From: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de (Wam Kat)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Followup-To: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Zagreb Diary
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 00:19:00 MET
Organization: ComLink-Network Germany - For Peace Zagreb
X-Z-Path: ZAMIR-ZG!LINK-ATU!LINK-HH!SHLINK
X-Gateway: US SHLINK [shgate V1.91]


Zagreb Diary
30-08-1992

Dobar Dan,

So it is Sunday again and I waked up with nice clock calling 
to people to the churches, which are really overfull nower 
days. Just like to crosses which are hanging from the army 
uniforms looks like a standard part of the Croatian soldiers 
it seems that the whole population has to go to the church. 
Like in the dark parts of Catholic or Calvinistic Netherlands 
people are looking a little angry on you when you pass by the 
church on ten o'clock in the morning and don't go in.

I however was on my way to see [It is air raid alarm in 
Zupanja and General alarm in Slavonski Brod at this moment, 
that I write this] one of the houses which was offered to us 
after we have put an advertisement in the papers. I really 
hope we can get the money together to rent this one, since it 
looks the best from all what I have seen so far. The price, 
1500 Dm, is high for the 6 rooms it has, but still a lot 
lower than most offers, I wonder if people from Zagreb will 
be able in the future to rent anything in their own town.

From Sittard I had got the messages that they (European Youth 
Forest Action) has got a grant from TEMPUS (a European 
Commission grant programme for studies projects for youth) to 
organise a E-mail project in Eastern Europe. The bad news and 
the reason that I mentioned it in this diary is the fact that 
the didn't want that Croatia would get any of this grant. No 
EC money will go to Croatia is their rule, since Croatia 
violates human rights. So they nicely took of the part we 
reserved in that grant to build up this system (ZaMir-ZG) 
from the grant. A little weird if you take into account that 
part of the work of this E-mail system is dedicated to 
informing people about the human rights situation in Croatia. 
Anyway this decision from the EC is clear, there is a type of 
embargo going on from EC money towards Croatia.

After that I spend some time reading different non violent 
initiatives to stop the war in BiH, those initiatives came 
from all over the world and went from a so-called peace 
bombardment (throwing hundred thousands of cards with a 
message that people should live in peace rather than fight 
each other) until a peace march from Beograd to Sarajevo and 
in between things like dropping mediators groups to form a 
human buffer between the fighting groups. After a while I 
really got afraid that some people are getting killed soon, 
since they totally under estimate this wars. I am not fast 
afraid of some spectacular action and I have done more than 
one action over the years during which the change to be 
killed was very high. But after being here for nearly 5 
months I have the feeling that this type of actions are or 
just a total waste of paper or a very herotic way to commit 
suicide. 

People who are planning this type of actions should really 
prepare themselves and be absolute clear about what they are 
doing. The bullets and grenades are real. I don't want to 

scare you of, but please be realistic about your chances to 
get killed. If non-violence intervention could make a chance 
to be successful, it should be massive and not only a small 
group. This group also should bring something to offer to 
make soldiers stop with the fighting. If they just come and 
say don't fight probably most will laugh for a will and 
continue. Such a group should be willing to listen to the 
deeper reason of the fightings and see if they can translate 
it into serious demands towards the western world. I still 
believe that this wars can be stopped, even without a massive 
military intervention, but especially the rich western world 
should be willing to pay for the peace, as they have done 
after the second world war. In my opinion not the military in 
western Europe, but the massive financial help secured the 
peace in that region.

Also I have heard about a rumour, which seems to go around 
the states, namely that the US don't want to do anything 
since they like to have a strong Serbian State as counter 
part to a strong German State. Normally I wouldn't react on 
such rumours openly, but in this case I talked it over with 
some people here and we came to the conclusion that we would 
advice people in the states, who believe that there is any 
true in this rumour to look at the map of Europe and realise 
that there are about 10 million or a little more Serbian 
people and about 80 million Germans. 

Besides that the German army belongs to one of the most 
modern ones in the world. But more realistic is to say that I 
don't know anybody in Europe who seriously think that Germany 
would ever form a serious threat. Germany belongs with Japan 
to one of the economical strong holds of the World, up to now 
no war ever started in the last century in a strong 
economical country. This type of rumours are totally out of 
the reality of Europe and should be eliminated before anybody 
takes them serious.
 
As Izetbegovic already expected the power of Karadic is not 
as big as he thought or he didn't do what he has promised, in 
any case the fights in and around Goradze continued. In 
Sarajevo it looked quiet yesterday morning, but in the 
afternoon and evening the shelling became intense again. This 
morning a shell exploded on the market and killed at least 8 
people. Just like some weeks ago when a shell came in a group 
of people waiting for bread the bloodshed look horrible. Also 
in Slavonski Brod the shelling was heavy today, the town was 
under shelling most of the day. 

Delors, head of the European Commission, announced today that 
the rest of Europe will be able to show of force if necessary 
and stop the killings in former Yugoslavia. He said that the 
time is over that the rest of Europe would sit and watch 
powerless what happened.

At the same time in Sinj, near Split, a traditional festival 
took place, with at high point this trying to stick a lance 
through a small ring riding on a horse in full galloping. The 
winner, a officer in Croatian Army, was honoured by President 
Dr. Franjo Tudjman. I can't help if this all sound a little 

strange and laughable after the stories of Goradze, Sarajevo, 
Slavonski Brod and even the speech of Delors, but I write it 
in the same following order as it was shown on the news this 
evening.
  
With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,

Wam:-)

P.S. Since more people has asked me I will put the question 
forwards in public, is it possible that you find out in your 
country (via your ministry of foreign affairs or so) what 
kind of rules your country has for receiving refugees from 
BiH. So which kind of papers do refugees need to have if 
somebody in your country like to help them to come. Please 
publish the answer as public mail in the conference you found 
this Diary entry. For us in Croatia it is impossible to find 
this out, since most country don't have an embassy in Croatia 
yet.

  

Xref: sparky soc.culture.yugoslavia:8254 soc.culture.greek:8069 soc.culture.bulgaria:1214