Manuel Neuer (Centre)
Photo: Screenshot
“How beautiful you are”, by Marko Perkovic Thompson, is not even the national anthem of Croatia and yet it has been molested to “Kingdom come” as nationalistic, fascist, ultra-right – God knows what not, down in the doldrums of leftist miserable existence. As one unsavourily expects The Deutsche Welle (DW) and BBC (and other such politically twisted media outlets) have during the past week got their hands on a private video showing Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer on a holiday in a Croatian coastal town, having fun with a number of people singing the popular Croatian song “How beautiful you are” (“Lijepa li si”). While the lyrics of the song celebrate the natural beaty of different parts of Croatia and parts of Herzegovina where multitudes of Croats have lived for hundreds of years (and were joined into the same Kingdom or country on and off over the centuries past) these media outlets had decided to label the song as “controversial”, dubbing it as nationalistic with fascist connotations!
BBC article says that “the lyrics refer to Herceg-Bosna, an area of neighbouring state Bosnia-Herzegovina claimed by Bosnian Croats in the 1990s, who were supported by the government in Zagreb during the Balkan wars. Croatian nationalist folk singer Marko Perkovic penned the song in 1998. His performances have been banned in several European countries. Critics have linked Mr Perkovic – known as Thompson after the type of machine gun he carried during Croatia’s independence war in the 1990s – to the nationalism of Croatia’s pro-Nazi Ustasha regime in World War Two. The Ustasha was a Nazi puppet regime which killed more than 100,000 people in concentration camps, most of them Serbs, Jews and Roma. Mr Perkovic denies sympathising with the Ustasha.”
It is quite telling of BBC’s and DW’s political unsavouriness and systematic wrongful imputations regarding Croatian patriotism to write about a song that came into being in 1998, celebrating the beauty of Croatian lands after the bloody war of aggression was won (Croatia’s Homeland War officially ended in 1998 with the reintegration of Serb-occupied and ethically cleansed territory) when they immediately jump into WWII and Croatia’s siding with Germany in the war. It is the idiotic and sinister side of leftist (communist, neo-communist) politics to keep pushing the preposterous idea that Croatians of 1990/1991 did not really want independence from communist Yugoslavia even though they voted for it at the 94% voter level!
Since in its article it mentions Herceg-Bosna, it is quite telling of BBC’s rotten politics to fail to mention in the same article British very own Lord Carrington and Lord Owen who were very forceful and downright usurpers of Croatian people’s rights to self-preservation when it comes to Croats of Herceg-Bosna. Why put all the “guilt” on Croats? Why talk only of Croat supposedly wrongful nationalism in that war where Croats had to defend their own lives from Serb and then Muslim aggression? Didn’t both Lord David Owen and Lord Peter Carrington make their mark in attempting to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina according to ethnic or nationality lines, carve the borders of future countries within former Yugoslavia, including Croatia, during the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1990’s. Of course they did! Lord Carrington attempted to pass a plan that would end the wars and result in each republic becoming an independent nation. Lord Owen continued under Lord Carrington’s pursuits to recognise the importance of ethnic (nationalistic) divides in that cruel and barbaric war of aggression in order to achieve peace and self-determination/preservation.
And when it comes to Herceg-Bosna who else but Croatians from neighbouring countries would come to the aid of Croatians in Bosnia and Herzegovina – no one! One must ask, why then is allegiance to nationality as an important factor of peace that Lord Carrington and Lord Owen not criticised by BBC or DW or anyone else of similar calibre one may come across more important and humanly proper than that of Croatians! The inevitable answer to this lies in anti-Croatian propaganda and political lynching devoid of any common sense, facts or fair-minded reason.
Marko Perkovic Thompson (third from L)
July 2018 = celebrating Croatian victories at FIFA World Cup
Photo: picture-alliance
Marko Perkovic Thompson’s 1998 song “Lijepa li si” in translation goes like this:
How Beautiful You Are
When I remember, tears well up
The scent of memories
Every step of my homeland
And folk customs
I recognise your beauty
Which awakens my love
When I’m with you my heart
Beats stronger, it is big!
Oh, Zagora, you’re so beautiful
Slavonia, you are golden
Herceg-Bosna, a proud heart
Dalmatia, my sea
One soul but two of us
Greetings Lika, pride of Velebit
How beautiful you are
When Neretva heads for the sea
Then remember me
Be the theme of my song
For all of those who are gone
Come on Istria and Zagorje
Let’s raise up all three colours
Let’s embrace in front everyone
Let them see that we are many
Oh, Zagora, you’re so beautiful
Slavonia, you are golden
Herceg Bosna, a proud heart
Dalmatia, my sea
One soul but two of us
Greetings Lika, pride of Velebit
BBC and DW in their articles regarding Neuer’s singing say that “It is not known if Neuer understood the words of the song”! My goodness! What’s there to understand apart from celebration of beauty of the land a nation of people (Croatians) have called home for centuries! Even though “How beautiful you are” is not Croatia’s national anthem for the sake of comparison of connotations a popular song brings I wonder what BBC would say had Neuer while holidaying in Croatia sung “God save the Queen” with its lyrics “O Lord, our God, arise, Scatter her enemies, And make them fall, Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks…”!? Or what DW would say had Neuer while holidaying in Croatia sung Deutschlandlied (Song of Germany) with its lyrics “Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland!For these let us all strive, brotherly with heart and action! Unity and justice and freedom are the pledge of fortune; flourish in this fortune’s blessing, Flourish, German fatherland”!?
What nationalistic garbage would he be accused of then? Most likely none because these twisted media outlets may give only nations of their political choice the right and privilege to celebrate patriotism and national identity using the sheer beauty of their lands but deny it to others. However, BBC, due to its own evident lack of it, would most likely steer away from hailing patriotism as a positive trait of human existence while DW would most likely silently crawl into a dark corner fearing association with “Germany above all” may wreck their chances of being taken seriously. BBC and DW, and those like them can go and jump in the lake as far as I’m concerned. Ina Vukic
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DW and BBC are jealous of Croatia
One way of putting it, alvarezgalloso 🙂
Reblogged this on El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso.
BBC is at its pitiable low grade and refuse to grow out of it.
So true Joseph, and yet they plod along as if nothing’s the matter – what a disaster
It’s all there, I might just replace the verb “jump” to something more apropos, and the noun “lake” to an immediate family member. Otherwise, spot on!
Thank you Brankec. Much appreciated, however the jump and the lake are in the idiomatic expression known to most if not all that speak the English language and the spirit of that expression is meant.
FIGURES–BRITISH MEDIA IS JUST AS CORRUPTED BY ASININE BIAS AS THE REST OF THE MEDIA!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
THE BRITS HAVE FITS THEIR JOURNALISM (SIC) IS THE PITS!
There is nothing wrong with the song, and everything right about the song! Tell DW and BBC to fuck-off. Must have been a slow media day…too much idle time for people of little intellect and even less culture is the devil’s playground.
🙂 🙂 <3 Sunman
For me, it’s Dubrovnik and the Dalmatia forever! 🙂 An incredible region with the incomparable Adriatic Sea. You could drive through that region and still miss something!
So beautiful through and through Elisa
The BBC tells lies about Scotland in England, they even tell lies about Scotland in Scotland.
Yes Ronnie, I have noted that, I closely follow developments in Scotland etc. I have a special spot in my life for the Scottish 🙂
Excellent choice Ina. 🙂
I never listen to BBC news anymore or watch any programs on TV, but I still have to pay for a TV licence to watch other channels. So, I am contributing towards Westminster’s propaganda machine. I have decided to use a loophole to never pay for another licence again.
It probably won’t be long before they privatise the BBC anyway. The Tories have sold everything else off.
the growth of national extremism is a issue in Europe as it has been everywhere, perhaps it’s time to point out to the general population, that
their economies and life styles are not under the attack of those small number of people, who gladly exploit those countries, who don’t have the umbrella of shelter, that communities of country’s provide, amen. The days of targeting a country’s currency has ceased since the Euro arrived.
I reckon one’s own umbrella is safest and surest, bwcarey
where there are many umbrella’s you have a canopy, have a fine day
As long as it doesn’t leak at the seams bwcarey 🙂
lessons come from many sources, amen