On 24 September Croatian Prime Minister did deliver the historic speech on the state of the nation and it was no speech of a credible and serious statesman. In my previous post I had in mind that this speech could deliver either a prescriptive confrontation with the economic and social chaos that’s sweeping across Croatia, or a coiffe or cover up of that chaos with an indulgence in political confrontation with the opposition.
Zoran Milanovic had actually chosen to deliver a lecture of smoke and mirrors, evidently expecting that the parliament and the people would end up thinking how his government actually has the necessary capabilities to deliver the badly needed changes and improvement to government’s performance in reducing the critical budgetary deficit and improving economic performance.
According to Croatian TV news HRT, Milanovic laid out four directions his government will be taking in order to bring Croatia out of its crisis and these are: installing law and order in all spheres of life, consolidation of state finances, restructuring and rationalization of government assets and public sector, and, introducing and implementing measures for the rehabilitation and growth of the economy! However, not a single example or specific measure or ways his government plans to deliver on these grand matters that mean life or death.
“In order to realise our goal, which is a reduction of budgetary deficit under 3% mark, we must combine intervening measures with reforms in the next three years,” Milanovic said in parliament!
No word about any specific reforms! Just smoke and mirrors that big ideas and big words usually create!
With regards to the “Lex Perkovic” scandal, also referred to in my previous post, Milanovic said that an agreement has been reached with the European Commission and that we will all find out about it in the coming days. He was adamant that no sanctions by the EU against Croatia will be imposed and that he will continue his battles in showing the EU its discriminatory practices regarding judicial cooperation between member states of the EU. He babbled and ranted until time ran out so he did not have time to speak about the issue of unrest regarding introduction of Cyrillic (Serbian) script on public signs in Vukovar.
Milanovic’s supporters were the only ones (of course) who said he delivered a marvelous speech. The opposition parties all thrust their thumbs down with the general feel that the past two years have been thrown into the wind/ nothing of note for improving the economy achieved. Tomislav Karamarko, leader of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) went as far as saying: “You (the government) managed to devastate this country economically, ideologically and morally – you are ripe for departure…”.
25 September came and the Croatian parliament and public were made aware of the agreement reached with EU regarding “Lex Perkovic”: Croatia must and will as a matter of urgency cancel that rushed law that was evidently brought by the government in breach of Croatia’s EU membership agreement and draw up a new one that would follow EU requirements to the letter. Croatian government has set 1st January 2014 as the latest date by which the new law on cooperation on criminal arrest warrants will be implemented in Croatia.
Viviane Reding of the EC said that they would wait and monitor the situation to the very end and then decide what to do. Orsat Miljenic, Croatia’s minister of justice, said: “… we are changing the Constitution to remove the statute of limitations for serious murders…we have a lot of such cases including political murders committed during the past including during the communist regime … we wish to solve those because we don’t want the perpetrators to enjoy the protection of statute of limitations …”.
Only the future will show whether Miljenic’s words regarding prosecuting communist crimes are also a scenario of smoke and mirrors! Certainly, if we’re to judge by the past inaction, it’s all thick smoke and brilliant mirrors; it’ll likely be up to someone other than a pro-communist government echelons to bring about real justice for the victims of communist crimes.
And then came 26 September! Croatian parliament reeled in disbelief when presented with the measures the government is planning to introduce for improving the economy and reducing budgetary deficit. If you suffer from vertigo, this was the time when you would have dropped to the floor, paralised from more of the same futility!
For the period between 2014 and 2016 the government plans to rail in 37 measures in its economic and fiscal politics that will, according to them, usher Croatia into some state of economic and fiscal bliss! All these measures seem to be geared for, is putting out the fire, or at least some of it, in order to prolong the misery that increasing poverty is bringing to the streets.
The key measures are an increase in PDV (goods and services taxes) from 10 to 13% on baby food, oil, flour, sugar, water, and hospitality and tourism services; an increase in excise duty for tobacco and petrol.
Sale of public assets and further borrowing.
Reductions in beneficial or value-added pensions.
Reforms in public sector will include reforms to salaries and reduction of opportunities for promotion, reduction in expenses or government contribution to prescription medicine and outsourcing ancillary services such as cleaning, food services etc.
It’s obvious to everyone except the government, it seems, that all these measures are not at all likely to significantly reduce the budget deficit nor are there any sure tell-signs that there will be the 1.5% growth in economy during the coming year that the government says it will achieve. All these measures are more of those erratically imposed by this government during the past two years, which have brought no palpable relief.
HDZ’s reaction to all this: initiate a motion of no confidence in the government to be placed on parliament’s agenda even as soon as the coming week. HDZ, the largest opposition party holds strongly that the Social Democrat led government has demonstrated a severe lack of fiscal discipline in closing the critical black hole of budgetary deficit that’s leading Croatia into ruin.
Croatia’s finance minister Slavko Linic seems to shrug off all the critics with evident but concerning ease: “we spend more than what we earn,” he says (HRT news, 26 September 2013), “…there’s a limit to how far you can go in savings so you must borrow, and borrow more to close the gap left by budgetary deficit…”
Distressingly, this reminds me of how things were during the times of Tito’s communist Yugoslavia – the productivity of majority of state owned companies was not even close to cover bare wages for their workers but Tito knew how to avoid panic and fear in the workers and he kept on borrowing and borrowing and eventually even the birds on the trees tweeted: “It’s going to be alright, Tito got another loan for us.” So, is Croatia falling deeper and deeper into the waters where the descendants of communists and ex-communists will once again bring the country to its knees? Surely that is not the destiny for which so much blood was spilled, so many lives lost in the plight for democracy! Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)
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Bring back HDZ and Ivo Sanader to fix the mess,only they know how,The polling was done and according to it the biggest loser is Josipovic while SDP and Milanovic didn’t loose any support and HDZ and Karamarko didn’t gain any.Companies or many of them,the best ones have been owned by employees(dionicari)not a state Companies like Kras,Podravka,Ina,Gavrilovic,Rovinj have been great and big in Tito’s time while democrats from Tudman on have managed to destroy them or to sell them to foreign investors.I guess you wouldn’t know that since you live in Australia most of your life.
Oh I know plenty, don’t you worry about that Amir. It doesn’t matter where anyone lives in this era of fast communication, fast travel, fast everything – what matters is what someone contributes to a country and I don’t see you showing any medals of honour for helping Bosnia and Herzegovina get on its feet, or maybe you have them but don’t show them? Perhaps you can form a party and go to Croatia and help since you also seem to know much. As far as I’m concerned I will accept any party that will do the job, I have no political loyalties except to democracy and progress and personal sacrifice for a common good. You seem obsessed with Croatia, why don’t you jump in and help the struggling government.
As i said before the study was done ,American one and has found that Croatia has the worst diaspora,They even had numbers 4 million Croats live in diaspora and send 1.6 billion a year or 1,1% of Croatian gdp while we Bosniaks have less than a million people living in diaspora and send 2,6 billion a year and i personally have invested about 300000 $.As it comes to the politics you always in every single blog forget to shine a light on HDZ and Karamarko,I mean am i only one who knows that he is a product of Mesic.I helping out by pointing out the problem that has brought all this mess upon Croatia and it’s people.You go as far as to Tito’s time and back to Linic,Milanovic and SDP but always manage to skip Tudman and HDZ,Don’t you think it’s important to mention Sanader when you write about economic crisis in Croatia,a dude even ended up in jail for robbing Croatia and it’s people.
Could you please give more information about that study on diaspora Amir, as the data I have read so far is different to what you quote and I am actually preparing an article on that. You’re not the only one who invests from diaspora. The past is not the point in this article, the point is what the current government says it will do. We all know that Croatia and other ex-Yugoslav states were thieved but we can’t live talking about it, we should be making sure those who thieved are brought to justice and their assets confiscated. When I talk of Tito’s time I refer to the ways things were done then that should not be a part of a developing democracy but somehow old ways are creeping in and more and more people are dependent on what the government can provide for them instead of rolling their sleeves up and finding new ways. I am quite aware of Karamarko’s background but the truth is that he has not had the opportunity to demonstrate what he can do as Prime Minister so your association is quite pointless. I have mentioned Sanader in my past articles and his corruption. I have no problems in mentioning anyone who is proven of having thieved but I do have no time for stories and innuendos that promote lies
Amir, you are one seriously weird dude – what does it matter where one lives to help Croatia, why even yesterday Croatia’s president Ivo Josipovic said in New York that Croats living abroad should get involved in in helping Croatia get out of the rut
http://croatianchronicle.com/ccn/life/predsjednik-josipovi%C4%87-iseljenicima-domovina-vas-voli-i-treba
But, hey, he is a friend and political mate of Stjepan Mesic, the hard communists who worked to sweat to alienate and discredit the Croatian diaspora with lies during the ten years of Mesic’s presidency from 2000. Josipovic surely knows that he needs to do much work to repair the damage his mate has done.
You really cannot blame Tudjman for much of the economic woes because he war president when the war raged in Croatia and the last bit of peaceful reintegration of Serb occupied area occurred in 1998, a year before his death. You try your hardest to avoid taking those hardships into account and you’ve tried your hardest to spread lies and concocted stories about Tudjman’s thieving, the stories undoubtedly started by the lot that went against Tudjman. But guess what, when Tudjman was alive diaspora was too and this lot in government today do not really want the diaspora because the diaspora wants communist crimes prosecuted, something they’ll fight tooth and nail against.
I move in circles of millions of dollars in investments there, some went well, some total fiasco … such is life but it is up to every government to prove what it can do not to remind of what those before it did.
TOM TOM I highly recommend you read Wiki of Tudman from top to bottom and go from there.
No thank you Amir Pilipovic – Wiki does not do it for me! You keep pushing it one gets the feeling that you might have contributed to that article yourself. I will stick with other more credible sources that are not as biased. I love Tudjman’s website http://www.tudjman.hr and have had lots of content from it translated
Amir – You live in LA-LA land – here’s a snippet of YOUR Yugoslav/Tito economy: “…Along with their positive results, the reforms of 1965 led to rising unemployment, inflation, and regional differences in wealth. These negative developments led to a retreat from the principles of market socialism. In the early 1970s reforms were implemented that, in effect, created a negotiated economy based on contracts between firms. These contracts were designed to protect supply and demand (and prices) from market competition.
At the same time, foreign borrowing grew rapidly. The borrowed money was intended for modernization of export-oriented industries. However, most of it was used to help pay for increasing consumption and prosperity for most Yugoslavs. In 1980, the year Tito died, a worldwide recession and foreign credit squeeze, combined with the flaws in the economic system, plunged Yugoslavia’s economy into crisis. By 1985 the deepening crisis had reduced living standards to low 1965 levels. Tito’s successors were unable to agree on and implement any effective response, and the economic crisis expanded into social, political, and constitutional crises”.http://www.countriesquest.com/europe/yugoslavia/economy.htm
Deleted as inappropriate innuendo… As somebody who grew up in Tito’s time i can tell you that 95 % of Croats have had it,besides many of you don’t even know the reason they keep electing Communists lately and i guarantee you Josipovic will be reelected and after him Croats will elect another communist and all of it will happen thanks to Tito.I mean when you say to a Croat that Croatia has produced the most partizans in ww2 % wise .well they get numb.
Hahahaha Amir – 95% have had it – yeah they sure have, but what? Was it the same 95% (94%) who voted to secede from communist Yugoslavia in 1990? As far as elections are concerned well you know and all know that the number of voters who turned up to vote don’t really represent majority of voter pool. But be that as it may, I accept the result but that does not mean we should not keep an eye on performance after all politicians are accountable to voters, taxpayers… Oh by the way I lived in Croatia for more than a third of my life and grew up there too, so you are not the only measure-stick for Tito’s acrobatics
Hey Ina – you must be doing something right – you got a stalker and his name is Amir Pilipovic! Woohoo – love it!
Press on with your great work Ina, love your blog and you are a shining example of how Croats should work hard for Croatia to achieve democracy. A hard slog, but it’ll be so worth the effort. Bless you!
Thank you Wilkinson, I feel blessed and am so very grateful to know my posts are read widely with many followers and several tens of thousands visits every week. I am thankful to everyone who visits my blog and together we create a world in mind that may spark changes for the Good, which I want to see everywhere. To achieve the Good one must, I believe, point out the bad and the difference between the two is then obvious.
Poduzetnistvo.org has a number at 1.5 billion or 2.9 of gdp ,noting that the number was going in negative direction year after year.The best info you can get from Croatian Central Bank,Keep in mind that we are talking about monies sent via banks,western unions etc,so the money ,cash you take on you wouldn’t be included in those numbers.Meaning that actual number could be 2.5 -3 billion a year as some believe that our number is around 4 billion.It is a glass half-full or half -empty,depending on how you see it ,looks great unless you compare it to the rest of worlds diaspora and when you do that then Croatia gets to be the worst or even by GDP it doesn’t change that much nor help Cro -economy.
Which means there was no study you mentioned! It’s just your sweeping statements… you have this knack of making sweeping statements Amir and then when you’re asked to provide verifiable source you say go and research it yourself. Truly, you are tedious and BORING!
There was a study on immigration in the USA ,that tried to show how immigration helps to global economy etc,but anyways i don’t remember who has done it ,CENTRAL BANK OF CROATIA has provided the numbers to them so there for i believe they would do the same or would have a knowledge of the study if contacted by you.If poduzetnistvo doesn’t do it for you try BUSINESS.HR
OK Amir, I’ll research Central Bank figures
Well who cares if Tudman was never tried by ICTY ,I don’t think it should bother you but the fact ICTY has found him responsible for war crimes and JCE SHOULD,because it finds Croatia to be responsible for the same and to be honest liable for all damages.You know you hate the text on his wiki page and there is nothing you can do about it because you lack the truth so why not to be honest about it instead of dancing .
You know Amir I couldn’t give a rat’s arse (excuse the expression) for Wiki on Tudjman and I had hoped you might have understood that by now because if I did care about it I would join and try and change it. But what’s the point when someone like you would come the next day and change my Wiki changes back to their changes. So please enough about Wiki, you enjoy it, I will ignore it, otherwise I will block your comments about Wiki, you’ve been given plenty of space on this blog about it. And again, ICTY found him guilty by association/command but not directly and it does not bother me at all – where does it say in ICTY judgments that Croatia is liable for all the damages? Link to that quote or pages where it is please otherwise you are truly just a hater and haven’t got a clue.
Deleted as inappropriate … I tell you about five times that the links are under NOTES and you delete it asking for it ,Why don’t you get real.
Amir – I think you’re either an idiot or you don’t pay attention. I was not referring to the links under NOTES on Wiki I was referring to the Links in the same article which are marked as “citation needed” and when you press those links you are taken to BLIND ALLEY, NOTHING, NO EVIDENCE OF ANY SORT EITHER FOR OR AGAINST… so just stop trying to be so clever, stop bullying people who actually might and most probably know more than you
People like Amir Pilipovic work hard at trying to make the world forget how miserable Croats (Slovenians, Macedonians…) were with Yugoslavia and why the war really started – Serbia was against democracy these countries wanted to embark on. Won’t mention Bosnia and Herzegovina because that was a mixed bag and the only ones there who wanted democracy were the Croats. The Serbs wanted to pin their lot to Serbia (Yugoslavia) and the Muslims would have taken it any which way they could in order to rule the roost. So for one, I’m keeping my sights fixed on what Tudjman wanted to achieve and what he achieved despite horrendous odds against him. And having die-hard communists at the helm of Croatia after Tudjman’s death is what’s making Croatia miserable for ordinary people struggling to live, not what Tudjman did or didn’t do during the 1990’s.
Hear, hear Emil H.R.
CITATIONS NEEDED means details are needed ,It has nothing to do with links.So don’t waste your time clicking on it unless you know it in detail.
Exactly my point – what the writer writes the is evil, evil, evil for he/she knows that there are no available references for the stuff he/she writes and yet still goes on writing to garnish a certain profile he wants to push regarding Tudjman and then by writing citations needed tries to give it some credibility or that evidence may be somewhere but not available – oh please save us from your Wiki.. Please, no more on this issue of Wiki I will delete all further comments thanks as this is getting tiring. You Like Wiki, the rest or most of the world know that much of the content is not to be trusted on face value but must be further researched etc etc. And besides, Tudjman has nothing to do with today’s government about which this article is – so don’t also come back here with wild accusations of him having robbed his country and then you too like Wiki: yeah but we need a citation to corroborate it.
Serbs have attacked different parts of Croatia(citation needed)Is it a lie ,Well no it’s the truth ,He the author of the text is not lying nor trying to spin it He is being honest and by (citation needed )allows you to come in and add to it in a detail ,If he was lying he would never use CITATION NEEDED.
Amir – I and I believe the readers have had enough of you idiocy regarding Wiki. No Wiki DOES NOT say “Serbs have attacked different parts of Croatia (citation needed) – what it says that Serbs attacked different parts of the country (clarification needed) (meaning Bosnian and Herzegovina). I have no way of knowing whether it was a he or a she who wrote the article but one thing I do know is that is someone does not want to lie or does not want to be dishonest or does not want to say what he/she does not know then he/she uses words like “allegedly” or “seemingly” and does not make affirmative statements unless he/she wants to portray lies or half truths. Why would he/she say something at all if he/she has no verifiable reference in an article that purports to be the truth and in effect all it does is attempts shaping a certain picture that suits his/her opinion of the person. Now that you also claim to know how to read the writers mind and motives let’s leave it at that. As I said you follow the Wiki and I will not. Take your obsession about it elsewhere please.
Croats in BIH have never had numbers to change anything ,specially today ,so i don’t know where you are getting your ideas from.Can one of you just answer a simple question WHY DOES CROATIAN PEOPLE KEEP ELECTING COMMUNIST.Who ever believes that today’s democracy is better than communism must be crazy.Just compare the numbers.
Don’t come here to this blog looking for definite answers to that question Amir – we don’t vote for them
TOM TOM i guess even Tudman;s recorded tapes and transcripts don’t do it for you,The most amazing thing is the fact that none of you has a minute of two of free time nor willing to edit wiki page,or maybe you have tried and failed because you can’t beat the truth.
So let me bud in here Amir, can you then give me the source from Wiki where it talks of “robbery” because the Link it has to verify the information leads to a BLIND ALLEY – no verifiable information, just blubbering and defaming by the contributor/s whose names of course or identity is not given to the public. That tells you a great deal about credibility of Wiki
Deleted as inappropriate
Your problem is in your own argument,’I for one didn’t read it’ and than you have read it but don’t get it,It’s not all that hard to understand nor to fix.
Amir – we have now had enough of your Wiki harassment on this blog. I for one have gone to read it in order to show respect to your comments and you now seem to ridicule that. I get it all including the fact that whoever wrote the article wants to keep alive various allegations about Tudjman that have no proof, instead of taking down from the article every definitive statement he/she has no evidence for or reference. Enough of this Wiki thank you
Amir – stop harassing. Your obsession with Wiki and Tudjman is becoming ridiculous/ Oh, I don’t even want to beat the truth but Wiki is not the truth when it comes to you and wiki’s statements about how Tudjman robbed his country. The fact that neither you nor “Wiki” can provide any shred of evidence regarding this but make a point of regurgitating who said what, in hatred, lies, tells me that I do not want you or Wiki’s truth thank you. That what Carla del Ponte’s ICTY did with Mesic’s et al lying help. You are a pathetic person obsessed with Croatia and hatred for Tudjman and you cannot stand that so many people love Tudjman. Go away!
Deleted – inappropriate
I waited to hear what the prime minister’s state of the union speech would entail and, unfortunately, it looks as if I didn’t miss much: blaming the other party, no real plans for getting out of an economic depression, and bloated deficits reign the day. Hearing that raising VAT (PDV) on baby food was especially disconcerting to me as Croatia is suffering under the weight of an aging population and low birth rate (seriously, who’s going to pay for those meager government pensions when the current generation gets older). What a way to entice people to have more children!
As for tourists, I do not take a large issue with raising VAT for them because tourists don’t have many choices. High prices don’t usually deter people from visiting New York, London, Paris — you get the picture. On the other hand, experiencing high prices in a third world setting of Europe is appalling even though Croatia possesses an absolutely beautiful landscape, for the service, condition of infrastructure, as well as other intangible items make Croatia not as attractive for American tourists. For example, I can’t tell how many times I heard vendors say they don’t accept credit cards because the credit card companies charge 6%. It’s called cost of doing business and other developed nations use them extensively, especially in tourism.
The Croatian diaspora does care, at least I do. Even though it looks like Croatia is still run by the Communist mindset, there is one big thing on the citizens’ side: information is readily out there and it travels very quickly. People can easily see how other countries live. And maybe, just maybe, this insanity will start to unravel itself — however slowly and however long it takes.
Ture, true Racunovodstvo! Furthermore raising excise and raising taxes will sure rub nastily against businesses – businesses will need to fork out the extra costs if they don’t want to raise their products’ price to the max to match the government increases. So much for incentives. And the oddest thing is that Linic & Co reckon how outsourcing ancillary service to private operators will save the budget heaps! Hellooo! Those operators will need to be paid, so what they’re effectively doing is reducing the number of public servants (reducing salary and wages expenses) but increasing probably by the same amount operational costs of government or public services. They’re also talking about reducing the number of public servant positions by attrition – e.g. 100 retire you employ say 50 new ones and 50 positions get wiped… this could take decades! And at the same time I cannot see that there is any substantial plan by the government to increase incentives and subsidies etc to kick off small to medium business which is the backbone of any healthy or relatively healthy economy. But what do you expect from a lingering communist mindset!
Regarding the issue of raising taxes, which in turn gets passed on to the consumer, it becomes extremely difficult to squeeze blood out of a stone. One of my cousins works in IT. He makes approximately $15,000/year. That’s pitiful for a single person let alone for a man with a young family.
That’s funny concerning the government plan of outsourcing services to private companies. The US government does that, and the amount of government contractors is staggering.
Ina, would you mind providing a link to the text of the speech? I’ve had trouble finding it.
One more thing that I have to mention: your blog is awesome! It’s informative with effective commentary. Your written English is perfect, so I have to say I hope that one day I can write in Croatian as well as you write in English.
Thanks Racunovodstvo for your feedback. I do actually speak and write in Croatian just as well as in English – I consider them both my mother languages as I have attended school in both countries and have University degrees from both countries etc … the choice to do this blog in English was due to expressed need as there is not much like it to spread Croatian truth worldwide. There is no internet article link to be had that I know of the whole of Milanovic speech in parliament or the interview with minister Linic because I took those quotes from HRT evening news – we get the news via satellite – the first was 24 September HRT Firts Program evening news and the second was 26 Sept same news program which had Linic as guest on the program. Here are the links of those news programs directly from HRT http://www.hrt.hr/?id=enz&tx_ttnews%5Bcat%5D=119&cHash=1 and when you’re on that page choose the dates you want to show the news program
Croatia is still a relatively young democracy with little free enterprise experience in general. With a communist past, war legacy/trauma, incomplete justice and a history and self awareness poisoned by propaganda and lies it’s no wonder Croatia is in the state it is in. We are still in the very early beginnings of a free and sovereign Croatian state. People are not used to freedom, they have been nurtured by communist system that makes them reply on the state or others to live. Self reliance, political decision making and a competitive system is new to them. Sure under Tito’s time there were economic successes but that was at the expense of heavy debts and protected industries that on their own could not compete. Once debts had to be paid back and the same successful industries that were once protected for the sake of employment and political stability had to compete the whole system unravels; but the people’s expectations remain the same. Unfortunately Tudjman died too early. Unfortunately, all political parties came from womb of communism and in many ways are the same. Focus is needed on first getting the economy in order, not putting up Serbian signs in Vukovar. Unity is needed, not divisive school systems that are separate for Serbs and Croats – one country one school system. Demographic revolution is needed, not a society devoid of family values – survival and growth is dependent on having children and strong family structure.
This is true, but some people in Croatia do get it. Dubrovnik’s mayor is very business friendly. According to a local who acted as a guide for a Game of Thrones tour I booked, the mayor offered the production company a 50% tax credit to film in the area. Without factoring in the actors and crews’ lodging expenses and other purchases, the show has spun off local tours, renewed interest in Croatia for tourism, and instilled a sense of pride to have a wildly popular show is filmed there.
The cartoon is perfect – Politicians the world over do this for a living!
So true gpcox, and we pay for it
I love how Amir always brings up recordings and transcripts but always fails to mention how they have to a) Be listened to in their entirety b) Be quoted in context c) The content of recordings and transcripts taken into consideration the geopolitical / domestic political events that were preceding and ongoing at the time of their recording and or transcription.
He keeps referring to us Croats his favorite Wiki on Tudman, that quotes and cites Tudman ENTIRELY OUT OF CONTEXT, or at best provides a direct quote from a tabloid directly misquoting and or putting words into Tudman’s mouth as “fact,” as did the ICTY with the “infamous” Briuni transcripts which was nothing more than a military planning discussion on destroying the genocidal, Nazi-fascist, ethnically purified of non-Serb “Krajina” in a massive combined arms military operation.
The Perkovic affair is the death of SDP, as Nobilo more or less admitted in the Perkovic video that was just released – Germany is pushing it, and it is going to kick HDZ in the ass when it comes to power in terms of carrying out the reforms that should have been carried out when they were back in power.
Germany has its interests and it is protecting them. First by holding accountable the Communist savages for crimes on their territory, getting rid of slavishly pro-Belgrade and pro-London SDP, and by proxy pushing reform in Croatia via the ongoing pressure and seeing it through with the inevitable future HDZ government.
Germany is forcing Croatia to debalkanize. Danke Deutcheland Zwei!
And if my good friend Amir hasn’t noticed, those “inkriminejting” CIA releases incriminate the Serbs, and Alija and the Bosniaks far more than Tudman or the Croats – the CIA releases by Clinton demonstrate that Tudman’s policy towards B&H was entirely reactionary – to the major powers’ demands, to the corrupt, pro-Serb UN, to the duplicitous politics of Izetbegovic.
Their timing, in light of the SDA-HDZ’s deal and the US effort to streamline the Federation, as well as with the Prlic et. al. trial, is no coincidence Amir. And the reaction of Halilovic and the clowns at SDP shows that the fantasies outlined at the 1993 SDA meeting will never be achieved.
And, with Luka Misetic stating point blank that Seselj will get off in the fall, and we all know how his welcome will be and how soon elections will follow and his victory is secure right now, things are on the up and up for Croatia geopolitically.
Eat your heart out Amir.
Yes therealamericro, Amir reminds me of a few personalities including Mesic who like to make big statements, fail to provide real evidence but pad their words with snippets of something someone said or someone thought happened etc but no real verifiable evidence to corroborate what they say. It all comes out of hatred and intolerance of the great deeds Tudjman was able to make happen
Why don’t you tell us about all the evidence used in Hague,you could do it context .or how come you never mention that ICTY has found Croatia to be aggressor on BIH in four different trials,I mean his wiki says HE HAS ORDERED WAR CRIMES IN AHMICI AND TRIED TO COVER IT UP which makes him war criminal in every normal brain and yet you didn’t edit it even though it ‘s doable.
Amir – WIKI SAYS NOTHING! It’s the anonymous contributors or writers who say things on Wiki and that can be anyone! So get that into your head for once and for all! And sorry to disappoint you Tudjman has not been tried by ICTY and therefore he has not been found guilty directly but by association, assumptions, testimonies of others that could have been either truth or perjury and we will never know I guess because Tudjman was dead at the time of trials or was not called to account by ICTY and therefore no defence allowed or existed, was not charged etc so when you call him a war criminal please make sure you put a prefix like “alleged” he has never been charged nor tried and don’t forget ICTY could have done it while he was alive but it didn’t!
I see you have started reading Joe Tripician.s book and finally have started making sense,I have only couple problems with your comment and would like to correct you,CIA will release only 300 hundred pages on 10/1/2013 and all of them will support Clinton and his Administration,So far we know tudman was selling everything to both Pale and Knin,He has sent 3000 solders to Mostar etc,etc.Do you ever wonder how you never edited Tudman’s wiki page with the truth you share here with us,Being here tells me you have time,besides if you happened to know that Germany didn’t help you during the war nor afterwords,but i do keep my fingers crossed,I mean they among others have passed a law (THEY WILL EMPLOY NO CROATS)for next 10 years but hey whatever rocks your boat.If you believe Clinton will say he made mistake by threatening Tudman and making him sign both Washington and Dayton agreement good luck to you.,Don’t you find it little bit weird that Cro-Media doesn’t report on CIA not even Dnevno.hr.
Another good piece of news for Croats and tear jerker for Amir:
Željko Komšić: Zašto sam ja postao problem BiH?
Na samom kraju učešća na 68. zasjedanju Generalne skupštine Ujedinjenih naroda (UN), predsjedavajući Predsjedništva Bosne i Hercegovine BiH Željko Komšić govorio je za Anadoliju o sadržaju dva važna razgovora koje je imao na East Riveru.
Svoju posjetu Americi Komšić nastavlja radnom posjetom Saint Louisu gdje živi više desetina ljudi porijeklom iz BiH, sada američkih građana. Došlo je vrijeme, rekao je Komšić za AA, da bosanskohercegovačka zajednica u Americi počne stvarati svoje domaće, američke lidere od kojih će imati koristi i BiH.
Svoj razgovor za AA započeo je najavom tog drugog djela posjete Americi, koju zvanično započinje danas.
“Boravit ćemo prvo u Saint Louisu, jer tamo imamo sastanak sa našim ljudima – dijasporom. Organizirano je malo veće okupljanje, a planirano je i polaganje kamena temeljca za Sebilj uz prisustvo gradonačelnika Sain Luoisa. Nakon toga ću otići u Urbanu, u Illinois, gdje je zapravo jedan od univerziteta na kome postoje slavenske studije, a proslavit ćemo i početak studija na, tako da kažem našim jezicima: na bosanskom, srpskom i hrvatskom. To je pogotovo važno jer je tu predviđen jedan okrugli stol o iskustvu imigranata u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama (SAD). Kažem da mi je to posebno drago i ponavljam, riječ o zvaničnom početku rada Studija bosanskog, srpskog i hrvatskog jezika. Tu ću održati govor i jednu vrstu predavanja, a na okruglom stolu ću predložiti neke zaključke vezano za iskustva imigranata u SAD”, priča Komšić.
Zemlja mogućnosti
Govoreći o navedenim zaključcima, Komšić je kazao da SAD definitivno jeste zemlja mogućnosti, te da je kao takva bila tretirana, a takva je i danas.
“Ono što želim reći našim ljudima, našoj zajednici koja je, hajde da kažemo, neću reći asimilirana, ali uklopljena u američko društvo – vrijeme je da ta naša uklopljena bosanskohercegovačka zajednica počne rađati lidere, ovdje, domaće – američke lidere, koji će krenuti da se uspinju u američkoj administraciji, bilo da je riječ o Kongresu ili je riječ o Senatu, da li je riječ o našoj djeci koja su rođena ovdje, kojima je otvoren put, koji mogu postići uspon u vrhove politike SAD. Držim, računajući, koliko ima naših ljudi u SAD, da mi imamo i taj kapacitet kao bh. zajednica. To može biti jako korisno, ne samo tim ljudima koji će sebe ovdje afirmirati politički, nego može biti korisno za Bosnu i Hercegovinu i odnose sa SAD. Takvih primjera već ima, što mi je jako drago”, objasnio je predsjedavajući Predsjedništva BiH.
Osvrćući se na susret sa čelnikom UN-a Ban Ki-moonom, Komšić je istakao kako je generalni sekretar te svjetske organizacije “stavio u fokus probleme Bosne i Hercegovine i regije”. Podsjetio je kako je Ban prije nešto više od godinu dana bio u posjeti BiH.
“A razgovarali smo i oko drugih međunarodnih tema, koje su, naravno, bile vrlo važne na zasjedanju Generalne skupštine UN-a. Drago mi je što smo o tome razgovarali i to sam mu govorio i o odnosima SAD i Irana. Tu sa obje strane, da ne pretjerujem, postoji pružena ruka. Nama je to bitno, jer su nam i jedna, a i druga zemlja – prijateljske. I, naravno, govorili smo o situaciji u Siriji. Cjela ta situacija sa Bliskim istokom, sa Sirijom, pa čak i Iranom se, ipak, naslanja na to mediteransko područje, a to sam rekao i generalnom sekretaru – sve to ima određene refleksije na Bosnu i Hercegovinu”.
Dobra atmosfera u regiji
Komšić je potvrdio kako je generalnog sekretara UN-a posebno interesiralo šta se dešava sa Bosnom i Hercegovinom i regijom.
“Rekao sam mu da u regiji trenutno vlada dobra atmosfera. On je pomenuo pregovore Beograda i Prištine, a ja sam rekao da mi na nivou zemalja regije, evo, mogu to reći sa nivoa šefova država – nikad nismo imali bolju atmosferu, da tu postoji razumijevanje, spremnost na suradnju. Da, zapravo, ta atmosfera u regionu, računajući vrijeme od završetka rata u BiH, nije bila nikad bolja. Ali, nažalost nisam optimista kada je riječ o predstojećem sastanku u Briselu, kada je riječ o presudi ‘Sejdić-Finci’. Rekao sam generalnom tajniku da je presuda u slučaju ‘Sejdić-Finci’ vrlo jednostavna presuda, da ona govori o osnovnim ljudskim pravima, ali da je zapravo samo treba relizirati”.
Nadalje, Komšić je potvrdio da je razgovarao i sa novom ambasadorkom SAD u UN-u Samathom Power oko pitanja BiH, pa i aktuelnih političkih problema. Njoj je otkrio stvarne razloge zastoja u implementaciji presude u slučaju “Sejdić-Finci”.
“Nije mi drago što u tome pominjem svoje prezime ili ime, ali sam joj rekao da je to, očito, problem zbog čega se ne može doći do dogovora oko realizacije presude u slučaju ‘Sejdić-Finci’ – jer, niko ne razgovara o sprovedbi presude ‘Sejdić-Finci’. Svi razgovaraju o ‘slučaju Komšić’.
Dakle, to znači – kako da izbjegnemo budući ‘slučaj Komšić’. Ona se slaže, zapravo sa tom tezom”, otvoreno je kazao aktuelni prvi čovjek Predsjedništva BiH.
Saglasnost Venecijanske komisije
Ističe kamo u ovoj priči ne potencira samo sebe, jer “sutra može doći neko ko se neće prezivati Komšić”.
“Kakve to veze ima?! Dakle, rekao sam to i gospodinu Banu, u razgovoru, da nažalost nisam optimista – da će se doći do kriterija. Jer, koliko ja znam, Evropska unija je ovaj put postavila kriterij, tako da kažem definisala, šta je to kredibilan napor, koji naši politički lideri moraju da postignu. I to ga je definisala ovako – kakvo god rješenje vi da dogovorite i dođete u Brisel sa njim – ono mora dobiti saglasnost Venecijanske komisije i morate garantirati da imate većinu u Parlamentu da bi ga realizirati”, analizira Komšić, te dodaje:
“Mislim da dovoljno dobro poznajem situaciju u BiH, da smatram, da je u ovoj konstalaciji političkih odnosa u Bosni i Hercegovini to gotovo nemoguće postići. Što, naravno, jeste problem dalje po zemlju, jer nemojte zaboraviti da je 1. oktobar nama zadnja prilika, a iduće godine idu izbori i kod nas, a i za Evropski parlament. Kad budu izbor nove Evropske komisije – niko neće u tom period baš biti spreman da ‘strašno’ bavi Bosnom i Hercegovinom. I bit će šteta ako se taj rok propusti”.
Vrag je u detaljima
Na pitanje jesu li baš sve te šanse na izdisaju, imajući u vidu da su neki unutarnje-politički dogovori u BiH u toku, Komšić je zaključio:
“Ono što sam ja vidio, kao neku vrstu osnove za dogovor – postizanjem konsensusa oko presude ‘Sejdić-Finci’, a što je predmet pregovora SDA i HDZ, zapravo nije ‘Sejdić-Finci’. I što je najgore, čak se oni neće složiti oko toga. Vidio sam objavljene vijesti da su kao postigli dogovore oko principa. Ali, znate kako to hoda, uvijek je vrag u detaljima. Dakle, ne možete reći – dogovorili smo se, a na detaljima smo se posvađali. To, onda – cjeli dogovor pada. Pogotovo, kad imamo u vidu ono što EU od nas traži – da taj dogovor dobije verifikaciju Venecijanske komisije”.
There are 70000 thousands Bosnians/Bosniaks living in St Louise or specifically in Bevo Mills,I don’t know how could you use ‘NEKOLIKO DESETINA ‘ when even Anadolija reported about thousands.I have no an idea what good for Croats you have seen in the interview nor i see anything bad for myself.,Colombo he said they made it all about him,HE MEANT CROATS .because only they have a problem with his existence But hey just keep spinning it.
Dear Friend:
I have nominated you for Special Awards that you truly deserve. These are unconditional awards, and to receive these you don’t have to do any additional work. You have already done a great job of offering your great support, camaraderie, and positive feedbacks to the posts by yours truly, and this recognition signifies my appreciation of your kind support.
Please visit the link below for additional details.
http://dshenai.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/nominating-10-awards-to-16-superb-bloggers-to-celebrate-super-september-of-16000-visitors/
Congratulations and Namaste.
=Deo
Thank you very much Deo – very kind and I truly appreciate your gesture. As I grab a bit of time I will post it on my site soon and link to you 🙂
You are most welcome, and Thanks for your great support, inavukic.
You’re welcome Deo, and thank you 🙂
nice
Thank you generaliregi
Hot topic ,politicians are hard to trust.Their promises are winds their word are illusions.There in Europe and here in the USA.Thank you for following my site.Wishing you all the best.JMS
Thank you jmsabbagh, yes most politicians suffer from a nasty disease which contaminates the people’s lives, so perhaps the times are ripe to see how JF Kennedy’s words ask not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country can be applied to an effective end.