Nachricht Nummer : 511
Übertragungszeit : 4 min 12 sec
Nachricht von    : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de (Wam)
Antworten an     : wam@zamir-zg.ztn.zer.de
Betrifft         : Zagreb Diary 31 August 1994
Kopienempfänger  : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA
Erstellungsdatum : 07.09.1994 15:23:00 S+2

Zagreb Diary

(Due to technical problems I can't spel check this text, hope you still
understand it)

Zagreb, 31 August 1994

Dobar Dan,

Yesterday evening I had a nice meeting with Vesna Kasic and Milorad
Pupavac (chairman of Serbian democratic Forum), I asked them to explain a
bit more of the things which I even after nearly 2 1/2 years here still
really don't understand. My problem is still that a lot of words have a
deeper meaning in this area. A simple word like f.e. "federation" is
loaded with all kind of discusions which took place in the /end 80'ties
and the period in the 90'ties untill the war started in Slovenia. When I
mention the word, some people reacted if I openly quoted and supported
parts of "Mein Kampf" and ideas from Hitler. For me it hasn't those deeper
meanings, my home country (Netherlands) has a kind of federation for over
30 years with Belgium and Luxemburg and shortly with 11 other European
states, nevertheless I feel totally independent as Dutch citizins, not at
all Benelux or EC citizins. Federation here is always closely related to
former Yugoslavia, talking about it reminds people on the old days before
the wars started.

In this case, however, we talked again about the years before the war in
Western Slavonia and the secrets around a village called Spanovice (up to
91 it was called different it was renamed by the solialists directly after
 world war 2) nowerdays. It was good to hear the story without all the
emotions involved as I hear it all the time in Pakrac (on both sides of
the line).

Today's geust of the summer school is Cicak, the president of the Croatian
Helsinki Council (HHO). For those who don't know him that well I will try
to introduce him as best as I can. He was student in the 60'ties and early
70'ties and one of the student leaders in the Croatian spring (a Croatian
nationalist uprising in 1971). As most known Croatian Spring activists he
was send to prison (another famous one, Franjo Tudjman, also spend some
time in jail in those days, although most people would say that his
(Tudjman's) cell was more like a suite in a Hilton hotel). After the first
free elections in Yugoslavia in 1990, which where in Croatia totally won
by HDZ, he was shortly member of Tudjman's first government, minister
without function, but removed after a few months, during the first
changings (which up to a year ago took place regularly (nearly every
second month)).

As result he became an out spoken critic towards the goverment, not
particular blaming them nationalistic tendencies, since he is still what
you call a promotor of Craotian nationalism, but mostly he reacted on the
regular break of the international agreed human rights by Croatian
authorities. In 1992 and 1993 he became internationally known as somebody
which gave heavy, but not always completely proofable or fair, critisism
on the doings of the Croatian state, especially in foreign newspapers. The
results were that he became not particularly loved by his "old friends".
In 1993 he pronounced himself more or less chairman of the new establsihed
Croatian branch of the Helsinki Council (an international Human Right
organisation).

Over the last year a lot of his orginal critism became milde, and in his
function of chairman of HHO he took up a kind of position in between the
more radical human right and peace organisations (like for example the
Anti War Campaign) and the Croatian state. He accused f.e. in the Croatian
press that ARKzin and Feral Tribune are mis-using the right for freedom of
press by publishing only articles opposing the Croatian state. At the same
moment he also accused the regular Croatian press for only writing
articles in favour of the states politics. All in all a position which is
not always so easy to anticipate his political line and some people I know
would say his interpretation of human rights.

So a colourfull person in the Croatian political spectrum. By the way if
this introduction is seem as a kind of critisism on HHO it is seen
wrongly, it is just a discription of what I heard and learned about the
political doings and vision of its chairman. HHO, often in cooperation
with other branches of the Helsinki Council and other (inter)national
human rights organisations, is doing a lot of great work for human rights
in this country.

Anyway Vesna Jankovic, Vesna Kasic and I didn't attended his introduction,
we heard later that there wasn't much new things said, we went out to look
for some Swedish participants, who also join the meeting. Unfortunately we
couldn't find them. We walked over the beach a few times and I found out
that the refugees, from whom there use to be living about 600 in one of
the hotel complexes, where moved out. But I am sure that I heard people
speaking Bosnian on the beach yesterday (when I passed by about 12 old
women playing bingo on the beach), so they still must be around, tomorrow
I will try to find out were they are and if Suncokret is still active here
in the town.

Walking around the town we ofcourse saw posters from the Pope, which are
also here all over the place. The whole country is full with them, nearly
all towns and villages are preparing themselves for the big days next
week, they all organise busses and other trips to Zagreb to see him. In
the newspapers appears one colour poster after the other, stating how much
the Croats love their spiritual father. On the television you see
interview after documentary. The big qeustion up to some days ago was if
the Pope would also go to Sarajevo, but a few days ago the Vatican
official announced that the town was safe enough for a visit.

After our search the both Vesnas went to join the last part of Cicak's
speech and went to the beach to read the last chapters of a book about the
political strategies of Ghandi, which I started some days ago. I was just
back in time at the restaurant where most of the participants are eating
to join the ongoing meetings about the realisation of a kind of network
from all the local human rights groups. About a mounth ago they started
with this coordination meetings and the aim is to work more closely
together in the future. Most of those groups, especially those outside of
Zagreb are rather small, not more than three or four active members and
have a hard time to survive, not so much (financial) support from outside
the country. Nevertheless especially in the smaller towns bigger or
smaller violations of human rights, especially evicions of houses of the
former JNA are still happening there (although Tudjman promised in
December last year that such things wouldn't happen again and that the
official state policy is against it).

The realisation of that network is not going without the neccessary heavy
discussions. Countery to the way most of the groups which are establish
out of or around ARK (Anti War Campaign) most of the others are formed by
people from what you can say an "older" generation, lot's of those already
were more or less active in the former days before the wars (in
"socialist" organisations). The different between socialist top-bottom
organised and the newer horizontal organised groups makes the general
understanding from the how and what a network is not always that easy. But
sseing the enthousiasm and the energy people are willing to put into this
cooperation it looks hopeful.

Mir od Mene,
            Wam :-)

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