Nachricht Nummer : 575 Übertragungszeit : 4 min 24 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de (Wam) Antworten an : wam@zamir-zg.ztn.zer.de Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 29 January 1995 Kopienempfänger : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR Erstellungsdatum : 29.01.1995 09:51:00 W+1 Zagreb Diary 29 January 1995 Dobar dan, "If nobody is lisning to nobody there will be bullets in the air rather than words" A poster with this text was always hanging on the wall in my living room back home, it was made many years ago by the Dutch department of Amnesty International. I was thinking about it, since if the bullets are ones in the air, how can you put words back into it. How to reverse the situation, with other words. Words, they are easily been used, they for stories together, stories of hope, stories of suffering, or stories which are absolute besides any point, than making you laugh about them even when they are ment serious. Like the story Tudjman told us in the end of last year. Up to then it was always official said that almost 1/3 of the country was occupied. But at that moment he explained that in the last year that part became a lot smaller, not more than 10-15% is now still occupied. At the moment that I heard it, I thought for a second that a war had taken place which I hadn't noticed (yet). But no totally peaceful, without any arms used Croatia had grown over 1994. The Adriatic sea, which was still part of Yugoslavia was now official part of Croatia, the country grew with about 40% suddenly. And the last weeks of December and the first weeks of this year, were full of this type of statement of President Tudjman, he simply was on television almost every day with another important statement. After 5 or 6 nobody was watching anymore and nobody really took it serious what was been said or done. Untill that Thursday evening Tudjman announced that UNPROFOR had until the 1st of March. A big ahhh... was voiced around the country, did we really hear him saying that.... Dear Croats and citizins of Croatia, today I have send a letter to Mr. Boutros Boutros Ghalis asking him nicely to remove his boys from our country before the 1th of March or at least within 3 months after it. Something like that. No, he didn't, did he. Who decided that, the government, no Tudjman, he himself, he announced that he did. Granic is abroad and also Valentic is not around. Maybe he talked it over with the defence people, who knows. But he said real, watch the next news. The next day the highway was still open and now 2 weeks later still nothing serious there has happened. Valentic former compagnie has build up a kind of supermarket near their INA tank station near Nova Gradiska and more Croatian police is assiting more people from Okucani and Banja Luka to change DEM into Kuna in the bank in Nova Gradiska, some Croatian trucks have been stopped at Okucani by "RSK" militia to be searched, but for the rest, lot's of words about the highway, nothing has really changed. Yes, suddenly the forgotten tankstation and the highway just before the UN checkpoints between Nova Gradiska and the UNPA border is now one of the best going stations in the country. The highway is open, not only for Croats to drive through west Slavonia and Beograd if they want, but also for people from Serbia, "RSK" and "BSR" to drive through Zagreb controlled parts of Croatia. People from Beograd, no longer have to go via Brco and Banja Luka to Okucani, but simply take the highway again. So also those people can tank and buy things on that "coridor", what embargo ?, not versus "RSK" or "BSR" there isn't. The restaurant among the road are becoming meeting places for people who haven't seen eachother for a long time. The absurdity, which I tried to explain my mother when she was here. Today we can drive straight through the "occupied" part of West Slavonia, without any control or any problems. We can also drive from Pakrac to Pozega, 15 kilometer more north, at the border line between the Knin and Zagreb controlled parts of West Slavonia and that road is been considered dangerous. Ask the restuarants and pubs just before and just after that road. The truck drivers make a last stop before, with a stiff drink, they go in and one when they come out. We took the Pozega road, planned to come back via the high way, but when we came back it was already nearly dark and after sunset the highway is closed. Words, some times I am not so happy understanding them all, rather close my ears. If we would lisen to all the words now voiced around the country, really war will come agian. No it wouldn't. Words, stories, historical documents. I got such a document, a book, published in the summer of 1992. With the hopeful title Slavonian BLOOD. It is made by 2 young journalist of Glas Slavonia and some of their friend photo journalists. People who basically wrote and made photo's of cultural and (rock) music events before the war. Young people who stayed. Just after the last grenades had fall the wrote the book. A document seen from their point of view, recording what has happened and what lead to it, but Branimir (defender of Peace, that's what his name means) Glavas, than the un-crownd prince of East Slavonia, nowerdays still in power, but less prominent in Osijek at least as in those days, ordered that a second copy should be made. This copy I have, with a nice long interview with the Defender of Peace in Eastern Slavonia, especially in Osijek region, himself. With a nice photo of the regional hero in uniform with a white pigion in his hands, somebody show in a quick movements with his hands what he thought Glavas had done with the pigion after the photo was taken, but let's not go into details. Remarkable in this copy are also the war-documents. The list of names of people to whom Glavas, personally, has given arms in October '90 (the war in Slovenia started in the summer of "91), he personally. With photocopies of some signature from people who recieved their shipments, numbers and all. Lot's went to HDZ local groups, but also some HSP and Student groups. A journalist descibed in the beginning of the book that just in that period Serbian extrimist were arrested who had weapons in their homes. Glavas is proud on this in this book, he did it, far before Croatian authorities in Zagreb started to do it official, Glavas becomes soon official Defender secretariat in Osijek. At 23 September '90 Tomislav Mercep, who is than HDZ commissioner in Vukovar orders 25 Kg of Salamies from Branimir Glavas, written on a page of an old diary (as people use to do here) and stamped with the official HDZ stamp. Under the photocopy stands that "Salami" actual means "explosives", but does it matters. The next page shows that HDZ Nustar, Zupanja and Vukovar already had 275 kg explosives recieved from the Osijek office (Glavas takes the explosive out of the warehouse of DP IGM "Orahovica", the defence units of that warehouse were supplied with 50 riffles and 6 cases of ammunition by Glavas again, according the signature at the document of 25 October 1990). At 6 September 1991 it is again Glavas, officer of the Natinal Guards, ZNG, who gave the order that the famous bridge linking Osijek and Baranja had to be destroyed, a week later the bridge is hanging down. Documents as thanks for gifts from abroad, how the Croatian unions abroad send weapons or rather money to buy them. Believe it I am not making it up, it is all in their, proudly porving how clever Glavas was and how he see things happening a long time before they really happened and acted acoordingly to it. The books is now not available anymore in Osijek. I got one of the last copies directly from somebody at Glas Slavonia. Yeah what can you say, it are all words, words on paper, like this words on a screen....... He Tyche, Pjort and Rik remember listen, but learn to filter please, Mir, Wam:-) ## CrossPoint v3.02 ##