legion, as he really was, he was obviously trained to engage in war, and trained to kill. I was recently asked if I had the witnesses who would confirm that Gotovina killed someone. I have none. But he was a commander and the command responsibility…. He either ordered, or didn’t prevent [the crimes], or didn’t punish [those who were responsible for the crimes], that’s his responsibility.”

Savo Strbac also said he “believes Gotovina would appear [before the ICTY] – unless he encounters a tragic accident.” [more]

	Welcome to the Web Magazine VoiceofCroatia.net NEE (NON EN HOLLANDAIS) À LA HAYE! NEE (NE NA NIZOMSKOM) TO THE HAGUE! NE HAGU!

Things marvelous	Croatia's "NATO standards" *Time to close the bordel* of US-Croatia "lobbying"...**	ZUZUL ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BENCH: "The Storm wouldn't happen if the US said 'No'"	ICTY: Positively marked gangsters Why the gangsters give a measure of legacy to Europe (including Croatia)	Croatia's "Bushs, McCains and Obamas" (HDZ)	Stanisic, CIA & TPI Culture du mensonge: Ivo Sanader

FILM (Hrvatski) "Hrvatska Ljubavi moja" now available also at VoC (clik here for wmv file) HRVATSKI: Lažna optužnica protiv Generala Gotovine VIDEO LIÉE: La bataille de Vukovar - Darkman production Goli Otok – Hell in the Adriatic (The Former Yugoslavia’s Notorious Evil Island Gulag) THE AMERICAN DREAM IS OVER : It is not a Cold war! IN THE US HOUSE OF WAR - St Augustine or St Aquinas vs. Founding fathers UN Meetings Sastanci s VS UN NATO/Mr Bush or Croatia: "OR-OR" Mr. Bush's visit to Croatia PRISEGA HAAŠKIH VOJNIKA U RH HDZ is not Croatian religion, Sanader is not Croatian God The conspiracy against Croatia, Europe? HDZ’s forgery or not? – Bilaver and Bush in Croatia’s electoral campaign My contribution to Sanader’s electoral campaign?! Hornless in NYC, Horned in Croatia Guess who ICTY & VUKOVAR: Licence to Murder, Licence to Betray Forgotten Victims Trouble with Sanader: Have the NATO countries betrayed their generals…. Former Yugoslavian capital Belgrade moved to Zagreb and The Hague CICAK’S “rather large” heroism made public ARCHIVE Jerry Blashovich on Communism Croatia & Bosnia -Herzegovina in The Washington Times War of Words (propaganda on Operation Storm) ICTY: Milosevic - Serbia Hague - US - Croatia Mysteries at The Hague VoC's Column (archive) Letters Dubrovnik after Yugoslav Army /Serbian Destruction (Photo VoC/I.A.) General Mirko Norac	Sanader at the highest pitch of injustice: He wishes to "shock Croatia and Europe," and "make sober" European diplomats! Ivana Arapovic 2 Jul 2009 The world press has been generally very gentle with handling a hasty resignation by Croatian prime minister (and two other ministers), presented on 1^st of July 2009 and accepted by the Parliament today. For AP/WSJ, he's been "generally popular" (or the most popular, according to EUobserver), he "transformed the party -- once a bastion of nationalism in the Balkans -- into a Western-style conservative party"; while for FT, he [the organizer] has left "unfinished battle against organized crime" and so on and on. Certain European politicians expressed even their regrets at his resignation and encouraged the country to keep up with the EU reforms. Thus, Mr Sanader's lobbying reached "the highest pitch of injustice": He seems just when he's not. The European diplomats and the world press don't seem to be able or willing to capture his duplicitous character. However, they're in for a rude awaking. Sanader goes to pieces and tries to shock them in his latest, exclusive interview (JL) ! This undaunted dictator, in a "democratic move", attacks the European politicians so to keep a pretence that he resigned (at least partly) because of the stalled EU-Croatia talks. He said he "wished to shock them," so that they "get sober" and stop "blackmailing" Croatia. While it's true that there have been some sort of blackmails (for example, with respect to HDZ's and ICTY's "unconditional" cooperation!), Mr Sanader's "lobbying" and "negotiations" had greatly contributed to it as he was "proving his credibility"! Croatia has been on the trial bench, but it's "blackmailed" in prime minister's eyes only when he's not unconditionally cherished: Now when he cowardly flees the government and attracts some criticism for it. He also envies something to Croatians in his address. Although he amassed a great wealth through his political career, Mr Sanader approached to the Croatian people the inability to face reality and cut the spending! It's very strange for a man who's perceived as "more than half of the party", who "cannot be replaced," by his political "opponent" Ljubo Jurcic who suddenly worries about HDZ more than about his own SDP party! A few powerful political animals forged the milestones of a bipolar party system (HDZ-SDP) so that they can abandon the sinking ship unscathed, and still remain in power. Finally, Mr Sanader designated Mme Jadranka Kosor, who has always given a full licence to all his scandals, to overtake his position of prime minister! How popular he is, says the fact that "his mood changed when he saw the reactions" accusing him of "betraying and fleeing" Croatia on the verge of collapse. If European diplomats and Croatian people should mutely indulge in flattering and cajoling the Great Beast, and continue to deal with his compliant cronies whom he delegates himself so to preserve his corruptive influence, at least Sanader's Austrian Affairs should reveal the secrets of his power. It's clear from it that he's not the one who would fight organized crime! (VoC thanks to our reader for the link to this "old but interesting article on Sanader's past"). Yet another, American reader, reminds us that their (Mr Sander's and Mr Zuzul's) "unexplained wealth" has been built "at the expense of taxpayers of Europe and North America that have sent billions in government to government transfers to aid reforms in Croatia." By all odds, Croatia's "lobbying" proved to be purely egoist, costly and misdirecting. After the latest Sanader's interview, shall anyone still afford to mistake a semblance for the reality, Sanader for the democrat, a bungler for the criminal!? May he face reality (and justice), and honestly demystify his "departure". If he finished the birthday cake with Jadranka Kosor, for the entire country is yet to taste the waste of his corrupt, derelict politics. _____________________________ God, what have they done? (Re: "Europe’s authoritarian regime") Ivana Arapovic 17 May 2009 Not once, Croatian governmental persecutions, falsifications and confusions deserved the title of the Treason of the Century at VoC. All corrective comments, based on publically available sources and many (contradictory) statements by Croatian government itself, were considered by the "secret" governmental "lobbyists" as espionage, sabotage, and so on and on. For they were going into the NATO, into Europe. And how far did they get? Croatia's current image is best portrayed in a recent outline written by the Adriatic Institute and conveyed by numerous media, including Croatian Business magazine. Finally, we can sit and read how these gangsters and the clowns of democracy are honoured in the world that they claimed to obey when they finger-pointed and criminalized all that was better than themselves and their "programmes" of "moving ahead." Shall we still hear, "Sanader must do it," "Europe is asking it from him," "He's pressed by the world" and so on and on, when we complain about his communist practice? Tito had to "do it", too, but who cares? Naturally, the government wouldn't condemn its ideological grandfathers, and sadly, even traditionally healthy forces of influence now send us the link about final battle between David and Goliath. But let's not get too optimistic: It's still the battle for the chairs and preserving what Gen Rojs described as "who stole, he stole" – yet, who might have objectively estimated what our "most capable leaders ever" can do. David didn't reappear neither to lead our battle for Croatia nor to choose the leaders compatible with Croatian people's tradition and culture – a domain in which Croatia systematically failed. We must be still "too little" and the situation "too complex"..., let's watch what the big ones do… Without turning to the past, of course, as they like to say in HDZ circles... The "future" has already arrived: Even Croatian military – as soon as it joined the NATO – has been openly described, for the first time, as part of governmental criminal network, in the circles said to be conservative. Thus, the government's effort to finger-point the innocent people as criminals or even war-criminals (real criminals never being investigated as per world's or Europe's standards, but those of communist Yugoslavia) did "pay off." The message has been received by the world. The only thing, today's Croatian generals don't look very much Croatian… (Here or here or here) They seem to be able to advance or escape the persecutions by hitting the road to Afghanistan, while Croatia is being ruined, and no one would fight for it, apart from "David." When VoC wrote about Croatian lobbying and the US/EU promoting (financially, too) the tyrants, PM Sanader publicly invited President Mesic to solve the issues behind closed door. Croatians obviously dealt with the University diplomas trade; hence, no one, as per my best knowledge, raised the issue of transparency in spending of the received money ("investment"), although it didn't enter Croatia without huge concessions at the expense of Croatian strategic interests and its national security. Also, the results of heavily paid "lobbying" in the US, and not to mention the detailed expenditure list, are transparent only through the worst image ever of Croatia – the public spending accountability is truly not required in Croatia. Even when its cost is fatal, and bloody. If the "neo-liberal model gave all that it could give" and the "dogma about almighty market that regulates and solves all by itself, including itself, has been proven as definitely failed", as President Mesic just informs us, we must notice that they took all that they could, and then they failed – with no accountability whatsoever. Back to the article(s) that inspired this comment: If Croatian president and government wonder now – "God, what have we done" – see the list… PS. Thanks to the Adriatic Institute for their articles/links. _____________________________ "No one would fight for this state" VoC, 21 Feb 2009 As we know, Croatia currently strives to get into the NATO. The real criminals will never be punished, we've been already informed... Even the ICTY gave the assurances to Mr Sanader that no more indictment would be raised by them. So they all "cooperate", Mr Sanader is helping all Croatian elites... [more] _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net 2009 Global War Threat : From Balkan toponymie to antroponymie and vice versa Ivana Arapovic 22 October 2008 (Does Mr Galbraith admit that the US had a command responsibility during the Storm?) When the EU's enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn argues in Sarajevo, Bosnia, that 2009 could be the “year of the Western Balkans”, even a “crucial” year, the target countries in and around this “newly forged” toponyme get a cause for “profound reflection.” Bringing the “Western Balkan and Turkey into the EU fold” with their actual “standards” for “lobbying” so to solve his 2009 highlight issues: the financial crisis, the uncertain fate of the Lisbon treaty (Sarkozy: “No Lisbon treaty, no enlargement”), and the conflict in Georgia, must be well above the head of the “leaders in the Balkans and Turkey.” To put these issues in front of them as a “cause for profound reflection” while giving them a “positive note” is a poor encouragement for Europe to accept these “economic, domestic political and geopolitical costs.” This is particularly strange to hear at the moment when the policy of domestic protectionism has a wiser voice than a new series of false European promises to just all European nations (current or future EU members). Again, no one really knows what the “year of Western Balkan” will bring to the world. Why their military mismanagement in Georgia, bad financial mismanagement around the globe, and their anti-Christian “Constitution” should be our task – other than avoid it all together, by means of strengthening national security policy, and implementing economic protectionist policies, as well. (Next financial crash would be much worse). Mr Rehn says: “Croatia's accession negotiations are “proceeding well”, Montenegro's adaptation to EU standards is “proceeding normally” and Serbia's pursuit of an “ambitious reform agenda” makes it possible that the country could officially become a candidate for EU membership in 2009,” but the facts on the ground are telling more. (Western Balkans faces 'crucial' year, European voice, 10.10.2008) Finally, the newspaper that gives him the voice brings itself another side of story of Croatia’s “proceedings” – although biased to a certain degree, it gives some facts on the ground, far from “proceeding well”: The good, the bad and the messy). This article also shows that there was the EU pressure put on Croatian PM and the ministers in Zagreb so that they replaced 3 ministers following Hodak's murder – for they “fear the perception of Croatia as a country in the grips of organised crime.” Hence, would Mr Rehn be surprised to learn that the responsible ministers were thanked for their service? Who is behind this crime, indeed?* Nothing seems to bother either him or Mr Sanader since they’ve got their “millennium objectives”, all is going well for them, the latter only cares about what says the former (and Mr Barosso + NYC), and now even the “year of the Western Balkan” is approaching! What we’re to expect in 2009 then? Perhaps Mr Rehn will join this table, too: “It is perfectly normal in Croatia to see a politician and a top mobster dining in the same restaurant and sometimes they even greet each other politely. We won't eradicate the Mafia from the Croatian society as long as that's considered normal,” says a former chief of Croatian national police. (ibid) Hence, who’s really “mafia” here. Equally, Mr Galbraith doesn’t sound any more honest while saying that “Perhaps, it would be better if we let the Croats into Banja Luka [Storm, 1995]” while labelling now ex “Republika Srpska” leadership as “fascist and genocidal”, equally as their army. (Galbraith: Možda bi bilo bolje da smo Hrvate pustili u Banja Luku, JL, 17.10.2008) Croatian forces were ordered to stop in front of Serb-held Banja Luka stronghold during Croatian liberation operation “Storm”, but it was the end of Milosevic’s wars in Croatia and Bosnia, nevertheless. Milosevic joined the Dayton negotiations afterwards. Mr Galbraith’s statement brings up a few issues: (1) Why the Serbs were given half of Bosnia-Herzegovina almost as in recompense after the Storm (via Dayton accords)? Is anyone accountable for this? (2) If Mr Galbraith’s statements have honest objectives, why the “Storm” commanders are still imprisoned (ex., $5 mil US award was put on the head of Gen Ante Gotovina, accused for “command responsibility” in the Storm); why they’re not liberated instantly? It’s those guys who were stopped at Banja Luka (NW Bosnia). (3) Does Mr Galbraith admit that the US had a command responsibility during the Storm? This gives us a taste of the US accountability should they rule globally. The US judge (Meron) does sit in the Hague tribunal… Mr Galbraith statement shouldn’t make him any more sympa to the Croats as long as the innocent Croatian generals are imprisoned – for “command responsibility” etc. No one should buy that hypocrisy any more. In conclusion, it’s still just about removing ALL strong personalities from the “Western Balkan” – obviously some still remaining in “Republika Srpska”, so that Mr Galbraith’s and Mr Rehn’s “elites” can proceed with messing up the entire Europe in 2009. From toponymie to antroponymie and vice versa – it always ends with the same people on the top. To see which messiahs they obey as blindly as Croatian top government obeys to them, obviously we need to see who’s behind their “issues”: behind the South Ossetia and Georgia crisis, behind the programmed (first phase of) global financial breakdown, behind the “global” (or sometimes “European”) rules, and the “freedoms” of which narrow groups they are serving etc., etc. But they don’t seem to be uncomfortable at all with their inherent paradoxes. How will they act in their 2009 year? Finally, does anyone ever wonder what do all those foreign guys do over there, in the “Western Balkan”, all these years? Keeping the mafia-lobbying-style politicians in power so to dominate the region? Give them the orders as to whom to remove from, and whom to place in position of influence? And pretend all is “proceeding well”? As if they see nothing on the ground, the internal chaos worse than that of so-called “cold war” is only deepening in every country wherever they manoeuvre. As if they wanted it so... Some expect that even Mr Obama, after he wins at the US election (as if it were already decided; let’s not doubt this “predictable democracy”), will deal closer with the “Balkans”. Croatian ruling party HDZ used to be openly lobbying for “giving everything to the Americans” anyhow. But we should put the “Americans” under quotation marks here so to give some credit to their messianic advisors as well. By all evidence, there are sad prospects for the future that was promised to the ex-communist countries by their “leaders”. These countries are projected as serving as polygons for new “Georgia’s” or new “Bosnia’s” or new “Kosovo’s”, and for new “Constitutions”, new financial crisis…. And, they perhaps, play already for a new global government, or a new global war – the latter being, however, more realistic…. In short, it will indeed get worse. And what will Russia do then? In 2009. Let’s pray together, so that these foreign “elites” in Sarajevo and Zagreb etc. get busy with something else, so that we sit and watch their “issues”, as they did during the “Western Balkan”** wars. ____________ * It becomes quite suspicious how the author in The good, the bad and the messy names the potential murderer group of Hodak: To an ordinary reader who’s not close to either Petrac or Zagorec lobby, it seems equally possible that she was killed by either side. It’s quite obvious who runs Zagreb today… Political mafia with global reputation. Our "best lobbyists” as they like to call themselves. “Western Balkan” as a geopolitical term was forged after the wars, however, and I don’t subscribe to it, of course. Croatia is for me still in Europe, whatever they pretend to do so to bring it in. _____________________________ VoiceofCroatia.net DROIT DE PAROLE The "American Dream" is over It is not a Cold war!** 2 Sept 2008 Ivana Arapovic HRVATSKI _____________________________ Commentaire _____________________________ The Cold war is over. Yes, long ago. So is the "American Dream" which has never come true for most nations under American foreign policy drive. Like in underworld, the American hidden hand has caused lasting consternation and confusion, with a happy ending for the unscrupulous traitors and cheap political figures alone in the cradles of nations affected by its "messianic hope". This is particularly true for the ex-communist countries that relied, unconditionally, on the American support at reasserting their long-awaited freedom and independence. The American political advices where mostly contrary to what the Americans practiced at home. As a result, such states are the caricature of American politics today. They are run by poorly transparent American intermediaries who support, as by rule, the ex-communists and incompetent leaders, by painting them into neo- or reformed democrats, encouraging them to purge from the state offices and persecute the true heroes and liberators. Obviously, certain narrow interest groups in the US foreign offices had no interest in fair partnership and cooperation, and were only looking for obedient traitors, to whom they offered to be "heroes" like tigres de papiers, and a true ennui for the peoples in such states. The result is, the US has no longer credibility in the world, the element so much praised by the US policy makers. Croatian example – "a successful experiment" for the American foreign policy players –gives sufficient, and morose evidence for these statements. Like Dostoyevsky's "Underground (Underworld) man", they encouraged the Croatian politicians to act in a manner "I should persecute anyone who would not show me respect." Ivo Sanader, Croatian prime minister, has the longest record of abuses of power, with full support of the US, especially since he decided to "credit" his government with betrayal of the Croatian national heroes (even the former French Foreign Legion soldier, general Ante Gotovina!) and extradited them to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), some of the bravest being imprisoned in Croatia. Since then, there's no national policy of Croatia. PM Sanader's and President Mesic's stated objectives being an utopian dream of "joining the NATO and EU" but resulting in a non-transparent "Mediterranean union" membership, for which Croatian people gave them no mandate. Apart from this, they publically claimed that their dream was to "democratize" Serbia, which was their objective under the US guidance, of course. There are no other national objectives in sight, and no "wellbeing" out of their concept of "being" in politics. Such politicians are promoted as "democratic" allies by the US. Although the Americans did support Croatian offensive (Storm 1995), subsequently, the US Administration put price on head of its top commanders ($5 million!), while admitting the US support only as much as it is necessary to impose Mr George W. Bush as "liberator" and defender of Croatia and allow him to recruit Croatian soldiers for his global wars. Unscrupulous traitors in Croatian top offices define themselves today in terms of "McCains and Obamas". This is the only logic still remaining within the Croatian ruling party (HDZ), to the leaders of which Croatian history reserves the place of traitors of Croatia and its Homeland war heroes, in spite of their colossal decorum in which they ineptly portray themselves as "World" or "European" politicians, be it "McCain" or "Obama". "HDZ needs McCain… ", claims the HDZ politician so to express HDZ's support for the current PM Ivo Sanader, while identifying as "Obama" another politician whom this party wishes to integrate so to erase every opposition to a national treason, to be sure. To join HDZ's "McCains-Obamas" is kind of a protection in Croatia against the vicious prosecution; hence, the opposition politicians are better to be quiet and obedient. The cowards. ("HDZ-u treba McCain [Mr Sanader], a ne Obama", JL, 31 August 2008) Indeed, all that's left of Croatia today is "Bush, McCain, Obama" – and, what a "surprise", Mr Biden. Croatian Catholic priest in the US who claims to be his advisor for years, gets involved in his campaign! (Hrvatski fratar savjetovao Joea Bidena", JL, 25 Aug 2008) Dostoyevsky might teach them some magnanimity, if the Second Vatican Council failed to do so. Sadly, no one among these "elites" spoke so loud against treason of Croatian wrongly accused war-time heroes in The Hague. Neither do they speak today of saving the honor of Croatia by bringing them home. Their entire honor is in the US-approved political constellations, preferably within HDZ, a proven traitor. Thus, it is not surprising that in Croatia the true heroes are fully replaced by the American false ones, false at least in respect of Croatia. Croatian elites position themselves along the US politicians who lead the same foreign policy. They even bring traditionally anti-Croatian "elites" to write yet unwritten "scenarios" for Croatian politics, Croatian history, including the military one, and to make the movies on it, which must make uncomfortable all those who lived it through. But they will erase the memory, too. We will "forget everything". (Not, really!) For this, Croatians had to tolerate the betrayals imposed via HDZ- ICTY joint criminal venture. Every opposition, even when heard, quickly ended up in a dead silence. No campaign with the US allies was successful either – even Russians showed more subtlety and elegance towards Croatian quests for justice. One is allowed to praise a soldier only in Mr Bush's wars in Irak, Afghanistan and so on and on, but not in the interest of one's own nation. The global anti-American mood, which HDZ elites weirdly ignore, is due to destruction and utopian "reconstruction" of a new, messianic kingdom that denounces all national values and tradition. Via so-called "reforms", they destroy every devoir de mémoire, they destroy the best among the people, and then they forget them. Their politics are invisible, their revisionism ruthless: They spare no value vital to a national survival; their heroes are lazy and fake. They leave no stable ground for a single truth. Croatian "American dream," marked by shocking irresponsibility and luxurious inertia of the Croatian government, is deeply stamped by the US official approval, and the "hope" is truly the last thing their people still wishes to hear. It can only irritate. But the soul of Croatian people – the noble nation (pope Jean Paul II) – got caught in their inertia. Most Croatians are paralyzed and do too little. They just obey, but their silence cannot hold for long. For there is no American dream at all – it has all features of former communist repression. We should not forget that the US foreign policy makers supported communist leader Josip Broz Tito, as well, whom they generously financed until his very end. (Histoire de la Croatie: "Croatie, sentinelle de l'Occident", Christophe Dolbeau) A "Croatian experiment" should not succeed in other European states; it would be tragic for Europe. However, bien-pensant Mr Sarkozy of France, portrayed in the US media as "Europe", rushes on the frail US wings and repeats Croatian "successful" scenario in France: He clashes with his armed forces, announcing million reforms and betraying even his most fervent voters. As long as he ruins French capacity of self-reliance in security and economic matters, he is praised by the US foreign policy makers. ("President Sarkozy lashes out at everyone", TimesOnline, 3 July 2008) He shows no respect for the French people's opposition to the European constitution, and tries to impose his narrow view even in other countries, such as Ireland, which voted against it at a referendum. ("President Sarkozy demands second Irish referendum on EU treaty, TimesOnline, 16 July 2008) (It's however strange to see that the British media gives Mr Sarkozy a stick, while the US – a carrot, but I haven't researched the background behind these articles, they're quickly picked via google). It is clear to us today that the American theories on the state governance, on democracy, on defense management, on ethics, and on the western-style politics overall(all of which I was perhaps one of the greatest fans) seem to have no more practical value than the Marxist ones. Such is, at least, the result of their implementation in other states. Perhaps, neither the American nation should be grateful for it to its policy makers or their advisors – it brings them no golden dreams anyhow, just the curse. It no longer works. It is evident from a new US- Georgia-Russia-South Ossetia conflict. This time, no one really believes in the "Cold war" connection that some try to re-establish. Apart from the rare and omnipotent "American allies", picked up by "invisible hand" of the US foreign policy makers among the most corrupted and cheap political figures, no one can enjoy a "sublime and beautiful" democracy transition in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, etc., accompanied by a cruel betrayal of the national heroes and a rude crack-down on opposition and independent media. After all, no one truly sees a "democracy spreading" in Irak, Afghanistan, etc. Only the bloodshed. But in Georgia, the story gets a different tune. Georgia's leader, too, was first encouraged by the US and allied advisors to smash the opposition and independent media in his country, only to lunch an all-out attack on South Ossetia later on– but unlike in the case of small European nations awaiting the "American dream", the truth is no longer difficult to discern. (See the article " This is a tale of US expansion not Russian aggression", Guardian, 14 August, 2008; Georgia War: A Neocon Election Ploy?, The Nation, 13 August 2008). The South Ossetia is nothing like the Serbia-Croatia "study case" where the Western public could not even discern, with confidence, from media, who attacked whom during the tragic war. Certainly, the US foreign policy needs a soul-searching of its own, and a close check by the American people, which is the American problem, in the end. But for many others, across the world, the "American dream" is an overcome illusion. It is better to be so. The US has done nothing to support justice and peace; it only looked to destroy the strong and patriotic leaders in other countries, in which it then imposed non-transparent authorities and weak domestic political figures. The Russian "Underground man" has finally recovered its soil and its national elements, and inspired a well-deserved respect among other nations so that they, too, act in their own interest. (See the article "Serious Mistakes by the West", Spiegel interview with Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, 18 August, 2008) While the US "Underground man" – it is clear to us – is slapped in the face, he is naïve, a "complete failure". Contrary to all expectations. On the global scene, the US acts as anonymous dictator, with a messianic hope that runs its allies in their ruin, and perhaps even the US. It seems that the Western nations need to reassess what they were taught on Russia. While today, Russia faces the favorable facts on the ground, stopping the conflict in South Ossetia, thanks to its self-respect, the US plunges both itself and its allies into desperate utopia. The anti-Russian media response is understandably hysterical. It's not a cold war. The tigre de papier is forced to reconsider its bloody way of spreading "democracy" and its "universal morality", and Mr. Putin will be remembered for that. Thanks for nothing, the US. Thanks for The ICTY, in particular. And for the “democrats” Sanader and Mesic, too. The list is long… VoC will be editing it… _____________________________ VoiceofCroatia.net Karadzic arrested – So what "Reconciliation" and "democratization" restoring communist ideologies in Croatia and its neighbor countries and the cult of their criminal leaders THE WAY OF THE ICTY'S "RECONCILIATION" WHILE EXPLORING THE POST-WAR WOUNDS IN THE SO-CALLED BALKAN WARS HAS ALREADY DEPRIVED THE VICTIMS OF A GREAT DEAL OF THE PRESENT, AND OF THE FUTURE - IT BENEFITED ONLY THE EX- AND NEO-COMMUNISTS IN THE REGION 27 July 2008 Ivana Arapovic The official reports on the capture of The Hague’s indictee Radovan Karadzic have little success in producing the ovations by the world’s public opinion, while the peoples who witnessed or suffered from Milosevic’s and his allies' wars prefer to recall Karadzic's war-time friendly encounters with western politicians and diplomats: Lord Peter Carrington, Malcolm Rifkind, Lord David Owen, Cyrus Vance, Bernard Janvier, Madeleine Albright, and so on and on (1) – to name just a few. In the wartime, Karadzic and his western counterparts spoke the same language, a “diplomatic” one; but it seems today that he is the “worst” among Balkan war-lords, “worse than Milosevic”, the “intellectual architect” of the so-called Balkan wars, and deserves the “death penalty” according to Mr Richard Holbrook (2). The western diplomats are speaking out, while the public opinion remains unmoved, most likely confused with the ICTY’s supposed great victory over the war criminals. He’s arrested, so what. First, the ICTY got compromised by its particularly obvious political agenda in the “region” that resulted in a real purge of every political, intellectual and media voice against its delusional point making all parties in the region equally guilty, Serbs, Croatians and muslims. Its demands purged the region of fundamental freedoms and sound political discussions in the public arena: even the journalists were tried in The Hague’s court. The worst of all: they installed ex- and neo-communists in the governmental offices in Croatia, in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: they perhaps changed the ideological name and the coat, but the communist governmental practice got restored almost in full. Hence, there’s no real rational analysis of the Karadzic case either in international or regional media, not to mention official political speeches, even though a simplest chronology should be able to establish the fact: Karadzic et al. were to be defeated in the wartime, but anyhow they were defeated in Croatian operation Storm 1995 (the entire Greater Serbia project received a death penalty during liberation of one third of Croatian territory, and another “Srebrenica” in Bihac pocket was prevented). What should, now at least, truly strike the mind of every logical person is the question why the Storm commanders are tried in The Hague, too!? Why they had to be “discredited” on demand of the ICTY? Without answering this question and undoing the injustice towards innocent Croatian generals who stopped the bloodshed (and stopped Karadzic, Mladic, Milosevic etc.) in Croatia and in Bosnia, when it really mattered, the hypocrisy of the so-called ICTY’s trials deserves the death penalty, too. Next, the ICTY’s post-war intervention in the region – contrary to its announcement of reconciliation via truth and justice – delivered a decisive blow to an important post-Cold war process of opening communist archives and settling fundamental issues on communism and its key players, once and for all. Even though the war victims would like to see Karadzic’s archives with which he’s been threatening former Balkan players from the West, it seems that the long-promised communist archives would not have caused less international turmoil… Karadzic’s capture cannot erase the fact that the ICTY has created “war criminal suspects” on the Croatian side, particularly among those who were not tainted by communist past, such as the Croatian greatest figure from a brilliant operation Strom, general Ante Gotovina, the former French legionnaire who was captured much earlier than Karadzic! It defies every justice to see Karadzic – next to him in The Hague. Karadzic has no longer presented a national security threat or danger to Croatia or Bosnia (he could have been easily let to Serbia to try him), but the old communist elites and the old communist secret services still do across the entire region. Hence, Karadzic’s capture cannot change the fact that Croatia acts as having another obscure supra-national authority, if not a para-nation above its neck so that the former Yugoslav communist leader Tito and other communist criminals be more and more aggressively celebrated as great leaders in Croatia – the so-called “nationalists” being proudly suppressed by the Croatian leaders. Indeed, little remains that still can be recognized as Croatia in moral, ethnical or political respect. As for Croatian authorities, it is evident from all their political and diplomatic discourse that they have no authority whatsoever in shaping Croatia, although they pride themselves in re-shaping the entire region and giving a good example to others. They seem to be satisfied with the empty glamour of their titles with no real significance, and with their colossal comfort, in contrast with fast-growing economic and social dependence of Croatia that’s living off huge loans from the European Union and the USA – reminiscent of former communist Yugoslavia, isn’t it. Therefore, the international public opinion has little reason to get agitated by the pomp of arresting since long-time defeated Karadzic, but rather by the processes that the ICTY’s farce has created in the region. "Reconciliation" and "democratization" are only restoring communist ideologies in Croatia and its neighbor countries, and the cult of their criminal leaders. Finally, the communist tyranny is in origin of the Yugoslav army's and its paratroops' 1990s wars that the western press identified as “the bloodiest carnage in Europe since the second world war.” Great forces, great powers, or great leaders celebrating Karadzic’s capture should be reminded that the victims of communist Yugoslavia or Greater Serbia ideologies prefer to be let in peace now – there was no their help when it was truly needed and that’s it. He can be tried elsewhere, better ever than never, but there’s an active danger operating via the ICTY trials that should be addressed: They restored only the communist spinning doctors and their cheap actors in the region and none should pretend that justice is delivered with Karadzic. The communist ideology, whatever it’s renamed into today, delivered too much evil – but it still reigns. There should be some trial benches for its actors, too. At least as numerous as those in The Hague. Then, perhaps, some innocent people against whom no crime can be proven shall be liberated from The Hague; otherwise, the farce is only growing and will escalate in the conflict, once more. And who can take it, again. Perhaps, this article will get us out of the box and give some direction to justice, should someone still believe in it in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, or Serbia, and in the international community, after all (if such entity can still be treated as functional.) (1) The edge of madness, The Guardian, Wednesday July 23 2008 (2) Holbrooke: Karadžić zaslužuje smrtnu kaznu, Jutarnji list, 26.7.2008. _____________________________ VoiceofCroatia.net BACK TO THE PAST “I am hungry, I am looking for job, I am doing everything” History in Communism (“Gladan sam. Trazim posao. Radim sve.”) 27 April 2008 The Canadian media/readership response to the appearance of Gen Andrew Leslie against Croatia (Storm) at the ICTY (The Hague) was rather negative - and pretty fair. It transpired that he should not have gone there in Canadian military uniform and tarnish it with a false testimony and his suspicious medal issue. In contrast, Croatia imposed the ignorance and silence on this theme - a couple of journalists excepted. Even the “mainstream” media blogs in Croatia prefer to avoid the issue, given that almost every media outlet falls under governmental control, while the government pledged to send to Afghanistan more Croatian troops – against whom Leslie “testified” in The Hague. The silence is preferred also because the government has robustly practiced an “unconditional cooperation” with The Hague’s tribunal for a long time, while it is regularly shown that the ICTY’s indictments against Croatian generals – General Ante Gotovina in particular – are annoyingly absurd, and entirely forged. So, what Croatian top leaders and media were busy about over these critical days for Croatia, its partnerships and international cooperation? Croatian readers can follow only Pukanic case. The owner of Nacional weekly is accused by his spouse and her supporters that he used the state infrastructure so to put her in a mental hospital when she tried to speak out about his putting her on, and supplying with cocaine, forcing her to admit other people in their bedroom, and about his corruption and infidelities. Croatian public, human right groups, government ministries and political parties are divided – taking the side either of his spouse who proved positive for cocaine, or her husband who has been at the core of assisting, through his domestic and international media networks, the government activities in Croatia for years. The rest would not interfere with Pukanic’s “private life.” And that’s all that the Croatian public should make up their mind about. And yes, there is a new priority for Croatians, after the “unconditional cooperation” with the Hague and Croatia’s entry into the NATO and EU. “The most important is that the people appease their hunger,” announced Croatian prime minister. Of course, the NATO missions take a lot of energy and resources… It recalls the communist Yugoslavia “spirit.” My generation remembers the communist history book for the primary school in the 1970s and 1980s showing the picture of the working class, so dear to the communists, that is, the man from the early communist Yugoslavia standing sadly and holding a poster with his both hands, saying: “I am hungry. I am looking for job. I am doing everything.” Croatian government is trying to re-introduce it, although under their title, "It's time for the future." Perhaps, not the food is a problem. Croatia was occasionally registering the surplus as soon as it got rid of the communist Yugoslavia, even in the wartime 1991-1995 years. But the national economic base is being depleted by insatiable politicians and their allies. It has to do with Croatian international and domestic politics, especially at The Hague, unless Croatian politicians have the same masters as the communist Tito did. Like in the past, the people are impoverished and should only worry about the hunger; it’s all still important that remains. The economy in Croatia has crumbled in consequence of continued treason and sudden materialism, in spite of so much readiness for sacrifice by the Croatian people in the defense war. We can conclude the “reconciliation” in Croatia which was frequently promoted by both Croatian leading politicians and their supporters has failed. Croatians were not supposed to “divide” around The Hague issue, but to unite around the treason, while Croatians can freely divide now over their support for either the mighty journalist close to the government or his wife, and worry only about not being hungry…. An atheist would say it more elegantly than the head of the Croatian government: The need for food is primary… Or, more poetically: Food is the primary need for hawk and human. Croatian people is entitled to the most primitive needs only. As for Croatia’s elites, they can afford cocaine even. And yes, there’s a lot of most primitive pornography in all Croatian media and campaigns. But it is all their entirely “private” thing, even when made public. They remain in power and choose who will replace them so to assure their “continuity.” In Canada, however, we still discuss Leslie’s misadventure in The Hague. We can even say, the Canadian government and Leslie should not have believed their sources in Croatia and The Hague, and shouldn’t have sent the latter over there to “testify”… And we’ll say it, even if we should be hungry for it. In Croatia, where the government and media decide what is important, the people are becoming both hungry and forbidden to voice their opinion on this issue. ________________ VoiceofCroatia.net NATO/Mr Bush or Croatia: "OR-OR" IA 29 Mar 2008 Mr. George W Bush is visiting Croatia on 4 Apr 2008. Croatian government promised him to make the idea of the NATO attractive to Croatians who preferred to be defended by their own armed forces (instead of shipping them to The Hague etc.). A mass media campaign is being on for about 2 years and it reached its peak [1]. Today, in all major Croatian media you can only hear about “criminal” Croatian generals, "great support” for NATO, and so on and on. 4 persons killed under tragic and unclear circumstances in Zagorje, Croatia: Ret. Gen Korade’s war-time friend, the man who stabbed Korade prior to the war and Croatia's independence, and an elderly woman with her grandson; 300-500 members of special police are looking for the general Korade (Ret.) for he “might know” something about these crimes. So far, no other indication about his involvement has been provided, nor the connection between these crimes shown. The neighbor countries are offering to “help” hunt the man who was not found at his residence. He did enjoy a disputable reputation after the war and proved to be a handy media “tool” to denigrate all Croatian volunteers. The media fires against all that wore Croatian military uniform in the war at the high ranks, Croatian volunteers are being stigmatized as never before. The crime that happened and the way it was executed by firearms and knives, in an atrocious way, was actually the everyday manus militaris of the Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitary units (Chetniks) against Croatian population in 1991-1995 but it wasn’t proper to write/speak about it ever after, for we would be “spreading the hatred”, “the past had to be forgotten”, “we should turn to the future”, the peace with the Serbs is a must. But when it’s to denigrate Croatian volunteers, every incident is translated onto entire Croatian volunteer population. It cannot be serious. If the connection of the Homeland war and all that goes wrong in Croatia may be established so irresponsibly (even if the former Croatian war volunteer decided to take “justice” into his own hands in a private encounter), then, one can also speculate about the link between the general media campaign against ALL Croatian war-time generals (who were on the battlefield) and the arrival of Mr Bush to Croatia. But let’s not speculate like Croatian media. Let’s turn to the “bright side” and to the NATO. Mr Bush says he will not install permanent military bases in Croatia and media translates it into “There will be no military basis in Croatia” (so to calm the population who also wants to preserve the most beautiful coast and islands in Croatia as well as their own military basis under Croatian control). So there will be the military bases, yes or no? Permanent or not? [2] The government refuses to hold a referendum about this issue. The NATO entry does not have an impact on Croatian sovereignty, the prime minister explains. Hence, although there will be no “PERMANENT” bases, the government and Mr Bush are promising to Croatians the investment influx and prosperity. Croatian economy will flourish according to them. But, all studies in defense economics, empirical and all other research, show elsewhere in the world that the positive spillovers of military activity on domestic economy are occurring only in mid and long run, that is, if there’s a CONTINUED/permanent development/investment in the defense sector and, I would add, a good coordination between civil and military sector. However, such reasoning is pushed into the cheapest political polemics (and please don’t make us open the books, Mr Bush doesn’t like to read, it would be depressing), while the media and government brain-washing in Croatia won’t accept any rational. Our government and diplomacy know what is best for Croatia better than most Croatians and western experts…. They defy all science and practice. Croatians should get the access to the agreements Croatia is signing all these years. But it’s not possible nowadays. There was still some transparency in 1998 and we could ask some questions about the NATO, but not now. I recall asking a simple question on Croatian responsibilities and duties vs. those of foreign parties to which I have never received a response. Precisely, please, I have been wondering all these years what the “or” means in the articles stipulating the terms of Croatian international cooperation: “the stipulations of this agreement remain in vigor until the end of operation OR if the parties agree otherwise.” (Croatia MOD -NATO meeting of 1 Jun 1998) [3] It would be too much to ask which operation, when it ends, who the parties are, and whose interests they represent. Who benefits from the investments. Croatian responsibilities and concessions are a must, and truly endless, all the rest is “or”, “or.” This is a trademark of Croatian diplomacy (esp. in Dayton agreements etc.). Croatia is the country of wonders, indeed. A strange experiment. So far, the “or-or” in Croatian politics means: “Croatian war veterans or NATO/Mr Bush”, “Croatia or EU.” No Croatia. Who wouldn’t become wary of all this? Croatia still has not moved forward a single step since 1998. Backwards only. No transparency whatsoever. No objective facts. No truth. Just the lynch against Croatia for all occasions. If we recall that Yugoslav general Kadijevic, the Serbian war criminal, was offering the services to the NATO for the Balkans until just recently, we might get an idea what is going on. Or - we might never find out, to be sure. ________________ [1] Uniforma s mrljom - generali u ratu s pravosuđem Slobodna Dalmacija, 28.03.2008. [2] George Bush: Neće biti [STALNIH] vojnih baza na Jadranu, Jutarnji list, 27.03.2008 [3] “Odredbe ovog sporazuma ostaju na snazi do završetka operacije ILI ako se stranke drukčije dogovore”, clanak 22 Sporazuma, NATO dokumenti. NATO-RH, 1. lipnja 1998. _____________________________ Ps. HDZ's Frank Bilaver might finally get a snap... Voiceofcroatia.net Mr Bush's visit to Croatia: Gentlemen, message to The Hague, please? IA 02 Mar 2008 Although such visits are announced 1-2 weeks prior to taking place (our media says), Croatian public has the honor of learning the news somewhat early: Mr George W. Bush is visiting Croatia in April 2008. During his official visit to the US in 2006, Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader tempted Mr. Bush to come to Croatia for its splendid coastline – and we won’t argue about the attraction of this proposal even when it’s made to the president of the largest military force in the world, or especially not then. Croatia is beautiful. There’s an entire media hassle of the announced security preparations that are already wheeling heavily onto Croatia and its fast-stirring deficit. Thus Croatia should be all agitated to receive Mr Bush so to forget the men who made it possible, in 1991-1995, by permanently defeating the Greater Serbia threat. No peaceful separation of Montenegro or Kosovo from Serbia would ever be possible either without Serbian capital defeat served by the Croatian Armed forces during the Storm 1995. Hence, shouldn’t Croatia be preparing to receive its heroes back? If they’re not good enough to be in Croatia, how Mr Bush could possibly be. He’s involved in quite controversial wars, unlike Croatia who only defended its soil. Why is Croatia tried still? Croatians supported many times Mr Bush and his political party, but he remained deaf par rapport of ridiculous accusations by the ICTY. His government had even put the price on the head of the most innocent western-trained Croatian soldiers against whom the ICTY pointed – based on the hardship of creating the accusations by the Serbian terrorists and criminals. Mr Bush has one last chance to correct it during his visit to Croatia. But it’s quite strange that this information on Mr Bush's visit was leaked by the “Western diplomatic sources” only to learn a little later that the former Croatian diplomat Ivan Grdesic expects Serbia to receive the message… What’s the message? Perhaps, “Serbia, if you don’t change, we’ll go on with Croatia?” Mr Grdesic is the same “Croatian” diplomat who argued over the past years in Washington D.C. that Serbia should take the lead in the region as Croatia was "strategically irrelevant." It cost him some protests from the Croatian American Association, and from many others. It’s possible that the traitor government of Croatia wants to send some message to Croatia too. Should the trial against Croatian generals build on the current of events preceding it, little good is to be expected. The government of Croatia might be only using Mr Bush to scare off the opposition that might upraise against the government when the unjust trials commence, and justify the huge security expenses in the wake of the trial against the Storm. All together, the timing of The Hague’s trial against Croatia and the Storm heroes (March 2008) and the fashion of announcing Mr Bush’s visit to Croatia (April 2008) leaves little space for optimism, unless the message is sent first and foremost to The Hague. Croatia wants its heroes back to Croatia, first and foremost. Otherwise, yet another paradox in Croatia would be a capital testimony of cheep domestic public relations and betrayal, as usual. Finally, the best message to Serbia – if that’s what the “western diplomatic sources” are honestly aiming at – would be bringing back home the innocent Croatia’s heroes from The Hague - and not only from The Hague. But they cannot even visit Croatia – although they freed Croatia. It would be only just and fair that they welcome foreign visitors in Croatia. _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net Love of power has no bounds in post-electoral Croatia IA 28 Nov 2007 [HRVATSKI] Croatian elections offered an empathic political landscape with only two parties in arena - HDZ and SDP - and there was no real contest during entire electoral campaign. HDZ scared off the voters by ideological revival in SDP so that the voters were put on general alert against a “greater evil” (SDP) and were invited to vote, in spite of all betrayals, for the lesser evil, HDZ. Apart from some isolated incidents with communist and Ustashe songs in the electoral camps of SDP and HDZ respectively, this “ideological battle” served as a smokescreen that wiped out all right-center parties from Croatian political scene, which lost their voters due to this false alarm. If the ideological battle were real, HDZ’s leader Ivo Sanader would remove Tito’s name from the most beautiful square in Croatia’s capital instead of Budak’s and Francetic’s monuments. On 14 Dec 2005, the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted resolution 1481, entitled “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes,” but Sanader has never pronounced himself on this issue, not to mention putting it in place in Croatia. On other issues in this supposed ideological conflict, such as Croatian Diaspora’s votes and Catholic education in public schools, HDZ’s leader only washed his hands by saying these themes were “less important” right now so there was no real conflict here either. But it was somehow assumed that HDZ would be inclined to the Diaspora and to the Church (Tudjman’s heritage), that SDP would be against them, so the voters (not only from HDZ’s electoral base but also people that I used to know as rational) started proclaiming HDZ as our Saviour even! There’s little of Catholic spirit in all this, given that no man can be godish to such a point, but it sells well in a post-communist country without challenging this new HDZ’s doctrine! As for real themes and HDZ’s real accomplishments, there was no contest of different views whatsoever. HDZ carefully suppressed all opposition to his foreign policy not only from Croatian media but also from his opposition through the deal stipulating that those issues wouldn’t be a subject of discussion during the elections. While Sanader was entirely centered on, and directed by the “unconditional cooperation” with The Hague’s tribunal throughout his entire mandate and his only visible accomplishments in the field of foreign policy were pleasing everyone but Croatians, and sending Croatian soldiers to The Hague’s prisons and to Afghanistan, he somehow managed to marginalize these controversial and contradictory themes, until they completely disappeared at the peak of the electoral campaign, exactly when the majority of the voters were making up their mind. If we were deprived of the real contest, we get it at the end of the elections, at last! HDZ beats SDP by 10 seats but it runs equal chances as SDP for forming the government with the left-center parties, the only ones that still preserve some influence in Croatia’s political design. President Mesic refuses to give the mandate to either party until they prove that they can form the government. While he’s not in rush to make decision, our God-given Saviors are finally sweating to earn the position. The only coalition partner Sanader was able to secure so far is the representative of the Roma minority of Croatia, who is also favorable to the same-sex marriage legislation. It’s not a big surprise; however, a supposed conservative Sanader should have remembered his “ideological” color that was promising to secure him an ultimate victory over SDP’s liberal ideas. Love of power has no bounds though. There’s even the threat of rallies from HDZ’s ranks against Mesic’s hesitation to proclaim the winner, and SDP’s refusal to concede the victory to HDZ, even though Sanader put quite many limitations to such manifestations of people’s will since he distanced from General Norac, betrayed General Gotovina and other war-time commanders in Croatia’s war for independence. Meanwhile, the news from The Hague is bad. General Gotovina wasn’t approved awaiting his trial in home custody even though it’s been 2 years since he’s in prison with entire Croatia falsely accused. He's the man to whom our candidates should thank for having the opportunity to run electoral campaigns in free Croatia. And this reveals Sanader's accomplishments abroad: He's listened to only when he betrays his country, its heroes and liberation war, while he has built no other credentials or alliances for Croatia on the international scene. On the other hand, the Catholic Church in Croatia is not happy with the “lesser evil” and overall elections: The right-center parties completely disappeared, while there’s no real difference in HDZ’s and SDP’s agenda, and democracy deteriorated. The Church activists are considering the ways of making political parties accountable for their electoral promises to the voters, given their inherent tendency to betray them. While the egos keep escalating, and show what the entire contest is about (power and nothing else), we can only thank God Croatian politicians, Ivo Sanader in particular, are finally fighting hard for something in their life, and that something still doesn’t fall in their hands from heaven. They've never put an effort in fighting for some Croatian cause as fervently as for their positions now. Everything else remains the same anyhow. I’m not Mesic’s fan, God forbid, but he too did something good, for once in his life. Although, no one likes the fact that Croatian elections are in his pity – Croatians deserved at least as much as to see the real face of their prime minister or would-be prime minister, and some contest, at least after the elections. _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net UN Lesson Learned on Ivo Sanader: There's no such statesman-traitor in the world... IA 17 Oct 2007 [HRVATSKI] No statesman in the world would have ever sent his country's highest-ranking soldiers to the prison on demand of an international tribunal and then state that he is “pleased that the tribunal appreciates his cooperation…” No statesman in the world would take pride in the fact that his country “established” an international tribunal which tries its liberation military operations (Storm) for a “joint criminal enterprise” and “war crimes,” and furthermore, state that the “Tribunal’s mandate and mission have been achieved,” that “the peace has been restored and confidence is growing” – and especially not when the peace was achieved by the very operation (Storm) his tribunal put on its trial bench… No statesman in the world would have ever find in it a “precious lesson,” especially not at the moment when the only lesson learned in that Tribunal is that there is no justice. His tribunal – the ICTY - couldn’t even punish the worst Yugoslav Army and Serbian Chetnik butchers in Vukovar. If Vukovar – a symbol of Croatian suffering – received such “justice” – what "mercy" can we expect for the winning Operation Storm that ended all such sufferings in both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and permanently defeated the aggressor? No statesman in the world would still promise a “full support” for an international tribunal that wronged his country as badly as the ICTY wronged Croatia, and thus block every action by other countries against its injustices by promoting it as a “vehicle for justice and for asserting the values of humanity.” The only “value” his tribunal asserted is the occupation, murder and destruction of Croatia and its people. Thus, the only concrete “value” that Ivo Sanader’s “vehicle for justice” (ICTY) accomplished” is a false indictment against Croatia and its liberators, General Gotovina in particular, who ended Milosevic’s, Karadžić’s, Mladic’s, and other butchers’ wars. The guilt was individualized only for Serbian war criminals, and for so few of them, while Croatia is on trial for “joint criminal enterprise” of ending their occupation. No statesman in the world would fail to bring up the issue of false accusations against the brightest and cleanest military operations that ended the horrible war (Storm, of course!), and its most honorable commanders, and even claim that the justice would be “fully served” just by "extraction" of only few Serbian war criminals ("Karadžic and Mladic as well as Goran Hadžic"), and only for “war crimes committed in Vukovar and Eastern Slavonia.” Such Sanader's "fully served justice" does't serve justice at all. No statesman in the world would prosecute, or let be prosecuted, its countries highest-ranking officials who defended not only parts of the country but most of the country that was under 4-year occupation by the 3^rd or 4^th largest military force in Europe (Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary units), even if an international tribunal demands so. The justice would be fully served only when the innocent Croatian liberators, wrongly accused by the ICTY, would be liberated. Indeed, there’s no such statesman in the world. But, there’s such "statesman" in Croatia, whose words from his speech at the UN General Assembly I just quoted above. His name is Ivo Sanader. Asking justice after all his praise for the tribunal that he endorsed, once again, upon Croatia, defies all justice. Nothing obliges the ICTY to serve justice for Croatia, given that its prime minister is so full of gratitude to it! Indeed, there’s no such traitor in the world who would be so “decisive” to save a Tribunal but not his country's innocent, wrongly accused, generals whom he seeks to ruin. Ivo Sanader is indeed the only such statesman in the world. That’s the only lesson learned from his speech before the UN General Assembly, and that there will be no justice soon for Croatia. Hence, wonder not that Ivo Sanader opened his speech by acknowledging the President of the ICTY, H.E. Judge Fausto Pocar, even though the latter, just a few days before Sanader’s speech, had tried, via an unofficial document, silence every criticism against the ICTY (Vukovar case). But Ivo Sander is “pleased” with him from the outset. "We spoke about further cooperation between Croatia and the ICTY, but I cannot tell you more about it at this time,” states for the journalists Ivo Sanader at his official vlada.hr website. But he told us everything. Croatia can be confident that its prime minister has blatantly betrayed it, once more. If president Mesic let his prime minister go and give this speech instead of him (about which they initially had an argument), Sanader couldn’t have disheartened him. After all this, what can we expect from the UN's Mr.President, Distinguished Representatives, and excellencies. Nothing. No justice. _____________________________ Majorca Daily Bulletin December 18, 2005 (Edition 1853) The capture of Croat General By Meb Cutlack CELEBRATION over the capture of Croatian General Ante Gotovina should be tempered by the consideration that he was unquestionably a victim of Croatian internal politics. Because of his popularity through ‘Operation Storm' he was considered a ‘threat' to politicians of both parties and particularly a threat to the current President of Croatia, Sepic Mesic. The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services is examining whether the War Crimes Judge, Carla Del Ponte, ignored evidence of forged documents which showed Gotovina was set up by officials working for Sepic Mesic. The forged documents at issue concern transcripts of a meeting on 31 July 1995 between former Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and senior members of his military leadership, including Gotovina. In the transcript, Tudjman is recorded to have urged his military commanders to “hit the Serbs so hard that they will disappear forever. Shortly after this date Croatian forces under Gotovina's command, assisted by US and UK advisors, launched a massive military operation known as Operation Storm to recover the Croatian province of Krajina. Anticipating this action the local Serb commander in Krajina ordered all his military, and Serb civilians, to leave the province. This resulted in the flight of over 200'000 Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia. Del Ponte, alhtough she knew of the forgeries, argued to the tribunal that the transcript proved Gotovina's primary objective in Operation Storm was to ethnically cleanse the Serb population from Croatia. There is not an iota of proof that Gotavino carried out any of the war crimes he is accused of. To suggest that Gotovina's arrest will solve Croatia's problems about EU entry disregards the real problems the country faces. Lurking just beneath surface of business and economic life throughout the country is an octopus of corruption with its tentacles reaching into government itself. Chop off one arm and the creature grows another, making its insidious way through cement and chemical factories, shipyards, hotels, fish factories and every form of previously state-owned company. It started with privatisation when, to encourage free enterprise after the fall of communism and the collapse of the Yugoslav state, the government sold off huge chunks of its former industries. It is reflected today in the skeletons of these rotting enterprises, deliberately bankrupted and sucked of all life and flesh, which litter the coast and business world of Croatia. The buyers, many ex regime managers and former party bosses, weren't after the businesses - but the real estate to sit on - and they remain today an ugly barricade to genuine investment in Croatia. Gotovina had a reputation of not tolerating corruption and, had he aspired to politics and succeeded, there is little doubt that his first battle would have been against the ugly realty of today's Croation mafia - the octopus! _____________________________ VoC, Dec 2005 BETRAYAL OF THE CENTURY Who will investigate: Are the arrest of, and false accusations against Croatian General Ante Gotovina a joint criminal enterprise against him put in motion by (1) the corrupt Croatian government (and especially its diplomacy and HDZ); (2) Belgrade/Serbia and Savo Strbac in particular); (3) Carla Del Ponte. _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net Again? Serbian criminal Savo Strbac would be a “liberator,” HDZ’s PM Ivo Sanader a porno correspondent? June 13, 2006 Asked by Globus what he thought about Gotovina as warrior, Strbac replied. “I don’t know. I have no opinion about it. If he was in Foreign Legion, as he really was, he was obviously trained to engage in war, and trained to kill. I was recently asked if I had the witnesses who would confirm that Gotovina killed someone. I have none. But he was a commander and the command responsibility…. He either ordered, or didn’t prevent [the crimes], or didn’t punish [those who were responsible for the crimes], that’s his responsibility.” Savo Strbac also said he “believes Gotovina would appear [before the ICTY] – unless he encounters a tragic accident.” [more]		Over the odds... Croatian Prime minister Ivo Sanader presents a swift, 5th speed resignation from ALL political functions! Congratulations!		Bleiburg, démocide yougoslave, par Christophe Dolbeau ANTE PAVELIC UN DESTIN EXCEPTIONNEL IZUZETNA SUDBINA, par Christophe Dolbeau Vjekoslav « Maks » Luburić : pas si noir que ça ! - ILIJA STANIĆ, LUBURIĆEV UBOJICA, I DANAS ŽIV I ČLAN HDZ-a BiH! C.Dolbeau, Hrvatski list, 08.01.2009. HDZ CLAIMED TO BE "IN BANANA"... (and truly so) CARROT & STICK (HDZ-USA) PUKANIC HDZ'S US-CROATIA LOBBYING EXPOSED NEW PAGES AT VoC: AMAC-RB & HDZ'S CRIMINAL LOBBYING ART La grande arnaque continue, Hrvatski List, 19 juin 2009 VELIKA PRIJEVARA TRAJE, HL, 19. lipnja 2008. BLESSED - BIENHEUREUX - BLAZENI IVAN MERZ 80th Anniversary of Serbian Assassination of Croatian MPs in Belgrade, June 2008, Jean Lunt Marinovic Masochisme croate, Rivarol (N°2862), le 13 juin 2008 ----------------------- Hrvatski mazohizam Rivarol (Francuska), 13. lipnja 2008. Canadian army chief grilled at war crimes tribunal, CBC News, April 24, 2008 Se also: Story comments Quo vadis Croatia? Quo vadis HRVATSKA? La sinistre farce de La Haye KOBNA FARSA HAAGA Les mensonges 400 % ! Ante Gotovina et la bave des crapauds CROATIA UNCENSORED - new book by Dr. Jerry Blaskovic Hilda M. Foley on Marco Polo in FT Brenda Brkusic's film available for purchuse online Crimes de guerre... et + Gotovina : vraie capture ou reddition camouflée ? Hrvatska povijest Ivan Šarić, svećenik, pjesnik i domoljub L'histoire croate: Mgr Ivan Saric The siege of Siget With his 2500 brave soldiers, mostly Croats, Nikola Subic Zrinjski was defending the fortress of Sziget in southern Hungary against 90,000 Turks. ... Cardinal Richelieu, the famous French minister at the court of King Luis XIII, wrote the following: A miracle was necessary for the Habsburg Empire to survive. And the miracle happened in Sziget. (more) CROATS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Queen Katarina Pope blasts Canadian laws National Post, Sept 8, 2006 Pope Benedict sparked a debate about the place of religious beliefs in Canadian politics Friday, telling Ontario bishops Canada has excluded “God from the public sphere” with laws supporting same-sex marriage and abortion. The vile legacy of a Balkan Butcher, National Post, March 13, 2006 The Croats, re-armed and coached by U.S. advisors, counterattacked at the same time as a joint Croatian-Muslim offensive. These actions reclaimed much of the land that the Serbs had taken, forcing Milosevic to the bargaining table at Dayton. The ICTY is Dead, CWA, March 11, 2006 Ex-Serbian Leader Slobodan Milosevic Dies, Washington Post & Associated Press, March 11, 2006 Milosevic once described himself as the "Ayatollah Khomeini of Serbia," assuring his prime minister, Milan Panic, that "the Serbs will follow me no matter what." The railroading of a former U.S. ally, by Robin Harris, American Spectator, February 27, 2006 Milosevic to Moscow?, CWA, February 17, 2006 GEN GOTOVINA-KNIN 06/08/1995 VIDEO TAPE OF KNIN MEETING REFUTES ALLEGATIONS FROM GOTOVINA INDICTMENT (Hina 7.4.2004.) VIDEO FILE MADE AVAILABLE BY IVICA GRGIC AT LIJEPANASADOMOVINA WEBSITE (CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO FILE) Ex-Croatian General Pleads Not Guilty to War Crimes, NYT, 13. 12. 2006 Note: Dominique Erulin has recently published the book La grande piste at Les Editions de la Reconquête
			Jurica and Mesic - Compulsive criminals: Croatia on a real roulette table ! VoC, 19 Jun 2009 Mr Neven Jurica hit the big win of 1,2 mil Kunas (about 166,000 Euro) as he placed his bets on Croatia's 2008 lobbying budget. The year of 2008 was marked by the government's betting that the "lobbying" in the US was the most important. But this fellow seems to be a compulsive gambler who has spent more time gambling in Las Vegas than at his work! Still silence about Jurica's unjustified 1,6 mil Euro for US-Croatia "lobbying" in 2007... On Croatia's inside betting areas, a very democratic president Mesic is very jealous: Germany, France and England were not under communist rule (he's not jealous of that!) but... FIND ARTICLES & LINKS ON "LOBBYING" HERE
			Secret lobbying expenditures At least two major events in the US-Croatia lobbying zone attracted the media attention since last year when I wrote about "Public relations and governments" and the "Lobbying or money laundering." Neven Jurica, the former US ambassador and current Permanent representative to the UN for Croatia, proved to be incapable or unwilling to justify his expenditures. Miomir Zuzul, Jurica's close ally and also the former US ambassador and former minister of Foreign affairs in Sanader's government, made his "Lobbying school" famous: His partner quit him for 2,5 million Kuna (about 350,000 Euro) spent just for traveling and "lobbying" instead for the University ...
			“IT'S TIME FOR THE FUTURE” (Science fiction in vivo!) PM Sanader should have organized Mr. Bush's visit in Serbia IA 5 Apr 2008 For those who waited with impatience for the message to the “region” that would mark the preeminent visit of Mr George W Bush to Croatia, they could hear it from PM Ivo Sanader instead: “Serbia, too, is entitled to its place in Europe and the world. It paid the price for its past failed politics and I’m convinced that it will be ready for a new future.” “I reiterate the message to our neighbors: Don’t give up! Integration of the entire European southeast (region) will continue. It’s time for the future. Our partners are with you,” said Sanader. [1] Given that PM Sanader brought 2000 HDZ members, his 1000 government officials, and only 1000 other Croatian citizens to greet Mr Bush [2], we must wonder why HDZ did not organize Mr Bush’s visit in Serbia, and not Croatia. Mr Bush greeted and took a snap with the soldiers who participated in his mission in Afghanistan. [3] Croatian government representatives (or rather Serbian!?) nor Croatian president haven’t, of course, taken a single photo with the veterans who participated in Croatian defense missions during Croatian Homeland war against Serbia. They are of course, mostly, in prisons, from Croatia to The Hague, unless they were killed by the Yugoslav army and Serbs in the 1990s war, or committed suicide because of the Croatian politics towards them ever after the war. Same as before Mr Bush’s visit, Croatia falls back into Korade discussion following his departure. Tragically and absurdly, as in the rest of story, one policeman died at the end of this strange operation, because the policeman wasn’t timely provided with the first aid. Out of nearly 4000 policemen hunting the man who was gravely affected by PTSD, there was only one assigned to accompany the wounded policeman and he died in the car on his way to the hospital for bleeding out. [4] Therefore, the hunt after a sick retired general (he has lost his arm in the war, and suffered from various diseases, diabetes etc.), served to liberate the pathological hatred against Croatian soldiers on Croatian soil in general, and nothing else. As for pathological lies that came out of this case in all mainstream Croatian media, they are only to be cleared up. A strange way to mark Mr Bush’s visit to Croatia, isn’t it? But it’s “time for the future”!?!?!? Science fiction in vivo!? _______ [1] Stojimo na pragu NATO-a i EU, nastavio je Sanader, a snaga tog uspjeha potiče Hrvatsku da nastavi podupirati svoje susjede u njihovim naporima. "I Srbija ima pravo na svoje mjesto u Europi i svijetu. Platila je cijenu svoje promašene bivše politike i uvjeren sam da će pokazati da je spremna na novu budućnost." "Ponavljam poruku našim susjedima: Ne posustajte! Uključivanje cijelog europskog jugoistoka u euroatlantske integracije će se nastaviti. Vrijeme je za budućnost. Naši su partneri uz vas", poručio je Sanader. (Jutarnji List, 5.4. 2008.) [2] Sanader organizirao publiku za Busha, Jutarnji list, 5.4.2008. [3] U 13.35 s Plesa je uzletio Air Force One kojim su George W. Bush, Laura Bush i Condoleezza Rice napustili Hrvatsku. Prije odlaska su se fotografirali s pripadnicima Hrvatske vojske koji su sudjelovali u misiji ISAF-a u Afganistanu. (Jutarnji List, 5.4. 2008.) [4] Policajac umro zbog lošeg plana akcije?, Sutra, 5.4.2008.) _____________________________ VoiceofCroatia.net Homeland war, Korade, Bush, HDZ, communists… who’s the monster here… Croatia: Monstrous politics, monstrous results IA 3 April 2008 The statement in Croatian media that “tolerance produced a monster” recalls the US anonymous source saying that they created a monster when they trained the Croatian armed forces. Is it really so? In many larger-scale joint US-Croatia operations following the war, the Americans were pulled out by the Croatian forces; a Croatian officer become famous for commenting the American briefings (he participated in the Storm previously): I knew it but I didn’t know it was termed so… Simply, the conventional warfare is different from simple bombing and no one will argue about it. But, of course, the story here is focused on the retired general Korade and the monstrous terms assigned not only to him but to the entire homeland war population in the wake of welcoming Mr George W. Bush to Croatia. Croatian media is lusting after criminal-depicting words and deeds! (E.g.: Killer General Korade Kills Himself in His Summer House, CroatiaPress, 3 apr, 08, en; The system’s tolerance towards the retired Gen Ivan Korade produced a monster, Index, 3 apr 08, hr) Obviously, the police operation surrounding the fate of the retired Gen Ivan Korade, who was the case in itself, ever after the war, gave rise to the darkest propaganda ever against all Croatian volunteers. Should 3,600 police members now surrender and attack all other generals and officers from the wartime? It would recall Tito’s visits when Croatian patriots were interned until his sejour was over. But this is worse. Glancing at Croatian media, should the readers believe Croatia had no heroes at all during its liberation war? That would be insane to say as it is insane what Croatian media writes over the past 8 days, and actually for a very long time. Their general hatred talk is no less devious or psychotic than what happened in the recent Korade case, and will hardly end in a healthy way. Let’s put some facts straight. Quite a number of the HDZ’s generals and officers (same as politicians) from the wartime Croatia were not up to their titles and ranks at all. Many medals concerning the war period distributed to the politicians, especially over the peacetime period of the past 12 years, have been extremely absurd and insulting. Let us think logically, if we may: If all of the awarded, either by high military rank or lucrative political position, were truly great, there would be a successful strategy devised so to end the cheep and dangerous play with false accusations, the endless trade of secret documents (often forged!), and the games and blackmails affecting, if not ruining human destines over all these years. All this has systematically lead to the damage of Croatian national and international image, and even to the betrayal of the most brilliant and impressive Croatian liberation operations (starting with Vukovar and ending with Storm) and someone should be held accountable in both political and military ranks. The tolerance here was indeed great, the only one that the current government preserved, when it’s to destroy something. Thus it still refuses to publish the registrar of the homeland war participants and show who gained what. Croatian people would know the truth and who was doing what in the war. The government will not even present their own accounts: Prior to the past election, the media was only publishing their “mobile” property lists! No wonder they do not say anything substantial, not to mention doing something real good! Unfortunately, the Korade’s portrait in Croatian media today is the portrait of HDZ and what it came to. Compare today’s psycho profile and the attitude of the current HDZ leader and Korade: the similarities are striking! Compare all their faces! The reformed HDZ always tried to correct (and discipline!) those who said Croatian armed forces were not HDZ’s only. In the 1990’s we could joke about it, there were good patriots in HDZ too, but now it is a sin. A grave sin, obviously. Many honest Croatian patriots have been destroyed for the name of HDZ, and PTSD and Korade are the true outcomes of their domestic policy. A very alarming ones, we may note. If Korade killed himself like 1700 others after the war, but prior to causing any incident, probably all would be fine for Croatian media and government; then, they wouldn’t even report the “minor incident”. However, media frenzy wants to kill all Croatian patriots now. Wait… Korade is the monster of HDZ’s duplicitous domestic and international politics, endless political scandal tolerance in Croatia. Only politicians and those who were blindly obedient to them were allowed to do as they please, with no responsibility whatsoever. As result, the country is plunging back into communism and violence, inevitably. HDZ preserved nothing to be still proud of, HDZ lost every claim on Croatia’s freedom and independence. So, it’s not about Croatian volunteers that we should speak so loud. Let us not listen to the media, let us look at the truth straight in the eyes, rationally. Let’s make difference between failed politics and real wartime heroes. Croatia has had its heroes and will always have them. But why so many to be destroyed so to hide the sins of whom? Why HDZ? ia/voc Note: Why HDZ is just a rhetorical question. I can wish to HDZ to have fun with Mr Bush and all the Islamic treats that he’s bringing with him so to diversify them through Croatia and loosen the pressure on his own country, for his own failed politics! And then they may have fun with communism that their politics are restoring via all they did over the past long years! HDZ always got along so well with UDB-a (communist secret services, which have, mind you, their roots in Mr. Bush’s America too!) _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net THANKS FOR THE STORM! Kosova vs. Serbia 25 Feb 2008 It’s hard to say something about Kosovo-Serbia developments, now and in the future. But what we can see clearly should be positive: The Serbs are protesting around the world more or less peacefully: Croatian operation Storm 1995 seems to have taught the Serbs a democracy lecture, finally (after so much Serbian violence against their neighbors, together with the Yugoslav Army). Thanks for the Storm, forever, to great Croatian commanders! Should the Storm – and its top commanders - remain on the trial bench in The Hague, democracy will end up on the trial bench – and in an uncontrollable chaos in Europe. IA _____________________________ Canada and Croatian Diplomacy: The abolition of the supplemental form for Croatian residents applying to Canada Reply to the Citizenship and Immigration office IA/Voiceofcroatia.net, 8 Feb 2008 Croatia sent its soldiers to Afghanistan, even those from the Homeland war, which is more than a sufficient reason for Canada to abolish special forms for Croatians regarding their military service. But Croatian officials present it as a result of their Haag coop (treason) so to justify their policy. They have no bounds in diplomatic non-culture and treason justification so that we should believe that our only destiny is The Hague, like no other people or country. Therefore, I present my Reply to the Citizenship and Immigration office (and my concerns) in the form of an open letter. RE: Citizenship and Immigration Minister Finley meets with Croatian Ambassador Korac Dear [Sir/Madam], While I support the abolition of the supplemental form for Croatian residents applying to Canada (it finally proves that Canada respects democracy standards and the fact that Croatia had right to defense against 1991-1995 Yugoslav army/Serbian paramilitary-chetnick aggression) - I have mixed emotions about rapprochement of Canadian minister and Croatian government officials. It is not because of Mme Korac of whom I know nothing, but because of overall, dictatorial, communist-government style that holds an upper hand in Croatia. To express my position honestly, and given that I was often threatened by the political party officials in power (HDZ) in the following way: "don't you dare to come to Croatia... we're waiting for you...", I wish I could say to the government officials of Croatia, don’t you dare to come to Canada. If you're interested in further reading on this issue, I present a more detailed explanation. As you might have noticed, Croatian officials (even at the embassy) quite strangely bring up their infamous Hague tribunal cooperation in every minor Croatian foreign policy issue so to justify their treason, which is how their coop with the tribunal in The Hague is widely seen by Croatians home and abroad. The entire Croatian foreign policy has been based primarily on the ongoing, unconditional cooperation with The Hague tribunal, opposed by most Croatians worldwide for it falsely accused and imprisoned the innocent Croatian military commanders who defended the nearly defenseless country in 1991-1995, and in particular general Ante Gotovina, a professional, western-trained soldier. This infamous step, in spite of all striking irregularities at The Hague tribunal, was to justify and multiply the acts of governmental extreme incompetence, corruption; brainwashing and media-diplomacy spins, while those who notice their infamous attitude publicly become the targets of cyber- and other harassments and threats by governmental groups (sometimes even anonymous) in Croatia and even abroad. We in Canada don't tolerate this practice. We in Canada would not send our brave and innocent soldiers and, in particular, not our commanders to a pseudo-tribunal in The Hague. In addition to the material on my website on this issue, I would like to bring to your attention this analysis: "New War Crimes Indictments in The Hague Reflect Politics" by By George Friedman at starfor. (Originally posted here.) But Croatian embassy praises the Hague's issue even on the occasion of such a minor special form - visa issue, which by the way, wouldn't be honorable for Canada to maintain. Does it mean they will expect us in Canada to support this political court at every level of Canadian government too!? This is a true shame. Even less we in Canada tolerate various kinds of harassment and abuse, just for having a different opinion on government policy. Although this doesn't necessarily relate to all officials (there are always honorable exceptions, I hope!), it is well known today that Croatian government officials are obliged to comply with blind obedience to their top leaders. This government style is becoming only more notorious as The Hague tribunal's irregularities and injustices become more obvious (in large part caused by Croatian government, too). This said, I fear that rapprochement between Canada and current Croatian government based on the coop with The Hague (which is at least how embassy presents it, against Canadian political and diplomatic culture!) -- will also give them more space for their harassment against those who disagree with their policy unless some protective measures are promptly implemented. I will rather ask what Canada can do to protect us against such attitude of Croatian government (or their paid, often anonymous cronies) either here or in Croatia. By the way, is there any law against government practice of hiring their anonymous supporters so to discourage anything that could be in discord with their governmental policies, of which there are so many testimonies, including my own? Being anonymous and protected by Croatian government, and now anonymous even at the courts, we saw that they can even threaten their opposition with "we're waiting for you... don't dare to come to Croatia" and much worse. It's impossible or painstaking to trace such acts in Croatia, given that they come from the top of the government. Everyone who wishes to have a voice about their policies must cooperate - in their injustice - with them and with The Hague's tribunal, otherwise becomes a victim of various harassments. I believe this is even unthinkable in Canada. While I thank you for the message and the picture (we always wished that Canada and Croatia be closer) - my experience and close observations of current Croatian government's style (more and more communist-like over the past half a decade) allow me to use this opportunity so to express my concerns. I hope that Canada will make Croatian diplomacy / government understand that we're not the citizens of the unjust tribunal in The Hague but of Canada, and that we should be free to express our views without being exposed to the intolerable and illegal attacks by their loyal supporters. At least in Canada we don't tolerate it. In the case of harassment and threats there should be an established procedure that would enable disclosure of identity of the harassers in the service of the government of Croatia and perhaps even The Hague's tribunal. The amount of misinformation, intimidation and threats by such groups, who never participated in the Homeland war, varies from pornography to copyright to personal abuse to death threat intimidations. Due to such Croatian government attitude and threats, I haven't traveled to Croatia for a long time, and I couldn't even go to defend my master theses and complete my equivalence procedure here in Canada; therefore, I'm concerned if Canada will give us sufficient protection either in Croatia or in Canada. Once again, there should be some accountability for their injustices which are obviously against common wisdom in free societies. Also, there should be some accountability (and law against) their various kinds of attacks against those who disagree with their Hague-tribunal based policy or any other Croatian policy. Otherwise, I perceive Canada's rapprochement with Croatian government as threatening to the Croatians in Canada. As a full, long-term solution, perhaps Canada should close The ICTY and the whole problem would be solved. Croatian government would stop their "underground" insult-threat-and-misinformation activities against individuals who have a different position towards their policies, and especially against those who present valid arguments for their positions, and we wouldn't even have anything to argue about - their all foreign policy depends on compliance with The Hague. Thanks again for contacting me, Yours sincerely, IA _____________________________ Croatian elections in the real picture Balkan Bush (Sanader) or Balkan Tito (Milanovic): It's all the same IA 22 Nov 2007 Whatever happens, HDZ won't go very far. Even if Butkovic regularly bails them out, Bush of the Balkan (Sanader) or Tito of the Balkan (Milanovic), it's all the same. Bush of the Balkans is only more «experienced» and brutal in his treason and Milosevic-style government against Croatian patriots. [MORE] _____________________________ Voiceofcroatia.net CROATIAN GOVERNMENT THE MAIN OBSTACLE TO STOPPING THE ICTY'S INJUSTICES April 7, 2006 meetings with designated representatives at the UN Security Council permanent members (Russia, China, Britain, US, France) April 7, 2006 [updated July 3, 2007] [HRVATSKI] The following is an internal, ad hoc report that I prepared following the meetings with the Security Council representatives in New York City on April 7, 2006. We publish it for a wider readership, given that it will demonstrate more than clearly that the only obstacle to correcting the blatant injustices and irregularities of the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague (ICTY) has been imposed by Croatia’s current government. It will also portray the mood towards the ICTY at a world-wide level, and raise a serious question: If we ordinary citizens of Croatian origin were able to bring some problems with the ICTY to the attention of the international community, why Croatian diplomacy has never done nothing (but the damage to Croatia and to the Croatian heroes, and in particular to Gen Ante Gotovina). [MORE] _____________________________ Slobodna Dalmacija February 28, 2005 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - DOMINIQUE ERULIN, THE AUTHOR OF THE FRENCH POLITICAL THRILLER GIBIER D’ETAT (THE STATE’S BIG HAUL) AND A CO-COMBATANT OF THE CROATIAN GENERAL, DENIES HIS CRIMINAL PAST MITTERRAND'S GENDARMES TRUMPED UP THE CHARGES AGAINST GOTOVINA THE GOVERNMENT’S HOAX – My court files are clean since I won the appeal against my 5-year conditional sentence from January 2003, which was trumped up against me during a rigged process. Ante and I jointly have committed no crime whatsoever. As far as he’s concerned, the explanation probably lays in a need to create or exaggerate trivial tales so that they appear as “crimes,” which is a classical method used by political police in France. [more] _____________________________ ANTEGOTOVINA.COM AUGUST 1, 2005 The Winning Generation: Operation Ante By IA On the 10th anniversary of Operation Storm, Croatians unite around the globe in a series of rallies to unanimously support General Ante Gotovina and demand he is not to be sent to The Hague under any circumstances. He is our hero. [more] Note, Dec 21, 2005: These demonstrations were in large part sabotaged by corrupt Croatian network infiltrated by the old-new HDZ and neo-communist so-called Croatian diplomacy the world over, as were all other efforts to expose the falsehood behind the indictment against the innocent man, General Ante Gotovina. It's really tragic that post-communist Croatia wasn't capable of producing a principled public figure either in political, media or intellectual circles,- which only shows who in fact defeated Milosevic... General Gotovina is now the victim of the corrupt Croatian politics - which still rely on Belgrade's political agendas and old communist practices encouraged by the UN's/The Hague's tribunal, Brussels and so on. Is there any hope that these institutions become what they claim to represent: just and respectable.... If so, General Gotovina should be free and honored even, or especially, by them.... _____________________________ The Washington Times, May 8, 2003 The Hague sets dangerous precedent for U.S. military General Franks is not a War Criminal By Loredana Vuoto Allied commander Gen. Tommy Franks is now the target of war crimes charges. A Belgian lawyer representing 10 Iraqis is preparing to ask a Brussels court to indict Gen. Franks for having "command responsibility" over purported war crimes committed by coalition forces. Among the crimes listed in the complaint are the bombing of a marketplace in Baghdad, the shooting of an ambulance and the failure to prevent the mass looting of hospitals. [more] _____________________________ Truth & Justice The View from Washington Lies about Stepinac By Jeffrey T. Kuhner (Hrvatski) Of all the news accounts regarding Pope John Paul II’s funeral and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s accession to the papacy, the most interesting was the American liberal media’s attempt to once again smear the reputation of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac. [more] _____________________________ The New York Times, June 8, 2003 Forgive, Pope Says, but Croats Find It Hard By PETER S. GREEN UKOVAR, Croatia, June 7 — The Franciscan church of St. Philip and St. Jacob sits on a hilltop above this quiet Danube port. The once elegant Hapsburg facades of the town below are still scarred by shells and shrapnel, nearly 12 years after Serbian paramilitary units and the Yugoslav Army carried out an early exercise in ethnic killing here as Yugoslavia began to split apart. The Serbs killed 5,000 people here, mostly Roman Catholic Croats, during the three-month siege of the city. The Serbs forced the remaining civilians from their homes and killed more than 255 civilians and wounded soldiers at a nearby farm called Ovcara. Inside the church's devastated interior, a small red-enameled metal heart lies beside a steel coffin apparently blasted open during the war and still holding a scattering of human bones. "Love is stronger than death," reads an inscription in black marker on the heart. But in a town that still bears the full weight of its past, death clearly holds the upper hand. [more]
	Voiceofcroatia.net Open Letter to Canadian Government Close the ICTY March 2006 To: The Honorable Steven Harper, Prime Minister of Canada The Honorable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carla Del Ponte imagined General Ante Gotovina would be an appropriate political "counterpart" for Slobodan Milosevic and other Serbian war criminals such as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, although the former defeated them and stopped their very crimes. His operation, because of which he is currently awaiting trial in The Hague, was evaluated by the western military experts as one of the cleanest ones in the contemporary Western military history. It caused a minimum of the incidents, given its large scope and an unfavorable balance of forces in the region in which only Milosevic's frenzied butchers were fully equipped for the war. The Serbs who fled the country during that operation were ordered to do so by their own leadership; Croatian authorities invited them to stay and respect Croatia as their own homeland. However, General Ante Gotovina has been hunted for since July 2001, captured in December 2005, and transferred to The Hague for "command and control over all Croatian forces during Operation Storm." According to the UN website, he's still "at large," and was even charged in his initial indictment for murdering 2 "victims" who were later found to be alive. ( ...) How it came to this? The documentation in communist offices is just as easily forged as human lives are destroyed, which is how Gen Gotovina was transformed from a hero into a suspect for crimes. Carla Del Ponte congratulated Savo Strbac, the former Greater Serbia participant and the ICTY associate, for the "documentation" he collected against Croatian generals in 2001. She told him he worked "very hard" which was reported in the press, and resulted in the indictment against General Ante Gotovina, among others. Canada prides itself for spreading its values internationally, and for being at the forefront of the effort to play a positive international role. This is an international issue with bearing on common values, and national and global security in the 21st century. If the criminal enterprise against General Ante Gotovina, which was orchestrated by the ICTY, opportunist Croatian government and Serb war criminals such as Savo Srbac, continues, it will give a wrong message to the terrorists and murderers in the future. It will strip us of the right to defense. [more]		PERSONAL COMMENT FOLLOWING THE ARREST OF GREATEST CROATIAN HERO EVER THIS IS HOW IT GETS ENOUGH By IA December 11/12, 2006 “…The peaceful arrest was conducted by Spanish police, in cooperation with Croatian authorities. …The Croatian Government issued a press release immediately after being officially informed by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague (ICTY), Carla Del Ponte of General Gotovina’s arrest on the Canary Islands: “Gotovina’s arrest in Spain represents an affirmation of the reliability of the assertions made by the Republic of Croatia that he was not within the reach of the Croatian authorities nor was he on Croatian territory. The Government’s statement also stressed that the credibility of the Republic of Croatia and all institutions of the Croatian State, as well as of its full co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, are hereby confirmed.” “All those who trusted and supported us in times when Croatia’s efforts to co-operate with the Hague Tribunal were being questioned, are now being proven right. [!] It has now become evident that such doubts were unfounded,” read a portion of the press release….Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović commented on the arrest in Brussels, at a meeting of NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council: “This proves the credibility of the Croatian government and its institutions in the implementation of the Action Plan… The arrest also proves that information provided by relevant Croatian services were true,” said the foreign minister.” (Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in the US - WEEKLY BULLETIN, Dec 8) [more]
	INSIGHT ON THE NEWS December 5-11, 2005 Black day for Croatia [HRVATSKI] Commentary by Jeffrey Kuhner Fugitive Croatian General Ante Gotovina was captured in Spain on Thursday. It is a dark day for the general and for all those who fought and died for Croatia’s independence from Yugoslavia. In fact, his arrest and extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is the most calamitous event in the region since the end of the Balkan wars. Gen. Gotovina was indicted by the ICTY in 2001 for alleged atrocities when Croatian forces retook parts of the country from Serb rebels in 1995. In particular, he is charged with having “command responsibility” over a “joint criminal enterprise” directed by the Croatian state to expel 150,000 ethnic Serbs. The ICTY’s chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, along with the European Union, the State Department and the Croatian government are all claiming that Gen. Gotovina’s capture is a victory for the rule of law. Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader even insisted that the general’s arrest and extradition to the U.N. tribunal is “the final confirmation of Croatia's credibility.” They are wrong. Numerous international law experts have shown that the indictments against Gen. Gotovina are flimsy, unethical and bogus. The historical record clearly demonstrates that the 1995 Croatian operation was carried out according to the highest standards of Western military practice—with the specific aim of minimizing civilian casualties. Public documents have also revealed that the removal of Croatia’s rebel Serb population came at the direction of the leadership in Belgrade several days before the operation began. Hence, it was not—nor could it have been—a premeditated campaign by incoming Croatian forces. Gen. Gotovina’s army not only restored Croatia’s territorial integrity, but it also smashed Serbian forces in neighboring Bosnia. His actions tilted the strategic balance of power against Serbia’s dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. This forced the Butcher of the Balkans and his proxies in Bosnia and Croatia to the diplomatic peace table. In short, Gen. Gotovina is a hero, who did more than anyone else—including the hand-wringing bureaucrats at the United Nations—to stop the genocidal campaign for a Greater Serbia. That he should now go to the dock in The Hague is a gross travesty of justice. Under Mrs. Del Ponte’s leadership, the ICTY has become a politicized court. Like the mock trials under communist Yugoslavia, Gen. Gotovina has already been found guilty. Under the specious theory of “command responsibility,” every military leader in history (including an American general) can be branded a “war criminal” for having failed to prevent isolated atrocities by his troops. Hence, due to the nature of the charges against him, Gen. Gotovina will be convicted and sentenced to years in prison. The fact that he is innocent is irrelevant to Mrs. Del Ponte and her fellow ICTY globalists. Mrs. Del Ponte is not interested in real justice. Rather, she believes her mandate is to pass the final “judgment of history” on the disintegration of Yugoslavia. She is determined to destroy Gen. Gotovina in order to criminalize Croatia’s 1991 war for independence. The conviction of Gen. Gotovina will establish in international law that the Croatian state is founded upon mass ethnic cleansing. This verdict will result in distributing the burden of guilt for the bloodletting of the 1990s equally among the Serbs and Croats. More importantly, it will undercut the legitimacy of Croatia’s territorial sovereignty. This lays the groundwork for revanchist Serbs to claim large swaths of Croatian territory by appealing to international courts. Rather than strengthening the rule of law, the general’s arrest is a severe blow to Croatia’s constitutional democracy. Serbia’s largest political party, the ultra-nationalist Radicals, is already insisting that the Gotovina case establishes the moral and legal basis for a Greater Serbia. Gen. Gotovina’s capture represents a diplomatic triumph for Belgrade. Since the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of succession, Belgrade’s strategy has been to evade its responsibility for being the primary source of aggression. This is why the Serbs have been relentlessly advocating the arrest of Gen. Gotovina. They have now accomplished their goal. The biggest culprit in this fiasco, however, has been the Croatian government. Zagreb could have used its diplomacy to lobby Western capitals to free the general. Mr. Sanader publicly vowed to do this during the last election campaign. Instead, the current Croatian leader betrayed the electorate. He played a pivotal role in the general’s arrest; Mr. Sanader cynically used the general's cause as a bargaining chip to ingratiate Zagreb with Britain, Austria and Brussels. Mr. Sanader has demonstrated that he is a shallow opportunist, who will do and say anything in the hopes of getting Croatia into the European Union—even at the cost of betraying his country’s vital national interests. And this pattern of conduct is not just evident on the Gotovina issue. Since entering office in 2003, Mr. Sanader has shown he is unfit to govern: his government has actively encouraged British agents to spy on Croatian citizens; much of Croatia’s pristine coastline has been sold to foreign investors; Croatian fishing rights have been betrayed in order to curry favor with the Italians; there have been numerous corruption scandals; and press freedoms have been curtailed as newspaper editors are pressured not to run pro-Gotovina stories. In short, the current government is selling out the vital interests of the Croatian state in its blind rush to join the EU. Mr. Sanader has forfeited his mandate to govern. The voters need to implement regime change at the next elections. Croatia has been transformed into a political and economic vassal of Brussels.Croatians are now finding out that, after breaking away from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia, they have only exchanged one master for another. And, in the final analysis, they have no one to blame but themselves. - Jeffrey T. Kuhner is editor of Insight on the News. HRVATSKI LIST, JULY 7, 2005 “To My Beloved Croatia, When will you break free from your chains and rise up with one voice, tall and proud? When will you finally notice the gathering storm and take shelter? When will you stop thinking like a slave and seize your destiny? I wait, I wait, I wait.” Truth & Justice The View from Washington Croatia's Present Crisis By Jeffrey T. Kuhner (Hrvatski) Croatia is facing its most severe crisis since it won its war for independence in 1995. During the next few months, the fate of Gen. Ante Gotovina—and more importantly, that of Croatia—may be decided. Zagreb is launching an all-out attempt to capture him; the government hopes that this will facilitate Croatia's entry into the European Union. [more]		LES ÉDITIONS PHILIPPE REY, JANUARY 2005 http://www.philippe-rey.fr/maison.htm Nous ne verrons jamais Vukovar by Louise L. Lambrichs - Reviews - (trans. from French to English., by I.A.) (Hrvatski - prijevod) Dear friends, In January 2005, our publishing house embarks upon French literature domain with a principal work by Louise L. Lambrichs, Nous ne verrons jamais Vukovar (We will never see Vukovar) (published on January 7). About fifteen years ago, a horrible war had begun on our doorstep. Serbia, possessed by a recurrent paranoid ideology in her history, had launched a merciless war against Croatia, then Bosnia and conclusively Kosovo: not only an imperialistic war but also a war of deportations and mass exterminations, which winded up in genocide upon a part of Bosnian peoples. In the seat of Europe. Nous ne verrons jamais Vukovar is the book by a writer whose whole being has engaged in understanding of what happened and still happens in the Balkans. It reads as a passionate interrogation where, in a profoundly original form, takes shape a different read of contemporary history, contrary to the State’s lies, deceptions, blindness and criminal complicity which feed the official myths that are so difficult to dispense with. A salutary read, because it is just. The read which will put its mark. This book is published in alliance with Inventaire/Invention, a [multimedia] pole of creative writing, which designed a continued information page on its website intended to collect all the reviews of Louise L. Lambrichs’ book (and they will be numerous). Our first semester will see the publication of two foreign novels : Anna et la Lumière, the second novel by the young American author, David Czuchlewski, who is at age 28 (publication on January 14), and Parfum de femme by Giovanni Arpino (publication on March 4), the Italian novel from the sixties, from which was drawn the scenario for Dino Risi’s eponymic, famous movie (with the memorable Vittorio Gassman). This stellar novel had never been translated in French until now. In February, we will publish the first novel of Marion Van Renterghem, Les Rescapés (Survivors). This moving book might have been a collection of narratives – were it not to tell about the destinies of real characters from the 20th century. It includes true stories of these unknown persons, victims or heroes, players or witnesses, most often uprooted, taken from the turmoil of a grand drama, splashed, without their willing it, through the heart of History. There are so many remarkable crossroads that call to mind our collective destiny. Since, from Vukovar to Havana, from Phnom Penh to Santiago via Brazzaville, Kabul or Neuilly-sur-Marne, it’s part of ourselves what the survivors are telling us. They present our world and our time. Thank your for your attention to our young publishing house, and enjoy the read. Philippe Rey ............................... Inventaire/Invention (Réactions) (…) Nous ne verrons jamais Vukovar (We will never see Vukovar) is a book which marks (a milestone in) history. It is the book by the writer whose whole being has engaged in understanding of what happened and still happens in the Balkans. The book is entirely focused on mise au jour, or my we say on the exhumation, of collective denials related to the official history of the peoples. Does not the official history evoke a “tribal war”? On the contrary, the author points to the ravages of the ethnic cleansing ideology cultivated in Serbia since the 19th century; does not the official history celebrate “the courage of the Serbian people during the WWII”? The author, and we together with her, reveals the banality of the state collaborating with the Nazis, and participating, on her part, in the extermination of the Jews. Does not the official history glorify the generosity of France during the war in former Yugoslavia? Contrarily, the author shows to us her criminal complicity with the aggressor currently tried for genocide. (…) P. C.

	Copyright © 2002-2007 by VoiceofCroatia.net. All rights reserved. Revised: Friday July 03, 2009 14:01 -0500.

2009 Global War Threat :

From Balkan toponymie to antroponymie and vice versa

22 October 2008

Perhaps Mr Rehn will join this table, too:

Hence, who’s really “mafia” here.

Croatian forces were ordered to stop in front of Serb-held Banja Luka stronghold during Croatian liberation operation “Storm”, but it was the end of Milosevic’s wars in Croatia and Bosnia, nevertheless. Milosevic joined the Dayton negotiations afterwards.

Finally, does anyone ever wonder what do all those foreign guys do over there, in the “Western Balkan”, all these years?

Some expect that even Mr Obama, after he wins at the US election (as if it were already decided; let’s not doubt this “predictable democracy”), will deal closer with the “Balkans”.

Croatian ruling party HDZ used to be openly lobbying for “giving everything to the Americans” anyhow. But we should put the “Americans” under quotation marks here so to give some credit to their messianic advisors as well.

[1] Uniforma s mrljom - generali u ratu s pravosuđem Slobodna Dalmacija, 28.03.2008.

CROATS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

(E.g.: Killer General Korade Kills Himself in His Summer House, CroatiaPress, 3 apr, 08, en; The system’s tolerance towards the retired Gen Ivan Korade produced a monster, Index, 3 apr 08, hr)

The New York Times, June 8, 2003

Forgive, Pope Says, but Croats Find It Hard

By PETER S. GREEN