From: sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.europe.misc,soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Re: Croatian dreams
Date: 27 Dec 92 21:54:39 GMT
Organization: Enea Data AB

Josip Loncaric (josip@eng.umd.edu) writes:
>If you think that this is THE problem, you are wrong.  If you think that
>the Croatian leadership, in their struggle to protect Croatia from
>Milosevic, could have completely avoided alienating Croatian Serbs,
>you are also wrong.

So Croatia was never meant to be a state for all its citizens?

>You are on a false trail.  Even if the Croatian leadership had done
>a lot more than they did to get the Serbs in Croatia on their side,
>Belgrade policy would have been the same, and the outcome would
>have been the same.

And with no alienated Serbs who would have put up the road blocks in
Knin? Without any alienated Serbs between who would the army have
supported?

>>Being innocent lamb is not an excuse for being stupid. As I've said,
>>if I cross the street on green light, but is run owner by car driver
>>who ignores his red light, the fault is his and only his. But never-
>>theless I could have avoided the accident. And I am not less dead be-
>>cause I'm innocent.
>
>Were the Croatian leaders stupid or simply without any good options?

Actually, I was thinking of B-H here. I think that Croatia could
have gotten its independence with less violence with more skill
and more patience. (Not patience with Slobo & co, but patience to
be more prepared for the step. Following Slovenia like a young boy
follows his older brother is not what a mature country does.)

B-H on the other hand, first watch Croatia get molested on the
zebra crossing, then they put the their foot in the road them-
selves....

>>The lamb should have stayed with the flock. Croatia and B-H should have
>>analysed the consequences of their plans before going ahead.
>
>Aha.  So here it is, at last, Erland wants Croatia and B-H to submit
>to the Milosevic dictatorship.

You should learn reading. I didn't say that. I very most emphatically
didn't say that.

I said that the lamb should have stayed with the flock, I never it said 
it should have turned back. (Although in case of the lamb this was
probably a good option at any time.) No, Croatia will never return to 
Yugoslavia. As for B-H, we don't know. It can't return, but it can never
become a real independent state.

I said that Croatia and B-H should have made an analysis of their
plans. The result of the analysis would probably not have been the 
same.

>Moreover, it stinks of blaming the victim in order to exculpate
>those who contributed to this carnage by refusing the victim even
>the right of self-defense.

Excuse me, I am exculpating no one, least of all the Serbian side.
I have to say that your understanding capabilities seems slightly
limited, since I have been spending just as much times telling what
I think about the Serbian, and that's not any nice words.

But all faults of Milosevic & co does not exculpate Croatian and
Bosnian leadership for their mistakes.

Sometimes these Serbo-Croats reminds me of kids in the sandbox
yelling "he started!".
-- 
Erland Sommarskog - ENEA Data, Stockholm - sommar@enea.se
Jag gav en k{ck tjeck en check.
Xref: sparky alt.politics.europe.misc:261 soc.culture.yugoslavia:10307