Nachricht Nummer : 544 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 23 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de (Wam) Antworten an : wam@zamir-zg.ztn.zer.de Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 18 November 1994 Kopienempfänger : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR Erstellungsdatum : 19.11.1994 16:13:00 W+1 Zagreb Diary, 18 November, 1994 Dobar Dan, Today, I couldn't resist to write about it, it is 3 years ago that Vukovar "fall". After nearly 4 months of resistance with mainly air-, hunting- and bird-riffles (some "real" arms were also available under the defenders, illegal, police arms and arms brought in by the soldiers of who broke through the lines (not much of this group of volunteers made it the whole about 20 km from Vinkovci to Vukovar alive)), the defence was broken today 3 years ago (the food and amunition situation in the town was of course next to finished). The Chetnik forces were the first to enter the town, as far as I kno w also the first who started the attack. JNA (than still not rename in JV (Yugoslav Army)) never the less played a major role with their heavy guns to damage or destroy almost every single house in the four months before the surrender. Vukovar fall, or Vukovar was liberated. The census of 1991 can't help us much there, there were living around 17 different nationalities, Serbs and Croats of course as the biggest minorities. So who had the majority in the town, Serbs or Croats, or rather to which country the inhabitants wanted to belong, to Croatian Croatia or to a part of the bigger Serbian countries. Who knows, who have really asked them at that moment. Those people from Vukovar I know said that they only defended their houses and they would have defended against everybody who would have started shelling the place. Vukovar became part of what is now called RSK (Republic of Serbian Krajina) or rather the so-called RSK, as we have to write in Croatia. The last day, 18 November 1991 a long march of refugees (women, children and olderly people) walked over the misty road out of the town, the new "masters" of the city let them go. A picture we still see on Croatian television almost every week a few time, it is part of a propaganda spot for a programme on Wednesday about Croatia and the rest of the world. Another film shot I have seen over and over again is a group of Chetnik soldiers, with a black flag with white Eagels on it, marching around the corner into a total destroyed street. Every house looks if it has been eatened by gigant ants, not mortar fire, but street fighting, small bullets have done this. How many people (those who were fighting, maybe others) they didn't let go is probebly a mistery for the future, the figures on different sides are as always different. In the last two years more and more people were released from jails in Serbia (or RSK), but according to Croatia source still a few hunders are missing. The mass grave they digged up (UN) also didn't contain the bodies of all those who are missing according to Croatia. At the 22th this months in Beograd will start a court case against Dusko Sabackom , from whom is said that he was involved in that killing. So maybe the future will tell us, maybe the true never will be revealed. Tudjman and Granic went today to one of this Vukovar remembering, a very special one, the world first public showing of the brand new Croatian film "Vukovar se vraca kuci" (Vukovar returns home). For weeks already the promotion clips have been shown on Croatian television. A film over te lie of Vukovar refugees in excile, at least from their town, but still in Croatia. All over the country you can find them, refugees from Vukovar. Normally peopl talk highly in Croatia about Vukovar, but as I wrote at least 2 years ago their refugees are not particular threaten as hero's. The conditions under which some of this groups are living is horrible. And their big desire ofcourse is going home. I don't know what tey feel if they see this film and I don't know to which Vukovar they like to return. From the town of 3 1/2 years ago is not much left over, although it seems that in the last half year some repairing work has been done there. But as always even when you repair the houses, can you repair as easy the other damages. The film show a picture which I recognise from people from Vukovar I know. Waiting, not really able to start a new life, to go back. Talking which each other about how good life was in the town, how special Vukovar is for them. Living in a reality which will take some time before it get realised, or maybe it never will be realised. A father which lost his leg in the fight, a child who lost his friend after the fights, when they were playing with some handgrenades. A hopeless picture of the father getting drunk when he thinks or rather tries to forget and start shooting with his pistol in the pub (on the electronic dart board). The train wagons, in which they are leaving in excile, who suddenly start rolling in the direction back home...... When I look outside my window I see a big truck parked on the other side of the street. It is a truck of a transport compagny from Vukovar. Their office are ofcorse also her in Zagreb, the truck probably never ever have been in Vukovar, like a lot of Vukovar cars, which are driving around in Croatia. Another story from Vukovarians this truck may tell. A story from people who picked up their live (probably had also the money or the contacts) and builded a small part of Vukovar again a few hunderd kilometre away from the town. Vukovar it also goes daily through my fingers, the town stands on the note of 20 Kuna. Mir za somewhere in or around 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 of communication you like, but please drop my a line, you can reach by sending a message to WAM@ZAMIR- ZG.ztn.zer.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. ## CrossPoint v3.02 ##