From: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Zagreb Diary
Date: 29 Sep 92 11:02:13 +0100
Article-I.D.: ZAMIR-ZG.4mhK38E3tC
Followup-To: soc.culture.diskussion
Distribution: soc


  

Zagreb Diary
25-09-1992

Dobar Dan,

When I am looking over my computer into the valley I can 
notice that the autumn is coming near, still most of the time 
you can walk outside in a t-shirt, but the nights and 
evenings are getting colder. I have been nearly two sessions 
in Croatia now and it starts to become more and more clear 
that I will stay some more sessions as well. Just outside my 
window a praying bird hangs in they air, a peaceful picture. 
When I look down at the computer screen and read the latest 
messages of the different fightings which are coming in via 
the Foreign Press Office of Croatia in London I realise again 
that peaceful is a very relative thing. Probably praying 
birds are also standing in the air above most of the villages 
and towns in BiH were the fightings went on.

Today there was a long discussion in Croatian parliament 
about a new abolition law. Thanks to pressure from outside 
the Croatian government draw up a law in which a huge amnesty 
is given to most of the commitors of war crimes. Part of that 
law is also a list of 10 persons of Serbia, which in any case 
has to be punished, on top of this list stand Milosevic, but 
he is followed by Sesselj and Arkan (if he is still alive), 
members from the military and politicians, un important place 
is also reserved for the director of Beograd (Serbian) 
television. 

Of course there is a long lists of warcrimes which are not 
included in this abolition law, but still it is a start. Very 
surprising was that the leader of the Liberal party (HSLS) 
was strongly against this law. He is becoming sometimes like 
a wolf in sheep clothes, lots of my Croatian friends who 
voted for him are feeling ashamed now, from HSLS only Kamaric 
(major of Osijek) voted in fever of this law. Beside the 
votes against the law from HSLS also HSP (the party from 
Paraga) was strongly against, but the rest of parliament was 
in fever. 

The member of Dalmatian Action in parliament were I talked 
with today said that most of the members had to vote in fever 
in order to keep the support from the outside world, but that 
a lot of them were in principle against if you would ask them 
as person.

When she (the women from Dalmatian Action) heard that we were 
able to glue sometimes post on the boxes which go to Sarajevo 
she immediately wrote a letter to a good friend of her in 
Sarajevo, a guy with whom she studied and was born on the 
same date as her. When I saw the address I was a little 
surprised, it was addressed to "Predsjedniku Predsjednistva, 
Bosne I Hercegovine, Gospodinu Aliji Izetbegovicu, Sarajevo", 
for those not familiar "President of Presidency, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, Mister Alija Izetbegovic, Sarajevo". It is a 
small world but you have to use strange ways sometimes to 
deliver your mail to friends.


Our house is slowly filling up again with all kind of 
passers-by, or should a call them war tourist, it are not 
much, but at least one a day. I discussed with Vesna J. and 
Milena today the need to open a type of International meeting 
Center in Zagreb for these people, since both here in our 
Suncokret house as well as in the Peace Center in town we can 
not really work with all this people hanging around. Of 
course they are welcome, bit it often takes more time away 
then we have. Knowing how much energy it has cost us to find 
this place I am not sure how soon we found another spot, but 
let be hopeful and at least try. This new wing will be nicely 
called "Rabarbara" to add a new vegetable to our Peace 
garden.

A message from Eric Bachman who went 2 weeks ago to Beograd 
to install ZaMir-Bg came through today, it was dated 19th of 
September. Even after lot's of messages I tried to send to 
Beograd we still don't have any contact I really am a little 
worried. Not I think that something happened to him, but that 
his material (modems and the computer) he bought in Beograd 
are not working as they should. It would be a pitty since 
contact between Zagreb and Beograd peace movements is 
absolute necessary at this moment. Both are going to a type 
of crisis at the moment, after being active in a war for more 
than a year now. 

Lot's of things have to be discussed among the different 
groups and meetings like last week in Verona are not always 
so helpful. The contact should not be once a month or even 
less, but just practical information should be exchanged 
soon. The international greens organised a type of Peace 
forum last week in Verona, Italy, were all peace groups from 
former Yugoslavia and some other new social movements as 
well. Unfortunately the meeting was not such a big success as 
most people hoped it would be. The organisers weren't able to 
gather all the fund in time and so the travels became rather 
improvising especially for those who were coming from 
Montenegro and Serbia.

Also Lee from Ex-Yugo fax seems to be disappeared somewhere 
in these countries, he should have come to Zagreb already 
last week, but nobody have seen him so far, after he left 
Ljubljana nobody heard anything. As soon as I have time I 
will start to search for him.

The fair that there would be not enough children to work with 
in Gasinci is shown of course not needed today, all kind of 
illegal camps in and around Zagreb has been cleared today or 
will be cleared in this weekend and the people there will 
brought to Gasinci. I think that we will have the coming days 
refugees scattered all around Zagreb, since nobody real likes 
to go to Gasinci, even when it is not as bad as it use the 
be.

When I was in the center of town life was as "normal" as I 
expected yesterday, nobody was mourning are anything like 
that. It was party time as always.

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,


                            Wam :-)
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I dedicate Zagreb Diary to Tyche, Pjort and Rik
to know what their father was doing all that time