From: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de (Wam Kat)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Followup-To: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Zagreb Diary
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 92 10:57:00 MET
Organization: ComLink-Network Germany - For Peace Zagreb
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X-Gateway: US SHLINK [shgate V1.91]


Zagreb Diary
31-08-1992

Dobar Dan,

Today I had a long talk with a very active lady from 
Luxembourg, She was member from this organisations of Medical 
people against nuclear violence, Red Cross, environmental 
groups, Caritas, Catholic groups, human rights organisations, 
politics and I don't know how many things more. She explained 
that her children were now old enough and most of them 
already left the house, so she had the time to do this work, 
and then she looked at me and ask me about my children. I 
felt a little guilty, my children are at the other side of 
Europe in Denmark having holidays with there mother. And I 
totally trust her.

The lady was in Zagreb since her family lived in Baranja, 
that's is the UNPA (United Nations Protected Area) above 
Osijek in East Slavonia. And she visit the official meeting 
about the returning of the Croatian people to Baraja, which 
was held on last Saturday here in Zagreb. We didn't went 
since we could already imagine how the meeting would go. 
Lot's of people want to take Baranja by force, they think 
that UNPROFOR is much too slow and especially they don't 
trust the Russian Battalion in Baranja. They, the UNPROFOR 
battalions, cooperate closely together with the Serbians is 
what a lot of people say, even our colleague peace 
organisation "Mother for Peace", published some days ago a 
similar declaration.

The meeting about Baranja was one full of strong statements 
and emotional pleas of people who like to go back as soon as 
possible, if possible before the winter. The lady was 
surprised about so much aggression and even she knows the 
whole story of the people from Baranja (she came from that 
region herself, before she moved to Luxembourg about 30 years 
ago) she still hoped that people weren't so aggressive.

I told here about the Baranja project of our Center for 
Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights in Zagreb and Osijek. The 
workshops in non-violent conflict resolution training we 
organised with trainers from abroad for police and medical 
people from Baranja. Those people are the first who will 
return to secure the safety for the others. Since they are 
also coming from Baranja and their houses also maybe 
destroyed or occupied it is important that get prepared 
before they go in. 

We hope that Adam Curle gets the permission to go into the 
area this week, together with UNPROFOR and people from Osijek 
to see how the situation is and report back to the people 
from Baranja in Osijek. Of course it would be possible to go 
into Baranja from Serbian side, as Joel did some weeks ago 
when he visit Vukovar. But for many reason it is important 
for the project that we go into the UNPAs from Croatia side 
and return back to Croatia. If you first have to travel to 
Serbian via Hungary or just can go over the river is a big 
emotional differences. 


As it is when UNPROFOR wants to help people from Croatia to 
visit, what they feel as their regions (which Panic, 
President from Yugo 3, also admitted), it will break down 
maybe some of the enemy feelings towards UNPROFOR as well. 
But I have to admit that UNPROFOR is not the most easiest 
partner to work with.

We further on discussed the possibility to help this lady to 
find teachers (refugees) from BiH which could come as 
volunteers to Luxembourg in order to help their in refugee 
center with putting up some type of education system. Among 
the hundred thousands of refugees there are enough educated 
people who would be able to.

The trams in Zagreb are normally driving again, I don't know 
how many months it has taken, but since this morning they all 
pass by the main square (Trg Josipa Jelacica) again. The 
rebuilding of Ilica is finished and the results look 
fantastic. Zagreb has now about 1 kilometre more pedestrian 
zone, slowly Zagreb becomes a real fancy metropole.

In the evening we had the first official meeting of our new 
"SUNCOKRET"(Sunflower) center. We had to decided about the 
statutes and such official things you only do once, but it 
takes a long time. In any case within the coming 3 days this 
organisation will become official registrated and we can 
start our work under that name.

Later in the evening I got the paper with the intentions of 
the new Croatian government on demographic restoration. Some 
of the headlines are:

- The programme will hold to work on the transformation of 
today's family into the family of Croatian future, the family 
with three or four children
- Establishing the fund of permanent financial support for 
the birth of the third, the fourth child etc.
- The renaissance of Croatia must respect the idea of the 
demographic and spiritual restoration
- The new Croatian tax policy will eluding the marriage, but 
will stimulate family and marriages blessed by children
- The profession of mothering-raising children should become 
the most sublime profession in Croatia
- To withdraw working mothers with children from factories - 
happy family, means happy society
- To give all the conveniences and relaxations to the 
families with numerous children
- new national holiday "Croatian Morther's Day"
- To stiffen the criteria for divorce in marriages with 
children
- To reduce nurseries (creches) to the minimum
- To found clubs and associations of young people where they 
will study Croatian history, literature, military virtues, 
sports, arts, etc.

We don't know yet what the status of this intentions are, but 
I can insure you that the different women organisations in 
Europe already are phoning us with questions about it, most 

people are really shocked by this paper.

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,

Wam:-)



  

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