From: pshane@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Ana M. Shane)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna,soc.culture.yugoslavia,soc.culture.croatia
Subject: Re: Serbian excuses
Date: 26 Dec 92 22:04:42 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog) writes:

>So wasn't Jasenovac a POW camp too? Victor had a very good point
>there. A very good one, in response to your usual dig-up-old-mud-
>as-excuse-for-killing-people-today excuse. You are an awful bastard,
>Milan Stojanovic.

Erland, Jasenovac was not a POW camp!!!
It was the second largest death camp in Europe after Auschwitz.
I agree that invoking past serves to inflame people for the
killing today. But, for the sake of peace, please,
stop insulting each other, and if you don't agree, point out
the issue calmly. If the goal is to MAKE PEOPLE on this NET
understand one's point of view, than insulting is counter pro-
ductive. I think that the majority of people on this network want
to understand better what is going on. Most of us feel hurt 
and angry that such things have been allowed to happen.
Can WE make a difference? Can we do something, write something
that will be a beginning of a remote peace? Can we agree to
look for truth, relevant truth, and then build on it?

It is really gross to argue about the NUMBERS of the killed
people in Jasenovac. The smallest possible NUMBER of the
Jasenovac victims, does not excuse the NDH government (1941-45) and
the biggest number cannot be a JUSTIFICATION for anybody.

The Croatian government of TODAY is NOT responsible for Jasenovac.
But they ARE responsible of what does the memory of Jasenovac mean
today and how this past affects today. And if they don't make it
cristally clear, that JASENOVAC and other horrors of WWII are
impossible, would be prevented, etc..., then they (Croatian government)
are at least not "handling" the situation in Croatia in an
adequate way.

On the other hand, there is NO EXCUSE for the atrocities done
because of the memory of Jasenovac. And I fully agree that:

>Arkan shouldn't be in ex-Yugoslavia fighting wars. He should be
>sitting in a Swedish prison. (Or a Belgian, or...)

As well as the scores of other criminals....

But, I must add, that FALSIFYING history (about Jasenovac,
and other) is a greatest sin for a politician. Grounding
any state on a lie is criminal. Croatian government of today,
Tudjman, are falsifying history. That is why, even with far less
destruction on their side, they are as dangerous as Milosevic & Co.


>-- 
>Erland Sommarskog - ENEA Data, Stockholm - sommar@enea.se
>Jag gav en k{ck tjeck en check.

Happy New Year and with hopes for

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Ana M. Shane                               pshane@andromeda.rutgers.edu
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