Nachricht Nummer : 411 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 45 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.de (Wam) Antworten an : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.de Betrifft : Zagreb Diary on 16 February, 1994 Kopienempfänger : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA Erstellungsdatum : 17.02.1994 11:33:00 W+1 Zagreb Diary 16 February, 1994 Dobar dan, Today or yesterday the Yugoslavian office opened in Zagreb as the Croatian office has opened in Beograd, this are not yet real embassies, but already a big step in that directions. Not many people are really happy with this facts, you may say it is the end of the war between Croatia and Serbia (and Montenegro), but if the end comes so sudden why have their been any fighting at all. For nearly 3 years the so-called occupied area's or rather Serbian Krajina was a big thing, without those part returning into Croatia there was no opening to speak. Others say that it is just "peace" for the moment but that when the situation in BiH has changed a bit and f.e. UNPROFOR pulls out both friends will start to fight again over the last parts of BiH under control of the presidency. For the time being something like a normalisation seems to have started and let see what happens and hope that enough people wake up out ofthe dream of the last 3 years. Vesna told me how she was sitting in the train to Italy this weekend and was listening to two men on their way to Triest to buy a car there. One was a former HV soldier, probably one of the people who was mobilised and stayed on from the beginning. He said that he was very angry and feeling bad when they told him that the army didn't need him anymore. Now some time later he is not regretting it any more, if there is again war and they call me up I wouldn't go, he was telling. He continued that the politician from today in Croatia has used their political power to make themselves rich. At that moment the train passed the Croatian-Slovenian border were the daughter of Tudjman has the monopoly to build up tax-free shops. An end of the war will have a dramatic influence on the economy ofCroatia, not only will become at one time thousand and thousand of men suddenly unemployed, but also a lot of bigger and smaller companies, who now deliver supplies to the army will go bankrupt, and that are not weapon suppliers, but things like shoes, clothes, food and other things. Keeping up the army cost of course also a giant amount of money, for which Croatia probably still get some help from Croats from abroad (I am not sure), but having the army covers up at least a huge part of the giant unemployment. And this is said and written by somebody who calls himself a peace activists. Of course I think deeply that the war should stop and that armies never should be used to cover unemployment, so it means finding new ways of employing thousandsof people, a task not only for Croatia or any of the other countries, but also for the International community. Talking with some friend from Berlin who passed by today in our house I listen to his old war stories. How he visit Zagreb 14 months ago and found an old friend on the street, which use to be a real punk, inclusive leather jacket and anti racism symbols on it, who at that moment was a soldier in HV, they met eachother on the street and my friend hardly could recognise his friend. They went out and his friend told him that the biggest kick in live was taking drugs, having a walkman on with heavy techno music and sitting behind a working machine gun. You produce your own video clip. He, my friend from Berlin, also told how the situation in the metro in Berlin has changed in the last year with all the refugees from BiH. If you sit in a compartment you hear besides you people telling about Zvornik, next to your seats somebody talks about Tuzla, just a few places further they are coming from Tvarnik and in between are sitting quiet people with black hair, who look a little afraid. Probably the last ones are Serbian guest worker living more than 20 years in Germany. And this is happening all over Europe in big cities. We talked a lot this evening, since my friend is a little lost, he lost his hope that this war will ever stop. We tried to change his mind telling that for us a lot has happened in the last 14 months. And even in the last months. Our discussions went from the ultimatum, which is getting slowly closer and closer and the possible economical boycott against Croatia. Again it became clear for us how bad influences such a boycott can have on the political and economical situation in Croatia. Like in Serbia the government of Croatia will be able to use the boycott rather than be attacked by it. From Vesna I have heard that Vreme, the opposition magazine from Beograd has also published a big story about Dzakula this week. It is maybe dangerous for him, like I have now the crazy situation of being interviewed by Croatian newspapers and feeling that my opinion is now spread around this countries and that that can be dangerous, god knows what people on the street think. And there are still a lot people out there who think different and have very big guns if it is necessary and strong hands. Back in Zagreb I also get confronted again by the funny exchange of money policies. Last week somewhere the Croatian state took a lot of Croatian money of the market and the result is that you get again less HDR for your DEM, not much less but it is starting again to go down. It is also again impossible to official change all the money you want at the banks. After a few months laying low the black market is starting to be active again, only you get less there than in the bank. Mir from somewhere in Hrvatska, 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 ofcommunication you like, but please drop my a line, you can reach by sending a message to wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de . 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 (postbox 33), 41000 Zagreb. Please notify me if you send or have send any donations. 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