Croatia: End Sexual Violence In Conflict – Get Minister Vesna Pusic Out Of Project

 

William Hague and Angelina Jolie in Srebrenica, March 2014

William Hague and Angelina Jolie in Srebrenica, March 2014

Author of original text in Croatian: Vedrana Milas, Objektiv, 23 April 2014
Translated into English: Ina Vukic

In late March 2014, the International conference “Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict – A Stronger Role of Regional Security Forces on Peace Support Operations” was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was organised by the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with support from the Embassies of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Norway. The establishment of a centre for education of preventing sexual violence in armed conflicts was announced at the conference and a new model of training soldiers and the police from the region who will be sent on peace missions was also presented.

This is a part of the Global campaign against sexual violence in war initiated in May 2012 by William Hague, chief of British diplomatic services and Angelina Jolie, actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. The initiative for the campaign arose from the movie “In the Land of Blood and Honey”, which talks about the rapes in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (during 1990’s war). Shocked by the small number of convictions for rape given the scale of the crime, British Foreign Secretary Hague had on 1st April stated for BBC: “I believe that our plan is to see that new international standards for investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of war crime of rape are brought about and help not only in the prevention of such crimes but also help the judicature with more efficient processing of the already committed crimes.” (Furthermore, Hague stated for BBC: “…I think we can do something, if we succeed and create the right international standards of investigation and prosecution so that people really are punished that justice is done when at least some of these crimes are committed …” ).

The processing of war crimes of rape is a key problem in Croatia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in other countries of the world who have been through wars and this initiative should contribute to a more efficient processing of war crimes of rape. Because of the inefficient judicature many victims of rape in Croatia, especially in the city of Vukovar, are forced to watch their rapists move freely, which has convicted the victims to a lifelong trauma. How large the problem is can be evidenced from the Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at NATO Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic’s statement after the completion of the above conference in Sarajevo: “I am deeply ashamed for the fact that victims of violence on Croatian streets are forced to cross to the other side of the street in order to avoid encounter with their rapist”.

In the meantime, on 24th September 2013, at the sitting of the UN General Assembly a Declaration to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was made and a new international protocol on investigation and documenting of sexual violence in armed conflicts was completed and which will be presented at the “Global Summit To End Sexual Violence In Conflict” in June of this year in London by William Hague.

The road to the first codes against rape in war has been long and torturous, from the 19th century American Civil War (The Leiber Code) through Geneva Convention 1949, Nuremberg trials and Military courts in Japan, which saw the word rape mentioned for the first time in a judgment, although only in the category of crimes against humanity. It was only at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and for Rwanda (ICTR) that rape in conflict had been defined as war crime. The turning point is found in the ICTR Akayesu case where it was said that rape or sexual violence can be treated as genocide, if it is proved that the intention was to physically or psychologically destroy a certain group of people of a part of that group of people. The ICTY judgment in the case of Furundzija from 1998 represents a novum (a new thing) in the international court practice because that was the first judgment passed exclusively for the war crime of rape.

But, what was Croatian Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Vesna Pusic doing in Sarajevo? The same woman who two years ago had no time for the raped women of Vukovar but instead invited them to march at the head of Split Gay Pride parade with the following words: “I would, however, expect these women, as victims of violence, to show solidarity with all other victims or potential victims of violence and I expect for them to be in the front rows at Split’s Pride!”  Yes, Vesna Pusic had in the year of 2012 sent a message to the victims of war crime of rape that the war crime is identical to the potential dangers for the members of a different sexual orientation!

The Croatian public was flabbergasted; numerous Homeland War associations, public personalities and ordinary citizens asked for Minister Pusic to step aside, but their voice was hardly heard, press silence covered up this most embarrassing gaff by a Minister since the day of Croatian independence. All these women wanted to ask Minister Pusic was to work on the internationalization of the problem of raped women, to use her bilateral meetings with her colleagues from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the countries in which members of the former Yugoslav Peoples Army and Serb paramilitary formations live or are hiding, and whose victims they themselves were. What mistakes did these women make, then? Perhaps in the timing because Serbia had in the same year received the status of EU candidate. Did Mrs Pusic cold-bloodedly assess that the moment for receiving the victims of rape was not convenient (?) – we will never know for sure.

This was not the first time that Minister Vesna Pusic was instrumental to war crime of rape: in 2006, in the Croatian parliament she accused the then president of the Constitutional court, Vice Vukojevic, for the raping of a Muslim woman in a camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though she found out about that “case” back in the late 1990’s when the former President, Stjepan Mesic, pulled a book out of somewhere, authored by the alleged victim, Pusic suddenly became interested in the case only in 2006, immediately after Judge Vukojevic’s testimony at a German court in the case of Krunoslav Prates for the murder of the Croatian emigrant Stjepan Djurekovic. After the 2011 investigation by the Swedish, American and Bosnian authorities confirmed that the woman does not exist, that the book was clearly a product of the Bosnian secret service AID, Pusic went all quiet. She had not even apologised for the five-year hell the Vukojevic family went through. While the manipulation with the crime of rape has in this case had the aim of compromising the credibility of Judge Vukojevic as a witness, the invitation to the women victims of rape to place themselves at the front of the Gay parade had its function in building her own popularity in the EU bodies and in collecting political points with the gay population. Does one really need to explain that not a single politician who has even a little of political intelligence – and a seed of humanity – would ever enter into manipulation with victims of any crime, and especially not with crime of rape.

Many praiseworthy initiatives would find it difficult to achieve success were it not for the efforts and promotion by public personalities from political and arts circles, because these people are the ones who ensure global visibility of projects and eventually – the finances. Sadly, the importance of living the values one preaches is sometimes lost in people involved with a certain project, i.e., that their moral integrity is at least – solid. Of course, this is especially important for campaigns associated with human rights.

The initiator of this project, Foreign Secretary William Hague, is a man of a flawless political biography and some initiatives such as his book about the life of the philanthropist William Wilberforce (the leader of the movement to abolish slavery in most countries of the British Empire in the 19th century who needs to be thanked for the Laws passed to abolish slavery) and his 2010 – when he was appointed a Secretary in David Cameron’s government – statement in which he said that he would seriously engage himself with the area of human rights – speak enough of his integrity.

The nomination of Angelina Jolie as UNHCR special envoy is a good choice because besides being a well-liked actress she has shown a characteristic of humanity by adopting several children from different countries. But, a person like Vesna Pusic, who has profoundly compromised herself on the issue of war crime of rape, does not represent a good choice – for sure! Is the British Foreign Secretary Hague aware of the fact that by nominating Vesna Pusic as one of the global promoters of the project the whole project is compromised? His duty as an initiator is to ensure that the people involved with the project are persons in whom the victims of war crime of rape must have trust. Minister Vesna Pusic is not that person – for sure!

It is a terrible realisation that we will not be able to punish some criminals because many who had suffered rape – especially men – do not want to speak, do not want to go through the trauma of court testimony,” said Marija Sliskovic, the president of the Croatian “Women in Homeland War Association”, for Objektiv. “That is why I think that the initiative started by the British Foreign Secretary Hague is something truly very important and big. We, in Croatia, have already contributed to this initiative by uncovering most of the criminals through our collection and published testimonies. All those who engage with the issue of rape as war crime must not stop until the very last accessible criminal is not processed. We need to look up to the Jews who, even though decades have passed since the Holocaust, are not stopping until the last living criminal against Jews is found. They know best what true suffering is.”

Women Of Croatia’s Homeland War

Today, 8 March, marks the International Women’s Day! May it be a happy one to all the women of the world and as far as Croatian women are concerned my mind is turned to those who endured and survived with dignity the most horrendous of fates a woman (a human being) can endure. I turn to and bow the women that stood out and stand out as heroines of a nation (independent Croatia) created despite the brutal aggression, rape, ethnic cleansing, genocide … that swept across Croatia in the early 1990’s with only one intent: eradicate Croat lives, humiliate Croat lives … just because they are Croat and want freedom from communist totalitarian regime!

I also turn to the many Croatian women who left their stamp of truth, freedom and dedication to independence in many ways during the years of Croatia’s Homeland War and beyond.

These women of modern-day Croatia are truly inspiring!

Mothers of those who gave their lives for Croatia’s freedom

Kata Soljic (Vukovar, 1922 – 2008): Fondly called as the mother of courage.

Kata Soljic

Kata Soljic (click on photo to enlarge)

I am Kata Soljic, a Croat, a mother from Vukovar. I am 79 years old, I gave birth to and reared six children, four sons and two daughters. My four sons and my son-in-law lost their lives in 1991 for freedom and for the defense of the Croatian Homeland from the Serb aggressor in this Homeland War. My four innocent brothers perished by the hands of the same enemy during World War II, and my husband survived by a miracle. I have not completed any schooling. I can barely sign my own name. Life has not caressed me. And, hence, I have learned and am still learning the highest of life’s lessons and that is the lesson of love and sacrifice for those close to me and for my family,”  (Kata Soljic, 2001)

Women who were at the forefront of caring for the wounded

Dr Vesna Bosanac, a paediatrician and the legendary medical director of Vukovar hospital during the Croatian Homeland War.

dr Vesna Bosanac

dr Vesna Bosanac (click on photo to enlarge)

A witness to Serb atrocities in Vukovar, a witness who invested all her human strength to save as many lives as humanly possible amidst the genocidal madness of Serb aggression (including by Serb-led Yugoslav People’s Army) in Vukovar 1991 that saw incessant artillery attacks, the destruction of ambulances, the killing of hospital staff and patients, and the wounding of doctors and nurses who were helping people wounded in the shelling and the massacre of more than 200 people that took place in November 1991 at nearby Ovcara farm.

According to data from the Vukovar Hospital, 3,470 wounded people were treated in the Vukovar Hospital during the Serbian military aggression on the town, and more than 2,500 operations were performed in the hospital at the time.

Women – Victims of war crime of rape

During the Serb aggression in 1990’s Croatia violating women became an open and widespread weapon of war of aggression. Sadly this war crime of rape had been ignored for many years, perpetrators walked the streets freely and victims suffered, dying a bit day in and day out. According to a Council of Europe, more than 20,000 women were raped during the Balkan conflict, and many of these occurred in Croatia, while others to the majority occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the victims being Bosniak (Muslim) and Croat women. Unfortunately, the horrors did not stop at rape. Of these women, most were gang-raped by Serb rebels or Serbs belonging to the Serb-led Yugoslav People’s Army, some were forced into sexual slavery and forced impregnated often by armies and paramilitary groups.

The silence regarding the widespread rape of Croat women during the war in Croatia lasted too long and some organisations claimed that rape did not occur. Marija Sliskovic has in the past few years courageously begun to point to the problem of war rape with her book “Women of Vukovar” (Žene Vukovara) and in her latest “Sunny” (Sunčica) in which she published testimonies of 14 raped women from Vukovar and one man. These efforts have received support from the Parliament, the President’s Office, and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and other UN organisations. A rise in social compassion for the victims is evident, alongside a growing frustration that so much time that has passed without tangible remedies. The war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina brought the issue of rape to the forefront forcing international recognition of rape as a weapon of war and a violation on a multitude of levels. Despite this awareness and support the practice of ignoring rape or treating it as a last priority for prosecutors of war crimes still continues. The victims are still forced into fighting for justice at all levels and my admiration goes to them in endless bounds.
And so I pay tribute here to Marija Sliskovic, a tireless activist for the rights of rape victims in Croatia and some of the women who have had the courage to finally speak out about the horror of rape, that war crime perpetrated against them in the concentration camp during the war by Serbs:

Marija Sliskovic

Marija Sliskovic (click on photo to enlarge)

Ruzica Erdelji

Ruzica Erdelji (click on photo to enlarge)

Snjezana Maljak

Snjezana Maljak (click on photo to enlarge)

Durdica Pankas

Women who cared about the well-being of war-orphaned children

Ankica Tudjman

Ankica Tudjman (click on photo to enlarge)

Ankica Tudjman. The wife of Croatia’s first president, dr Franjo Tudjman, who from December 1991 championed the worldwide charitable action under the organisation “Save the Children of Croatia” (later re-named into Humanitarian Foundation for Children of Croatia) that sought sponsors for Croatian war-orphaned children. By December 1992 the action secured sponsorship (annual/monthly financial support via individual bank accounts set up for each orphan) for 2,160 children of killed Croatian Homeland War veterans. By 1996 the action had 4,319 children of killed veterans under its sponsorship program in addition to hundreds of children of 100% war-invalids. Her charity still goes strong today as she in her advanced age holds tight to her determination to help children in need for as long as she lives. I wish Ankica a very special day on this day of March the 8th!

23,080 Croat women who actively participated in the Homeland War, assisting in the defence against aggression

Croat women in Homeland War

Croat women in Homeland War (click photo to enlarge)

Many Croat women who worked tirelessly from the diaspora on humanitarian aid to Croatia and lobbying the world for Croatia’s independence

Croatian women rally against aggression  in Croatia - Sydney, Australia January 1993

Croatian women rally against aggression
in Croatia – Sydney, Australia January 1993 (click photo to enlarge)

Many women who worked as humanitarian aid workers caring for over 800,000 (Croat and Muslim) refugees in Croatia during the war under often dire, always treacherous and difficult circumstances.

1992 Croatia - Croat and Muslim refugees

1992 Croatia – Croat and Muslim refugees (click photo to enlarge)

November 1991 Croat refugees

November 1991 Croat refugees (click photo to enlarge)

Women who followed a career path that would enhance the path to Croatia’s democracy of tomorrow

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (click photo to enlarge)

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic commenced her career for Croatia in wartime 1993 at the ministry of science and technology, then moved to foreign affairs office and was deputy minister then head of North America unit from where she went to Canada at the Croatian Embassy as adviser and minster adviser. In 2003 she was elected into the Croatian Parliament when she became Croatia’s minister of foreign affairs and European integration until 2008. From then until 2011 she was the Croatian Ambassador in Washington and from July 2011 the assistant secretary general of NATO for public diplomacy – I trust that Kolinda will be the first woman president of Croatia very soon, Certainly her career path and world diplomacy experience has provided just the right background to lead the modern Croatia into a full democracy. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

Related Posts on rape as war crime:

http://inavukic.com/2012/03/07/international-womens-day-a-tribute-to-the-courage-of-croatian-women-victims-of-mass-rapes/

http://inavukic.com/2013/08/21/croatia-howling-for-rape-war-crimes-justice/

http://inavukic.com/2012/09/08/convicted-serb-rapists-from-vukovar-1991-flee-croatia/

http://inavukic.com/2013/05/03/croatia-stop-listening-to-serbia-listen-to-the-victims-of-her-aggression/

Croatia: Howling For Rape War Crimes Justice

Marija Sliskovic  Photo: Goran Stanzl/Pixsell Film "Sunny" about Croatian rape victims from days of Serb aggression against Croatia

Marija Sliskovic Photo: Goran Stanzl/Pixsell
Film “Sunny” about Croatian rape victims from
days of Serb aggression against Croatia

Croatian politics, authorities and institutions (including media) have failed miserably at addressing the war crimes of rape perpetrated by Serbs against Croatian (and non-Serb women) during their war of aggression against Croatia. The same could be said for Bosnia and Herzegovina. There has been no significant will to prosecute rapists, war criminals – the political and judiciary neglect of these awful, beastly crimes against Croatian people – women, mothers – has resulted in the fact that still, after more than 20 years the rape victims do not receive their deserved attention and respect among the public.

One can only conclude from this that the rape victims of Croatia’s Homeland War have remained under the radar of social sensitivity and humanity.

Croatian women, rape victims from Serb concentration camps in Croatia have not received that which every humane society owes to its sufferers: pursuit of justice and punishment of perpetrators, support and protection.  A humane society must build into its social milieu a consistent and persistent policy and procedures to address such beastly crimes and neither Croatian nor Bosnia and Herzegovinian authorities have done that. The only explanation for such appalling approach towards these war crimes could perhaps be found in the political madness and pressure towards ethnic reconciliation (the return to a semblance of the former brotherhood and unity, which failed miserably after decades of its forceful nurturing by Communist Yugoslavia) at the cost of human dignity and justice.  In this mosaic of political machinations beastly rape of women becomes, it seems, a tolerated crime; a crime that can be swept under the carpet and victims of rape are faced to having to live side by side, in same towns, with war criminals.

If we scan over democratic societies of the western world we see that the crime of rape is not tolerated. Indeed, it’s not tolerated in the young democracy such as Croatia. So why tolerate the rapes perpetrated during the Homeland War?! One may come across many a condemning word against these crimes but the condemnation overwhelmingly stops at that. Most perpetrators of these crimes have not been prosecuted and the reason for that is that there is no will or determination from the authorities to pursue these criminals. Just awful!

As things go in modern times media has a powerful role in attracting attention to issues and the spinoff of that attention can often result in actions undertaken to correct the wrongs.

Actress Angelina Jolie had certainly made a lot of right noise across the world about rape during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina with her 2011 movie “In the land of blood and honey”.

Last month, the filming of the film “Sunny” has commenced at locations in Croatia (Vukovar, Sisak and Petrinja). It’s a co-production by Croatian “Women in Homeland War” association and the U.S./Texas iFilms. The making of this film is partly supported by Croatian ministry of Veterans’ affairs, City of Zagreb and ifilms-Texas. The film addresses the suffering of Croatian people, particularly the women, at the hands of Serb aggression against Croatia during the early 1990’s.

The aggression, devastation and war crimes were perpetrated by the regular Belgrade based Yugoslav Army, various Serb extreme militant formations (Chetniks) as well as by Serbs who lived in Croatia.  This film will clearly show the extent of Serb crimes over the helpless Croatian civilian population and present testimonies of living witnesses about the inhumane conditions of captivity, torture, rape and killing. The dramatized part of the film will be filmed in Texas, USA and the completion of filming is expected by the end of this year.

The aim of this film is to show the world the extent of Serb crimes against Croatian people that have not yet been prosecuted, spark public debates throughout the world on this issue, spark international human rights organisations into debate and into delivering adequate sanctions against Republic of Serbia and its citizens who had participated in the perpetration of these crimes, compensate the victims and offer them and their families adequate assistance towards their re-integration into normal life.

The editor of the book “Sunny”, Marija Sliskovic (President of Women in Homeland War Association, Croatia), on which the film is based, has for years been collecting rape victim statements and testimonies about the horrors of the war.

In the meanwhile, the rapes perpetrated by Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war are receiving a second major revelation through performing arts. This time it’s not Angelina Jolie that’s doing it, it’s Yasmine Beverly Rana, an American writer, drama therapist and pedagogue who is presenting her drama piece “The Fallen” at the “T. Schreiber” theatre in New York – reports Vecernji List journalist Jadranka Juresko-Kero.

Juresko-Kero reports that Rana was surprised to hear that Croatian women, victims of rapes, are still fighting for their rights and punishment of perpetrators via “Women in Homeland War Association”.  Rana was reportedly especially shocked by the information that at least 240 children in Croatia were born as products of the rapes – most mothers of these children came from Vukovar.

Wounds from the past will not heal until such time when they are brought into “the light of day”, said Rana. She confirmed her belief that the truth heals everything and that all the children born from war rapes deserve to know how profoundly their mothers had suffered.

The other side of that suffering is love, said Rana. The women carried the children in their bodies and gave them birth. The love for the child had suppressed the hate towards the criminals, but that in no way means that the rapists should go unpunished.

Peace and reconciliation require a firm and consistent process to ascertain the truth, something which is particularly dramatic when rapes are used as a tool of war or in post-conflict phases against women as well as children and men.

Remembering is a very painful effort when it comes to victims of war crimes. And where rapes are concerned not all the victims are able to remember into testimonies and statements the horrors suffered. It is for that reason that societies and communities must make efforts in bringing the truth about these crimes to light and justice. For, peace and reconciliation can only return in the truth is told and the criminals dealt with – decisively, without mercy. I trust that the film “Sunny” will leave no stone of these horrid crimes unturned and that the world will stand still, take in the horror these Croatian women have had to endure and – finally help turn winds of justice against the rape war criminals. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

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