Nachricht Nummer : 146 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 40 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 7 June, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 07.06.1993 18:18:00 S+2 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 7 June, 1993 Dobar dan, For the last year I have been leaving in a country where soldiers from all nations are united in the United Nations Protective Forces (UNPROFOR). What force means I know, due to years of anti-military actions. They are trained and armed to fight conflicts and to hate, or at least, fight against an enemy. The biggest psychological problems in the UNPROFOR regiments is I think that there is not really one enemy, or rather that there is officially no enemy at all and in reality..... that's the problem lot's of those forces around here seems to have chosen sides, so they are back in their old job. Protective is also know, although in the beginning it look more that the UNPROFOR has to protect themselves, running around in Sarajevo when the shells dropped around their building. But of course it is true the UNPROFOR Has established the UNPA zones in Croatia and it is a bit more quiet since they are active, and a lot of people have a cold feeling around their hearts for what will happen if they would leave now. And indeed it seems to be clear that in Zepa it is also a lot quieter since the bleu helmets arrived. United Nations is however a little bit harder to imagine, what united nations, it are just different forces co-incidentally all in white vehicles, with the same type of number plates (UNPF 5432 or something), and with blue helmets or barrette, but for the rest they are from the UK with the Union Jack on their uniforms and vehicles, the Dutch, also the red-white and blue on their uniforms and vehicles (and proud, they "Royal Dutch Military Police" and their VW transporter, which I only have seen so far in my life than in bleu), the Spanish, yes, with red-yellow-red on their uniforms and vehicles, or the French with, yes, and all those other countries which are driving around in the UNPA areas and warzones and who come to Zagreb to do their shopping for back home. And if you see them operating in the field their is not much united either, every force has so it's own policy and so it's own thoughts how to operate here. And so have they all their own little part of Croatia or BiH were they are "ruling". And so have all of them their own command centre and main barrack, only at the top their is a bit "united" but further down the line is a just a normal national battalion who is co-incidentally here and not on some training's field or practice. I wonder more and more where those extra costs are made between normal army battalion "at home" and having them here, and I wonder since I was confused when I heard that the UNPROFOR has a hard time to mobilise the next 70.000 troops to safe guard any peace plan. He, guys, it is not getting any cheaper by waiting, prices of armies are all inflating, and one way or another you should pay a bit if you take the peace serious. My believe in a well trained peace making and keeping international united group of mediator, with a little bit of fire power in their back pocket for protecting themselves has got some serious attacks living around here. If you see those armoured cars driving their round in Mostar, whit all kind of heavy machine guns on top ready to shot away, this fire power has grown a little bit out of the back pocket. I hope sincerely that this is the last action from UNPROFOR in this line up, armies are not made to do peace keeping, you are not going to the black smith if your tooth is hurting. This guys are not trained for the job and they are not together as the world community in their job. If this whole idea of a world police force should be anything serious the UN should start to train their own force composed out of people from all nations and train in social skills, it is just a tip, don't take it serious, it would cost too much anyway. Another thing I have been surprising me more about is the idea that after a year war the Croats and Muslims still fight with broomstick against a full equipped armies on the other side. Now the whole world discussion is again in the direction of lifting the arm embargo I ask myself what is a way to peace, bringing more countries into a country or taking weapons out. It also hypocrite since all the weapon traders around the globe already have their part of the cake, since also in countries in war don't grow guns on the trees, so all that hardware had to come one way or another, but that is no problem in a country of war. Further on I have been thinking about how that hardware should get into those area's in BiH which are surrounded and that in case of the Muslim forces about everywhere. So the only way to get the hardware in is via air and that is a little hard with this no-fly zone. And more over who is going to pay for that hardware, giving a country the right to buy, but knowing that they are anyway are brooked, is also letting a dog run after a meatball in front of it's noise. Are like the shop windows in Zagreb, what you may be able to buy if you had the money. And what will happen if UNPROFOR starts to transport weapons as a kind of special humanitarian aid. With food and medicines convoys have a hard time to get through, what if everybody knows that the convoys have weapons for the "enemy". Through the air, ha ha, the airbridge to Sarajevo was just closed for 5 days, since somebody shoot on an aeroplane full medicines. Maybe it was just a boring other day of war that made we think about this stupid things. 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 ##