It matters!
Croatia, the War, and the Future
Ina Vukic - Croatia: people, politics, history, economy, transitioning from communism to democracy
The place where you can get your: Colour Me Croatian
https://colourmecroatian.com
Welcome to my blog. Here I will bring to you a variety of topics covering the documented truth about that terrible war that Croatia had to endure during the period between 1991 and 1995 and about Croatian political history that shaped a wonderful nation of people.
Croatian people wanted independence for centuries, just as they had it until the twelfth century but fate was not on their side – others wanted their beautiful land. In late 1980′s the will to break free from Yugoslavia which suffocated freedom and self determination through harsh communist party rule finally bore the desired fruit.
In June 1991 Croatia declared its independence; soon after the aggressive war against Croatia broke out. The struggle of the Croatian people for self-determination was a just one. But I fear genuine justice has not been served as there have been, and there still exist, international covert and overt moves to equate victims with aggressors continue in attempts to change history. Truth often becomes obscured and lost and that is why I have chosen to write this blog, to concentrate on actual events and issues about Croatia – wishing it a bright and freedom-loving future.
It certainly was not easy to come out of the war that was fought on two fronts:
1. On the military front the world’s public has seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Croatian cities, towns and villages from land, sea and air; the destruction of civilian targets including homes, schools, hospitals, churches, factories and cultural monuments; the blockading and destruction of roads, bridges and ports; the blockading of power, water, food and medical supplies. What hasn’t been shown on our television sets is the forced clearing and evacuation of towns and villages, followed by looting, torture, rape and murder carried out by the Serbian forces, who were initially backed by the federal Yugoslav army that was largely constituted by Serb nationals; the transportation of multiple hundreds of innocent Croatian civilians from Croatia into concentration camps Serbia (Begejci, Stajicevo, Sremska Mitrovica… from October 1991, and later (1992) transferred into Serb-held camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Omarska, Keratern, Manjaca, Trnopolje).
2. The second front was the war of political propaganda centred on: misinformation about the rights of minorities in Croatia; portrayal of the Croatian people as Ustasha or Fascists; the representation of the Croatian defence forces as illegal paramilitary units; the representation of the Croatian and Slovenian republics as unreasonable secessionists who are unwilling to negotiate; a regurgitation of distorted facts about World War II.
Indeed Croatia had an absolute right to defend itself and this is often forgotten if not often denied it.
Ina has been a tireless volunteer on humanitarian aid and fundraising for victims of war in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially war orphans. From1991 to beginning of 1994 she contributed in lobbying for international recognition of Croatian independence and Croatia’s rights in defending its territory and people from military aggression by Serbian forces. For this dedicated voluntary work Ina was awarded two Medals of Honour by the first president of the Republic of Croatia in 1995 (Commemorative Medal of the Homeland War and Order of the Croatian Trefoil).Ina has also written hundreds articles for newspapers in Australia and Croatia on the plight of Croatian people for freedom and self-determination, developing democracy in former communist countries. She holds two graduate and one post-graduate university degrees, specialising in behaviour, clinical and political psychology and management.
Blessed Alojzije (Aloysius) Stepinac Feast Day February 10
“When they take everything from you, you’ll be left with two hands; put them together in prayer and then you’ll be the strongest.” Blessed Aloysius Stepinac (1898 – 1960)
“They could not, nor will they ever be able to kill our passion and our need to live in human dignity, in peace with ourselves and with the free nations of Europe. We have carved out that right at our first democratic elections. For this right and for our sacred land we are even ready to die” – Dr Franjo Tudjman (1922-1999) ( Addressing the Croatian nation at the moment of the start of Serbian aggression against Croatia, 16 October 1991)
Human tragedy through the pages of history.My grand parents were victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915 when Turkey killed 1 1/2 million of my people.God bless Croatia..JMS
Blessings to you too, Jalal. You can relate well why it is so important to remember and remember
Some people doubt the Holocaust, too. They don’t believe and they won’t look at the evidence. So sad.
Yes, so sad, Brenda.
The reason why the people of Bosnia will rather join hell than Serbia! crimes like that made our indepedence unchangeable and let us remember the 8000 croat civilians who was killed by Serb forces in eastern Bosnia in the summer of 1992.
Lest we forget, Muhamed
I found that Mishka’s testimony was very accessible and her humility was powerful in targeting her message: every single one of those 8,372 lives mattered.
Well said, Carol. Every single person killed matters so very much.
Unless the Serbian government and its backers publicly come out and say ‘yes we were responsible for these evil crimes like Srebrenica, yes we participated in genocide and we ethnically cleansed our neighbours because of their ethnicity and because we wanted to rule all of the former Yugoslavia,’ there will never, ever, be peace in the region. Like Germany and Japan post 1945, a reckoning has to take place. Sadly too, the former Soviet regime types like Putin will never recognize the type of evil from their own past, hence their continued aspirations on places like Ukraine. And as a previous writer wrote, Turkey must recognize the genocide committed against the Armenians! Only true justice can bring lasting peace.
Hear hear, Veronika.
Veronika,Drazen Erdemovic was ,is Bosnian Croat or a Croat as he likes to call himself.
“I might call it scepticism” You’d be right to call it that.
“doubters and deniers often come across as reasonable and well-informed” Before 9/11 I and my fellow Americans, for the most part, believed the US government. There was a degree of trust that those who gave us information were worthy of trust.
We now know that it was misplaced trust in nearly every conceivable way. And the betrayals continue to mount. People can find some degree of truthful information about events if they dig deep enough to find them.
I don’t believe a single thing my government tells me. I’m not alone. Indeed, it’s not a bad bet to believe the opposite of what they say.
The stunning numbers of dead in the Middle East has had a desensitizing effect on me. When I realize that my government is directly responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children, the displacement of millions, the “blowback” deaths of millions, and that it is controlled by international corporations, it’s quite sobering.
It truly is a time to reflect upon massacres, and to hope that in some small way we might be able to prevent some future ones.
Thank you, Donald. If we all do our bit perhaps future massacres will be prevented. That “perhaps” would lean towards living in ideal societies that above all respect human life. Until and if that is achieved there will be, regrettably, individuals or political groups who will set the road to peace back and, therefore, the job for each and every one who wants to contribute in fight against evil is far from done.
It is indeed. I’ve been working on a website about the Middle East. (Hope to make some videos about some subjects eventually.) It’s a grim story, with no happy ending. All we can do is to try and diminish the amount of suffering.
It’s practically an impossible task that even a brilliant and determined man like Noam Chomsky has barely made a dent in–but he has no doubt saved some lives.
All I hope to do with my site is to give information in one convenient place. Not much. But it’s something. US policies have caused so much suffering it just makes me sick.
Oh, I did something that I want to remind you to do. You’ve placed quite a bit of work in your site, so don’t forget to make sure that it’s fully backed up. I have two sites with my information: one is a backup of the other. Plus I have a copy on my computer.
This link, if you decide to go to my site, is for the new one.
Yes I do have backups on and off-site, thanks Donald. As to the main matter in this thread: if choice exists it’s likely it will be picked up bi someone or other, but important nevertheless. Great idea re new website.
What we are witnessing in the Middle East shows that there are people ready, willing, and quite able to commit murder on a mass scale.
Sorry I don’t know more about your country and who’s fighting who, but I’d have to do quite a bit of research to sort it all out. That’s essentially what I’m doing with my site. But my country is heavily involved in that region, so it’s a bit closer to “home” for me. A lot of fine and brave American youngsters lost their lives and limbs because of a few elite “chicken hawks” in positions of great power.
Thank God, Donald, there’s no killing in my country now but pursuit of justice for past mass killings, post WWII and 19990’s has still quite a way to go.
I quite agree with you. I just looked up what occurred in Srebrenica and I remember seeing some of what went on. The worst traits in people were on display there.
I do indeed honor the memory of those murdered and agree that the killers should be brought to justice. This will give some justice to the victims and to some extent help prevent future atrocities.
I believe in the Hague court, even if my government doesn’t recognize its authority.
I believe Hague court has a very important role, however, since the days of chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte it has “entertained” some serious political leanings which saw lots of witch-hunting, taking as fact testimonies of persons/leaders whose honesty leaves a great deal to be desired etc. And so no wonder the US has worked towards its international warriors being excluded from its jurisdiction.
Sounds like a description of the methods used by the people who got the US into Iraq–only I doubt the Hague could be that corrupt.
With the exception of the honorable General Colin Powell, who did have personal wartime experiences, I see many of the so-called — and I think aptly named — chicken hawks as international war criminals–horrible people who have brought great suffering to many places around the world. They do have one thing going for them in that the Hague doesn’t have the death penalty, so they won’t end up in front of firing squads, where they belong.
As far as the young warriors of the US, most are honorable and brave young men who were taken advantage of by an arrogant and incompetent oligarchy.
Oh, I reckon, some aspects of Hague prosecution unit matched those that sent US into Iraq etc, I have no doubts. Some aspects are comparable: Under Carla del Ponte the move was to equate the aggressor with the victim – frighteningly evil plot but she dis manage to find collaborators and Under US Bushs etc the fact that Iraq was/is entrenched in inflexible tribal network where greed for supremacy will never cease made no difference to those who decide: yeah, let’s get in and bring democracy by force…
I need to learn more about the Hague. I’m really only familiar with the conceptual underpinnings of its mandate.
There is a superb journalistic enterprise in the US called “Frontline.” I don’t know if you’re familiar with it or not. It’s part of the Public Broadcasting system — very much disliked by the conservatives who would love to see the system dismantled, for obvious reasons.
On my site, I use a lot of links to their programs. They have hands down the best reports on what’s happening in the Middle East and reports on the US’s covert (not so covert anymore, thankfully) spy programs.
Will check Frontline out, sounds good and what we need more of
Wondering if you got my email?
All hooked up now, Donald. The site looks stylish just the way I like http://themiddleeastacomprehensivejournal.wordpress.com/
Glad you like it. Happy to have you as a visitor. 🙂
😀
Thanks for the like on my blog, I really appreciate it!
I do enjoy reading it and visiting it, sophiebowns. Thank you, too – within the community we learn much about the world, events and people within it.
Its an interesting situation when seated with friends in discussion and you come to that moment where you are like “whoa, you think what?”
Indeed, psychologistmimi
I am finding more people writing that there has been no genocide.not in the nineties or WWII. I am so surprised that anyone would try to deny all the millions do deaths” hugs, Barbara
People will try anything to avoid responsibility for evil acts, Barbara. We can pray for them to reach a stage in their lives where they see the glory of “truth will set you free”. Hugs and thank you for the reblog
Yes I know the truth of what you are saying.it is amazing just how stupid people will pretend to be. What a world we live in. Thank you for all of the hard work you do on behalf of Croatia. I am proud to call me friend. Hugs, Barbara
Awww, thank you Barbara. It’s important to press on with justice and good regardless of obstacles that come our way to intimidate the good. Bless you