Croatia’s Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic Flogs A Dead Horse At UN Human Rights Council

Vesna Pusic Photo: Screenshot UN WEB TV 3 March 2015

Vesna Pusic
Photo: Screenshot UN WEB TV 3 March 2015

 

Croatia’s foreign minister and deputy Prime Minister Vesna Pusic is in the grand scheme of the UN map – insignificant. However, when she stands up at a UN event giving a speech on violations of human rights then Croats, indeed the world, need to pay attention, for she is the very example of hypocrisy on two legs.

She spoke of violations of human rights and how the world – UN – should fight against these when her own track record on these matters in Croatia tells us the fight under her “tutelage” has no chance of any success.

So, she flogged a dead horse in Geneva on 2 March 2015!

For years now she has served in the high position of power in Croatia and yet has done absolutely nothing with respect to the plight for justice coming from war crime rape victims from Croatia’s Homeland War. She has done nothing to ensure rapists are thoroughly dealt with and brought to justice; she has done nothing in the possible pursuit of removing the amnesty from prosecution and impunity for war crimes afforded to many Serb rapists, some of whom are still freely walking the streets of Vukovar, keeping their victims in continuous distress, for instance.

Please see this documentary “Sunny” published in 2014 to give a voice to women and men who were victims of rape in the war in an effort to grant them the status of victims of war crimes entitled to every means of assistance and support. To bring the perpetrators to justice.

 

 

And yet, Vesna Pusic had the gall to speak in Geneva this week, lecturing the world on how it should deal with sexual violence as a form of human rights violation!

Did she speak at the UN Human Rights Council with the intention of paving a way to perhaps secure herself an international position, perhaps in Human Rights field, once she is no longer in power in Croatia? My answer to this question is – yes. But I do so dread being a citizen of the world where people like Vesna Pusic give speeches and in real life do the opposite of what they are preaching, or do nothing to better the world; stand idly by while the world around them alarmingly deteriorates.
There are three types of human rights violations in the world today, Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic said at the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday 2nd of March.

The violations in question are violations of women’s rights worldwide in fighting sexual violence, violations of human rights in Ukraine and violations of the freedom of speech manifested as hate speech. One of the most extreme examples of human rights violations are ISIL decapitations, the Foreign Ministry quoted the minister as saying in her address.
“… when we examine the functioning of countries’ judiciary we look at how well they fight corruption…white collar crime … but never ever have I seen an evaluation of a country’s judiciary on how well it fights sexual violence. How well it prosecutes rape cases. How effective it is in fighting through its courts, through its judiciary system sexual violence. How well it prosecutes the perpetrators. How well it fights impunity for sexual violence in peace time let alone in times of war. And make no mistake, not fighting sexual violence in peace time is directly related to widespread sexual violence in times of war…this is one area which demonstrates that however long we have been aware of the problem without fighting and finding efficient ways of addressing the problem in a way in which it will go away, in a way in which it will become centre stage problem, not just one of those things, it will stay and it will spread. So I think we need a new onslaught, new crusade against sexual violence, against impunity for crimes committed either in war or in peace…” Pusic said in her speech.

Then in the same speech Vesna Pusic spoke of violations of freedom of speech that are manifested in hate speech! And yet, in Croatia, she as a highly positioned member of the government has done nothing to sanction (at least by way of public statements) hate speech that comes in the form of labeling as fascism all expressions of Croatian patriotism or democratic avenues of protest against violations of rights, such as is the case with the current war veterans protest that is well into its fourth month in Zagreb. It cannot elude any reasonable mind to see that her government is the leading force behind this hate speech and when people, for instance, point to the facts of communist crimes she and her lot label that as hate speech! She fails to acknowledge that there is no hate speech in citing facts such as mass graves, mass murders – victims of communist Yugoslavia regime, and the like.
“…Hate speech is a form of mobilizing global lynch mobs. People who decide that they have the right to hate other people so much that they go and kill people in our streets…or people who think differently who have different political opinion. Hate speech has been extremely effective. I don’t remember in my long life seeing it as effective as it is today. To mobilise people to kill other people, to violate their human rights …” Pusic said.

What a pathetic liar!

Vesna Pusic lived and thrived in Communist Yugoslavia, in a communist family who were, I believe, well aware of human rights violations of people who were against the communist regime; who had done nothing to protest against such widespread human rights violations. If she was not aware during her life in Yugoslavia of Tito’s communist purges where hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed, others tortured and imprisoned because of their political opinions, then she has become aware of them after more than 650 mass graves of communist crimes victims were unearthed in Croatia, particularly after 1990’s. But still turned the other way!

Furthermore, she and her government fund exorbitantly the Documenta NGO of which her brother Zoran Pusic is the President of the Board, and which deals with “the past” but avoids with every fiber of its being to address communist crimes! The crimes that have left multitudes of victims; the crimes that are left unaddressed – still, and which continue to feed profound distress in that society.

The European Court of Human Rights has identified a number of forms of expression, which are to be considered hate speech – offensive and contrary to the Convention on Human Rights (including racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, aggressive nationalism and discrimination against minorities and immigrants). However, the Court is also careful to make a distinction in its findings between, on the one hand, genuine and serious incitement to extremism and, on the other hand, the right of individuals (including journalists and politicians) to express their views freely and to “offend, shock or disturb” others.
There is no universally accepted definition of the expression “hate speech” and various courts throughout the “Western” world have established various parameters making it possible to characterise “hate speech” in order to exclude it from the protection afforded to freedom of expression or freedom of assembly and association.

A person with such an appalling record in fighting violations of human rights (eg prosecuting rapists, removing impunity of rapists…), a person with such an appalling record of doing nothing to improve the welfare of victims of human rights violations, such as those in Croatia that relate to the forms of human rights violations Vesna Pusic spoke of in Geneva this week, has no place in a UN Human Rights Council! Of that I am convinced and I do not stand alone in this! Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

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)

International Women’s Day: A Tribute to the courage of Croatian women victims of mass rapes

“SUNČICA/ SUNNY” – is a recently published book in Croatia, edited by Marija Sliskovic, that contains testimonies of interned (imprisoned) women against whom the war crimes of rape were committed, covered up, and to this day not brought before the criminal courts. It’s about the crime that was part of the war strategy of Serbian and Yugoslav Army aggression against Croatia in the 1990’s.

Sunny was only eight months old when she was taken with her mother in occupied Vukovar (1991). Her mother was locked in a flat like a slave for rape. Sunny did not know what they were doing to her mother, she cried because she needed her mother for herself. Serbian soldiers raping her mother were annoyed by Sunny’s cries so they threw heavy army coats over her. By some miracle Sunny did not suffocate under the heavy coats, she survived. Sunny is strong, she survived the occupiers’ heavy attire and survives the cover-up of crimes against her and her mother today. Croatia is woven from the strength of many Sunnys.”

Victim of war crimes Ružica Erdelji:

Transcript from video testimony September 2011 above (Ruzica’s testimony starts at 0.31 sec on video:

“I am Ruzica Erdelji, maiden name Barbaric, Croatian – Herzegovinian. I was born 11 January 1951 in Grabovo near Vukovar.

I spent the war in Vukovar, at Olajnica, building 15, in the corridor of third floor, without any living conditions, without water, food, in fear. Hungry in 21st Century. We waited for freedom. With the arrival Chetnik occupator, for me and many Croatians the Way of the Cross commenced, and many have never returned from that Way of the Cross.

We had to surrender to the Chetniks, they led us through the city, on the bridge Jelica Jankovic was kissing with the Chetniks, she tells them by name and surname who needs to be killed. Those people are no longer alive, and she proudly strolls through Vukovar.

They transport us on buses to Velepromet.  As soon as I got out of the bus, they separated Serbs to one and Croatians to the other side. Branka Janjetovic comes and writes me in under number 477. My neighbor comes soon, Pero Krtinic, points to me as a Croatian and hands me over to the Chetniks, while I hoped he would help me. They take me into the carpentry building. Sladjana Korda is at the door, takes by force everything I had, and I had about 30,000 German Marks and gold jewelery. She ripped my leather jacket looking for money, she took everything and pushed me into the carpentry room.

There Hell, at nine thirty at night a Chetnik nicknamed Topola from Velepromet takes me out and drags me through streets of Vukovar. He says he’s taking me to interrogation. It’s night, I don’t know where I am, he forces me into a house and then into a room, Chetnik headquarters are in that house. He, armed, ripped everything off my body and raped me all night while gunfire went on outside. A man was crying in the next room.

In the morning he takes me to another room, several of them there, rape again. Then a Chetnik comes and he takes me upstairs, to a children’s room. Rape again, torment. After he had finished tormenting me, he takes me to the ground floor, where another Chetnik named Zmigo awaits. Holding batons and rifle he takes me to the next room, Arkan’s men are there. Again rape, one after the other, I felt humiliation, I felt repulsed at myself, dirty, unkempt. They chased me out, and there Zmigo waited, takes me away as war trophy, me as if a little Ustashe. Along the way we meet Ilija Macura, I thought he’ll help me, but he pretended he did not know me. He was in army uniform, today he works as delivery man for the police.

Zmigo takes me to the cellar of a house across the street from Textile school, he too rapes me all night. In the morning he takes me to a Chetnik leader, Lancizanin from Vukovar, nicknamed Kameni. He sends me to Velepromet, to judge me there. And again carpentry building with Sladjana Korda. She kicked me into a room, it was the room of death. I, the only woman among men. Vukovar men dressed in Chetnik uniforms came there all the time, they beat us and dragged people out who never returned. Next night they take us out in buses to army barracks. They beat us there and force us to sleep on concrete.

If we needed to go to the toilet there had to be 10 of us. When we finally reach the toilet, you cannot relax from fear, as armed Chetnik stands beside us. One day we had to clean the army barracks, we were humiliated, shamed, dirty. Come Stanimirovic, Dokmanovic and Hadzic, spit on us and ask what we are doing on holy Serbian ground. Stanimirovic now receives a parliamentary wage, while I live on 1, 775 Kunas pension after 35 years of work.

After all those tortures and torments, 29th November 1991 we are transported to Sremska Mitrovica, and on 12th December we were exchanged. Never had anyone asked how I am, do I need help. I’ve been treated at psychiatric wards in Cakovec, Zagreb and Vukovar. Noone lent me a hand of consolation.

Thank you to everyone who supports us in this painful journey of truth, because the truth must be known. “

“Sunny” has become a strong movement in Croatia during recent months with courageous women finally breaking the social and intimate barriers that occur in cases of rape, and have come out: speaking of their suffering, pointing their fingers at and naming the Serb war criminals, perpetrators of mass rapes over Croatian women during Croatia’s war of Independence. To take their courage further they have begun arriving at the office of the State Prosecutor, giving their testimonies, providing evidence of war crimes – with great expectations that the perpetrators be finally brought to justice.

Marija Sliskovic

Marija Sliskovic, also the president of the “Women in Homeland War” Association said last month in Croatia: “Those who had perpetrated those crimes must face their evi deeds,” adding that in the opposite case the criminals will think they’ve done something that’s not punishable”.

It’s a known fact that there were even camps for the implementation of mass rapes into which fertile women of non-Serbian origins were broughtvand raped. They would be released only when they were highly pregnant, too risky for termination of pregnancy. There is no doubt that this approach to women contributed to ethnic cleansing of the areas as women who experienced this most often did not want to remain in these areas in order to avoid seeing their rapists (and these were often their first neighbours) and to be constantly reminded of the horrible memories.

Women of Vukovar also experienced hell on earth when in 1991 Chetnik paramilitary units together with Yugoslav Peoples Army occupied the city. In that they kept many non-Serb women in Vukovar, imprisoned them in houses and committed over them pathological perversions that only sick minds can imagine. It’s enough to mention that the youngest female person whom these maniacs tormented was six, and the oldest eighty years old.”

The courageous women of Croatia are pursuing war criminals that have escaped justice up until now. Their plights for justice had in the past fell on deaf ears; rapes were covered up, rapists set free, some fled Croatia after the war only to be returned to Croatia under the EU push to repatriate Serb “refugees” back into Vukovar/Croatia.

No more cover-ups if these women, victims, get their way. Besides approaching the State Prosecutor’s office they are spreading their intention to reap justice to the Croatian foreign minister, EU Ambassador to Croatia, Members of Croatian Parliament for Serb Minorities…

As a woman, I stand in awe and admiration before such courage.

There is no doubt in my mind that many these heinous rape crimes have been covered-up and “overlooked” for political reasons that point to external pressures against Croatia not to “ruffle too many feathers against Serbs” if it wants to be in EU! Well, it’s about time that Croatian government and institutions step up and shout out loudly in securing justice for it’s women victims of mass rapes. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A.,M.A,Ps.(Syd)

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