Nachricht Nummer : 229 Übertragungszeit : 4 min 21 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 11 August, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 13.08.1993 08:23:00 S+2 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 11 August, 1993 Dobar dan, So Eric ad I tried to stand up as early as possible, thanks to Eric I didn't had to take the train at 6 to Pakrac, but he could drive me a little later. Never the less it take a while before we are on the highway of unity and brotherhood. Eric first want to registrated himself in the American embassy, we park the car around the corner and walk to the embassy. In front of the door stands at least 70 people waiting for their turn to go in. Eric and I walk pass the line, as American you don't have to stand in line and about 5 minutes later we talk with the assistant something from the embassy. The guy asks Eric if he knows the last travel recommendations and states that they can't do anything for him if he gets in problem outside the Croatian controlled areas. Back on the street I see how Eric's car gets loaded on one of those police trailers and we run up to the trailer and hair that we parked the car at a place which is reserved for Croatian airlines. The costs are 105.000 HDR (something less than 50 marks, neither I, neither Eric has that cash in HDR with us, so we asked the police man were we can change .The driver of the trailer goes in his cabin and returns with a big pile of Croatian banknotes and standing next to the police man he offers to change for us (black market exchange is still illegal). The whole operation takes about half an hour and so we arrive around mid day in Pakrac, on the way down Eric of course couldn't resist to make some pictures of the destroyed houses in Gaj. In the UNOV office we met the new head of the office, a lady from about 50, Annette from Ireland, which gives everybody immediately a big hug when she meets them. She is replacing Martin and just returned from 6 months Sarajevo, were she trained International UN volunteers who worked in Sarajevo. And nevertheless the six months in hell she is full of energy. We just sit down to do some updating when the door of the office opens and Plazter (the big UNOV chief from Vienna) comes in. He congratulated me with the success of the workcamps so far and say that he is really impressed by the way the work campers have mixed with the local people. Ten minutes later Eric and I are sitting in one of the most luxes BMW I ever have sit in, it is a of the CD cars from the UNOV of Vienna, which brought Platzer here this morning. We are on our way to the "other side". In front of us the grey UN BMW from Tommy and behind us the white UN Renault from Simon. At the checkpoint a lot of discussion, two of the participants don't have the needed official UN identity and although they are in the official UN car from Vienna it cost a lot of convincing to let our total group get's through. We met the "major of the other side" in the opcina (townhall) and a short but effective meeting follows, Platzer tells them that he just have heard that the Austrian government is willing to give 1,2 million dollar for the Pakrac project (may sound a lot but is probably just enough for the first hundred houses) and that unfortunately the "street of hope" (Nerd Ulica, called this way by us, since it has a different name on either sides) project has to wait, the neccessary political agreements between Knin and Zagreb are not yet made and so nobody can start to clear the minefields. Nevertheless the still tricky political situation the "major" asked if Platzer maybe can talk with UNPROFOR about the fields near the minefields, which haven't been used for two years now, but could still produce a few hundred tons of flour before the winter. He gives as second argument that when farmers work next to eachother on the fields maybe some of the tension between them will disappear. Platzer promise that he will bring it in during the next rounds of peace talks in Vienna, but that he thinks that it wouldn't be that easy. The "major" reacts in his characteristic way, saying "Dobre (good)" with a face which says we can try, can't we. After handing over the first money for buying the first building materials for the first 3 houses we leave Japaga (this part of Pakrac) and go with our little convoy on the way to meet the Krajina officials in Okucani. The "major" is Pakrac has official hardly any power anymore, a few months ago he is replaced by a new one and the regional power is taken over by the executive board of the west Slavonia Krajina in Okucani, which are put into power by the Krajina government in Knin. Between Japaga and Okucani you have to pass 2 Whisky Charlies (Canadian Checkpoints) and one Argentine Checkpoint of UNPROFOR. I don't know what the new orders of the Canadians are but at every of their checkpoint I feel like a criminal who is doing something illegal, they tell that they even check the UNPROFOR cars at the moment. The fact that Eric and the girl from CARE Austria don't have official UN documentation makes our passings not easier, but we come through. Some Krajina Milicia man also try to stop us on the road, but we drive through without even chancing speed. The last Serbian checkpoint in the middle of Okucani is angry that we don't stop and when we have parked the cars just around the corner an armoured police cars comes speeding around the corner in order to catch us. The next three hours we spend with the officials of the Knin government in western Slavonia, who try to make us clear that all our projects in Pakrac (Japaga) are illegal and that when we continue to work together with the illegal authorities there they will stop our work. Every project, every penny we bring in into this area must firstly be controlled by them. Platzer makes him clear that NGO's never ever work together with official governments and never would give their money to them, and moreover that it is already hard enough to find donors at the moment, so when they are making it harder to help must likely all the help will stop. Vitez, the regional leader say that he can't agree with that, but there stops the meeting, we will see. When we leave the meeting Annette gives all the guys a big hug and we leave laughing since they nearly have to go on their knees to recieve the hug. The meeting is being interrupted about 10 times by angry police man, who can't stand that we passed their roadblocks without stopping. Our interpreter tries to explain them that UN cars don't have to stop and that when we start stopping at all the checkpoints we never get where we have to be. On the way back to the Croatian side Platzer makes clear to us that he likes to continue the way we have started the project and that he is really is not willing to follow Vitez his rules. Bok I Mir from Zagreb, Wam ------------------------------------------------------ Zagreb Diary can be found on a lot of different electronic networks, it is copyright free and can be ported to any network or other means of communication you like, but please drop my a line, you can reach by sending a message to wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de or wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org. Zagreb Diary is dedicated to Tyche, Pjort and Rik, so that they found out what there father have been doing all that time in Zagreb. Financial support for Grassroot relief work in Croatia or BiH can be send to Kollektief Rampenplan (atn. Lylette, Postbox 780, 6130 AN Sittard, Netherlands, tel:. +31-46-524803 and fax: +31-46-516460 or to Zagrebacka Banka, Zagreb, accountnr.: 2440291594, to Kat, Pieter Jan Herman Fredrik, Brace Domany 6 6fl nr3, 41000 Zagreb. Please notify me if you send or have send any donations. ## CrossPoint v2.1 ##