http://www.croatia.org/crown en-us http://www.croatia.org/crown N/A nenad@nenadbach.com Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:16:57 -0700 20 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9556/1/Nenad-Bach-on-Global-Broadcast-for-Supreme-Master-TV-June-1-2008.html Nenad Bach’s interview is scheduled to air on Sunday, June 1, 2008 on  "A Journey through Aesthetic Realms" on Supreme Master TV.  Broadcasting on 14 satellite platforms across the globe plus World Wide Webcast. translated in 15 languages. See inside for the exact time of the broadcast and webcast. stecak@sbcglobal.net (Marko Puljiæ) Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9377/1/Watch-Croatia-in-primetime-on-the-Amazing-Race-tonight-on-CBS.html   Croatia will be featured on the December 9, 2007 episode of the Amazing Race.  The Amazing Race is an Emmy award winning reality program on CBS that features teams of two in a race around the world. Tune in to watch! stecak@sbcglobal.net (Marko Puljiæ) Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9331/1/Miss-Croatia-2007-Tatjana-Jeremic-goes-to-Miss-World-contest-in-China.html Tatjana has to bring the national flag, a book about Croatia, 3 stones and pictures of plants specific of the country, in order to present it to other participants. The Miss World contest will take place on December 1, 2007. nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9328/1/Ivan-Paric-on-the-reality-show-for-photographers-VH1-TV-this-Sunday.html I would like to invite you to watch the reality show for photographers where I am one of the contestants. The name of the show is The Shot. The Shot is scheduled to premier on Vh1 channel  on Sunday, Nov. 4 @ 10 PM & 12 PM EST and Monday Nov 5th. ivan@ivanparic.com (Ivan Paric) Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9316/1/Croatia-on-the-new-season-of-The-Amazing-Race-premiers-Nov-4th-2007.html The Amazing Race is a seven time Emmy winning reality show on CBS that features teams of two competing with one another in a race around the world. The first team across the finish line wins. The new season of the race features several new countries including Croatia stecak@sbcglobal.net (Marko Puljiæ) Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9261/1/A-Diplomatic-quotHunting-Partyquot---facts-never-published-before-by-Ms-Hartmann---part-1.html     Muhamed Sacirbey, Florence Hartmann and Sylvie Matton speak out. Ms. Hartmann makes damning revelations about the betrayal of justice in her new book "Peace & Punishment.". Were the Big Powers in complicity to ethnic cleansing? Twist of fiction and reality. Film "The Hunting Party" with Richard Gere talks about the same subject in the same manner...as fiction. The book "Peace and Punishment" talks about the same subject in the same manner...as reality with documents. And they came out at the same time. Coincidence, hard reality or historical materialism ? Hartmann, Matton and Sacirbey speak of the evidence and the consequences  for BiH, Croatia, the region and the victims. CROWN reports, you decide. aconvenientgenocide@mac.com (Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey) Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9181/1/Stolen-Croatian-Lipizzaner-horses-starving-in-Serbia.html   In October 1991, the largest Lipizzaner horse-farm in Croatia, situated near the town of Lipik, was bombed with napalm bombs. Out of 117 horses 27 of them were killed, and more than 80 taken away to Serbia, where they are also today. Believe it or not, the Serbs are trying to SELL stolen Croatian Lipizzaners to Croatia! From reliable sources we know that some of them have been already sold in Italy. letters@croatia.org (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9114/1/Two-Americans-living-in-Dubrovnik.html Andrew and Michelle Kehoe have swapped the "big apple" for the peace and quiet of Dubrovnik. They first came here in 2006 and as they say fell in love with the city.   c.mateo@verizon.net (Martin Cvjetkoviæ) Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9111/1/Croatias-Konzum-grows-domestically.html nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9066/1/JAVNOorg-Croatian-website-in-English-that-shows-up-daily-on-Google-search-for-news.html   The portal is also available in English, which allows us to reach out to users who speak other languages as well as to foreign citizens residing in Croatia.   letters@croatia.org (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8885/1/The-New-York-Times-review-quotI-Love-Youquot-by-Dalibor-Matanic-Jan-3rd-2007.html   Review by Jeannette Catsoulis.  A bleak drama from the Croatian writer and director Dalibor Matanic, is an unusually perceptive scrutiny of absence and emptiness. Set in the filmmaker's hometown, Zagreb, the movie follows a young advertising hotshot . letters@croatia.org (Andrej & Daniela Urem) Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8883/1/Last-month-on-a-frosty-night-in-Zagreb-Croatia-they-draped-the-shimmering-cape-on-the-shoulders-of-James-Brown-for-the-last-time.html   As the crowd cheered, the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business," whose career had begun six decades and a world away as a child dancing for coins along the Savannah River, walked away from the microphone. letters@croatia.org (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 26 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8864/1/Im-from-Croatia-Rijeka-and-in-the-very-center-of-my-town-flows-a-river-Possible-kayaking.html     letters@croatia.org (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8849/1/Brian-Gallagher-analyzes-The-Trial-of-Domagoj-Margetic.html     brigall@yahoo.co.uk (Brian Gallagher) Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8841/1/Can-We-Go-Higher.html www.croatia.org is a web site initiated by Nenad Bach. It is an attempt to answer the question "Can We Go Higher?", raised in the title of his beautiful song. We invite you to visit his fantastic video-clips maintained at video.google.com, revealing the driving force and spirituality of the artist. This video is a Christmas gift for all of us, that everybody should see and listen to.   darko_zubrinic@yahoo.com (Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic) Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8787/1/Croatian-Handball-Team-Wins-Statoil-World-Cup.html   violicalvert@optusnet.com.au (Violi Calvert) Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8624/1/Fine-Living-Network-to-Air-Program-about-Croatia.html  Fine Living Network will feature Croatia in an upcoming program of    "Any Given Latitude." The program will feature the Kornati Islands, Split and Istria.   stecak@sbcglobal.net (Marko Puljiæ) Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8620/1/ICTY-SHUTS-DOWN-WEBSITE-IN-THE-UNITED-STATES.html CHICAGO - August 18, 2006: International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) shut down US. based website www.lijepanasadomovinahrvatska.com - again.  letters@croatia.org (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 19 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6719/1/E-Swedesh-organizer-di-not-play-the-Croatian-anthem.html  Kostelic's brother criticizes Swedish organizersKostelic breaks record ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - The brother of Janica Kostelic criticized Swedish organizers on Saturday for not playing the Croatian anthem after she won the slalom the day before. "It really leaves a bitter taste. It is shameful," Ivica Kostelic told a Zagreb radio station. Janica Kostelic - who clinched the World Cup overall title on Thursday with a fourth-placed finish in the final super-G - won the slalom on Friday in Are, Sweden. On Saturday, Kostelic broke the record of former Swedish ski star Pernilla Wiberg for the number of points in a single season after she won the women's World Cup giant slalom finale. "It says it all about that famous Scandinavian tradition" of equality, said Ivica Kostelic, who won silver in the men's combined at the Winter Olympics in Turin. "Are we really equal if our anthem was the only one not being played?"Janica Kostelic has won six Olympic medals at Turin and Salt Lake, four of which are gold. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Skiing/2006/03/18/1494358-ap.html   nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6720/1/E-What-do-they-write-about-Croatia.html  What do they write about Croatia ? So you're looking for Cheap Flight To Split Croatia. Whether its a holiday, or on business Croatia is increasing in popularity amongst us Brits - and rightly so!The Croatian people will tell you that there is so much more to see and do in Croatia, than just what you see in the brochures.The official entering of Croatia into personal union with Hungary, becoming part of the Kingdom of Hungary, had several important consequences.Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region.In the 4th century BC the northern parts of modern-day Croatia were also colonized by the Celts, the Scordisci tribe. Other Celtic peoples may also have been found elsewhere integrated among the Illyrians. The islands of Issa and Pharos as well as the locality of Tragurion became Greek colonies since the same period.The medieval Croatian kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Petar KreSimir IV (1058-1074) when it was composed of twelve counties and was slightly larger than in Tomislav's time, also including the four southern Dalmatian duchies (Pagania, Zahumlje, Travunia and Duklja). The end of Petar KreSimir IV also marked the de facto end of the Trpimirovic ruling dynasty which had ruled the Croatian lands for over two centuries.The princes of Bribir from the Subic family became particularly influential during the time of Pavao Subic (1272-1312) who asserted control over large parts of Dalmatia, Slavonia and Bosnia during an internal conflict between the Ã?rpád and Anjou ruling dynasties. Later, however, the Anjouvines intervened and scattered the Subic family across the country (an important offspring being the Zrinski family), and later even selling the whole of Dalmatia to the Republic of Venice in 1409.Illyria was a sovereign state until the Romans conquered it in 168 BC. The Romans organized the land into the Roman province of Illyricum which encompassed most of modern Croatia. Illyricum was subsequently split into the provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia in year 10. Pannonia was further split in two by Trajan between 102 and 107.The first King of Croatia, Tomislav of the Trpimirovic dynasty, was crowned in the Duvno field in 925 (note that sources vary from 923 to 928). Tomislav, rex Chroatorum, united the Pannonian and Dalmatian duchys and created a sizeable state, including most of today's central Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, and most of Bosnia. The central town of the Duvno field is nowadays named Tomislavgrad (Tomislavtown) in his honor.The government ministers (the cabinet) are appointed by the prime minister with the consent of the Parliament. The prime minister is the head of government, appointed by the President with the consent of the Parliament who takes his duty when Parliament gives its consent by absolute majority of all representatives.After the death of Domitar Zvonimir, Ladislaus I of Hungary was the strongest candidate for the throne, but the Croatian lords struggled for independence from Hungary. Following the death of the last Croat king Petar Svacic in the defeat at the Gvozd hill in 1097 to Coloman of Hungary, they eventually recognized him as the common king for Croatia and Hungary in a treaty of 1102 (often referred to as the Pacta Conventa), thus making a personal union with Hungary. The two crowns would remain connected until the end of World War I.The Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud) of the Republic of Croatia decides on the constitutionality of laws and has the right to repeal a law it finds unconstitutional. It also can impeach the president. The body is made up of 13 judges on 8-year term. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court for a 4-year termBy the 1840s, the movement had moved from cultural goals to resisting Hungarian political demands. By the royal order of January 11, 1843, originating from the chancellor Metternich, the use of the Illyrian name and insignia in public was forbidden. This deterred the movement's progress but it couldn't stop the changes in the society that had already started.A change of leadership was far from a solution to the war with the Turks, in fact, the Ottoman Empire gradually expanded in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia and Lika.After that there was one more notable native King, Dmitar Zvonimir (1075-1089). His kinghood is carved in stone BaSka Tablet, preserved to this day as the oldest written Croatian text, kept in the archaeological museum in Zagreb. Zvonimir's reign is remembered as a peaceful and prosperous time, during which the connection of Croats with the Pope was further affirmed, so much so that Catholicism would remain among Croats until the present day.Rapid industrialization and diversification occurred after World War II. Decentralization came in 1965, allowing growth of certain sectors, like the tourist industry. Profits from Croatian industry were used to develop poorer regions in the former Yugoslavia. This, coupled with austerity programs and hyperinflation in the 1980s, led to discontent in both Croatia and Slovenia that fueled the independence movement.The area known as Croatia today has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, ever since the Stone Age.In the middle Paleolithic period, Neandertals lived in modern Zagorje, northern Croatia. Dragutin Gorjanovic-Kramberger discovered bones and other remnants of a Neandertal, subsequently named Homo krapiniensis, on a hill near the town of Krapina.Croatia has a three-tiered judicial system, consisting of the Supreme Court, county courts, and municipal courts. The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution.A change of leadership was far from a solution to the war with the Turks, in fact, the Ottoman Empire gradually expanded in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia and Lika.Regardless of different interpretations, the Croat tribes eventually settled in the area between the Drava river and the Adriatic sea, the western Roman provinces Pannonia and Dalmatia; western Balkans in modern usage. The Croat tribes had been organized into two dukedoms; the Pannonian duchy in the north and the Dalmatian duchy in the south.Since the adoption of the 1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a parliamentary democracy.The governments of Austria and Hungary each tried to colonize Croatia over a period of several centuries: they imposed their languages on the Croatian people and settled many Austrian and Hungarian colonists in Croatia. Croatian romantic nationalism emerged to counteract the non-violent but apparent Germanization and Magyarization.In an economy traditionally based on agriculture and livestock, peasants comprised more than half of the Croatian population until after World War II. Pre-1945 industrialization was slow and centered on textile mills, sawmills, brickyards, and food-processing plants.The main executive power of Croatian state is the Government (in Croatian: "vlada"), presided by the Prime Minister.The Lombards and the Huns made an incursion from the north. After 476 the area was subject to Odoacer and then to Ostrogoth rulers beginning with Theodoric the Great. Justinian claimed the old province of Dalmatia to the Eastern Roman Empire in 535. Forebears of Croatia's current Slav population settled there in the 7th century following the Avars, partly under instructions from Byzantine emperor Heraclius.Inflation and unemployment rose and the kuna fell, prompting the national bank to tighten fiscal policy. A new banking law passed in December 1998 gave the central bank more control over Croatia's 53 remaining commercial banks. Croatia is dependent on international debt to finance the deficit. A recently issued Euro-denominated bond was well received, selling $300 million, which helped offset economic losses from the Kosovo crisis.The negative effects of feudalism escalated in 1573 when the peasants in northern Croatia and Slovenia rebelled against their feudal lords over various injustices such as unreasonable taxation or abuse of women in the Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt.The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution; passage of laws; adoption of the state budget; declarations of war and peace; alteration of the boundaries of the Republic; calling referenda; carrying out elections, appointments, and relief of office; supervising the work of the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor; and granting amnesty.Decisions are made based on a majority vote if more than half of the Chamber is present, except in cases of national rights and constitutional issues.Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region.By orders of the king in 1553 and 1578, large areas of Croatia and Slavonia adjacent to the Ottoman Empire were carved out into the Military Frontier (Vojna Krajina) and ruled directly from Vienna's military headquarters. Due to the dangerous proximity to the Ottoman armies, the area became rather deserted, so Austria encouraged the settlement of Serbs, Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks and Rusyns/Ukrainians and other Slavs in the Military Frontier, creating an ethnic patchwork.The official entering of Croatia into personal union with Hungary, becoming part of the Kingdom of Hungary, had several important consequences.Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, is helping restore the economy. The government has been successful in some reform efforts — partially macroeconomic stabilization policies — and it has normalized relations with its creditors.The recession that began at the end of 1998 continued through most of 1999, and GDP in 1999 was flat. Inflation remained in check and the kuna was stable. However, consumer demand was weak and industrial production decreased. Structural reform lagged and problems of payment arrears and a lack of banking supervision continued.Empress Maria Theresia ignored and eventually disbanded the Croatian Parliament and in 1779, Croatia was relegated to just one seat in the governing council of Hungary, held by the ban of Croatia.Following the disappearance of the major native dynasty by the end of the 11th century, the Croats eventually recognized the Hungarian ruler Coloman as the common King for Croatia and Hungary in a treaty of 1102 (often referred to as the Pacta Conventa).In the 4th century BC the northern parts of modern-day Croatia were also colonized by the Celts, the Scordisci tribe. Other Celtic peoples may also have been found elsewhere integrated among the Illyrians. The islands of Issa and Pharos as well as the locality of Tragurion became Greek colonies since the same period.The Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud) of the Republic of Croatia decides on the constitutionality of laws and has the right to repeal a law it finds unconstitutional. It also can impeach the president. The body is made up of 13 judges on 8-year term. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court for a 4-year termThe book De Administrando Imperio, written in the 10th century, is the most referenced source on the migration of Slavic peoples into southeastern Europe. It states that they migrated first around or before year 600 from the region that is now Galicia and areas of the Pannonian plain, led by the Turkic Avars, to the province of Dalmatia ruled by the Roman Empire.In recorded history, the area was inhabited by the Illyrians, and since the 4th century BC also colonized by the Celts and by the Greeks.After that there was one more notable native King, Dmitar Zvonimir (1075-1089). His kinghood is carved in stone Baska Tablet, preserved to this day as the oldest written Croatian text, kept in the archaeological museum in Zagreb. Zvonimir's reign is remembered as a peaceful and prosperous time, during which the connection of Croats with the Pope was further affirmed, so much so that Catholicism would remain among Croats until the present day.The most commonly accepted facts about the origin of the Croats are that they originate from Slavic tribes that lived in and around today's Poland. The early Croatian people is believed to have been mixed Slavs and the Iranian-speaking Alans according to many modern scholars. It is unclear whether the Alans contributed much more than a ruling caste or a class of warriors; the evidence on their contribution is mainly philological and etymological.After the death of Domitar Zvonimir, Ladislaus I of Hungary was the strongest candidate for the throne, but the Croatian lords struggled for independence from Hungary. Following the death of the last Croat king Petar Svacic in the defeat at the Gvozd hill in 1097 to Coloman of Hungary, they eventually recognized him as the common king for Croatia and Hungary in a treaty of 1102 (often referred to as the Pacta Conventa), thus making a personal union with Hungary. The two crowns would remain connected until the end of World War I.The President of the Republic (Predsjednik) is head of state and elected for a five-year term. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the Prime minister with the consent of the Parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy.The Croatian legislature is the Hrvatski Sabor. The Sabor is unicameral which can have between 100 and 160 deputies (152 in 2003). All representatives are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.http://www.croatias.co.uk/CheapFlightToSplitCroatia.html  nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 08 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6722/1/E-CPJ-Unanswered-questions-about-the-Tribunals-actions.html   Journalist arrested; facing extradition to UN war crimes tribunal New York, October 7, 2005â€"A Croatian journalist was arrested Thursday and faces extradition to the Hague-based United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after being accused of identifying a protected witness and failing to appear at a hearing on a contempt of court charge. Croatian police in the southern city of Split arrested Josip Jovic, the former editor-in-chief of the Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija, acting on a September 28 arrest warrant issued by the Tribunal, according to local press reports. Jovic's lawyer Vinko Ljubicic said the journalist was being held at the Split district prison and that "we will submit an appeal as soon as possible," the state news agency HINA reported. The Tribunal issued the arrest warrant after Jovic failed to appear for a September 26 hearing to enter a plea on a contempt of court charge.The case stems from indictments issued by the Tribunal in April and September against five journalists and a former intelligence officer for identifying a witness who testified against indicted war criminal Tihomir Blaskic in 1997. The Tribunal had issued a number of gag orders barring news organizations from identifying the witness or publishing the witness' testimony. It alleges that the journalists repeatedly defied the gag orders by publishing the identity and testimony. Four of the journalists have appeared at Tribunal hearings to enter not guilty pleas, saying the material they published was of public interest and the witness' identity had already been made public. Jovic insisted he did nothing wrong and refused to attend a September 26 hearing to enter a plea.The journalists point out that the protected witness' identity was disclosed in a 1997 Tribunal ruling posted on the Tribunal's Web site. In the 1997 ruling, which was still posted on the site on Friday, the Tribunal identified the witness by name and ruled that the witness' identity should be protected. The journalists also say that other Croatian media outlets reported the witness' identity. They face up to seven years in prison and 100,000 euros (US$121,000) in fines if found guilty.The Tribunal unsealed indictments against three of the journalists on April 27. They are: Ivica Marijacic, editor-in-chief of the Zagreb-based weekly Hrvatski List; Stjepan Seselj, publisher of the Zagreb-based weekly Hrvatsko Slovo; and Hrvatsko Slovo editor Domagoj Margetic. The indictments of the two others were unsealed on September 9. They are: Jovic and Marijan Krizic, editor-in-chief of Hrvatsko Slovo. The journalists were indicted under Rules of Procedure and Evidence 77 A (ii), which authorizes the court to "hold in contempt those who knowingly and willfully interfere with its administration of justice, including any persons who ... disclose information relating to those proceedings in knowing violation of an order of a Chamber." The Tribunal grants protected witness status to some individuals in an effort to shield them from retaliation for testifying against indicted war criminals. Some protected witnesses have received death threats from supporters of indicted war criminals after being identified in the media. "Court-imposed gag orders on news organizations are very troubling, and there are unanswered questions about the Tribunal's actions," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "For example, it's puzzling why the Tribunal would take legal action against journalists for revealing information that the Tribunal itself has made publicly available. We are closely monitoring how the Tribunal handles these cases."http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Croatia07oct05na.html  nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6721/1/E-Reporters-without-borders-condemn-this-sudden-arrest-of-Jovic.html  Reporters without borders condemn this sudden arrest of Jovic  Croatia7 October 2005Journalist arrested at home on the order of the international criminal court for ex-YugoslaviaReporters Without Borders called for the release on bail of journalist Josip Jovic, arrested at his Split home on the order of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on a charge of contempt of court. The 6 October 2005 arrest of Jovic, editor of the daily Slobodna Dalmacija was televised and shown the same evening on Croatian TV since he was in process of giving an interview at his home. Jovic’s arrest followed the issue of a warrant by the ICTY signed by a judge at a court in Split. He was placed in custody in a local prison while awaiting extradition to The Hague, which could take several weeks since he plans to appeal to the Croatian constitutional court and the Supreme Court. 'We condemn this sudden arrest of Jovic by the Croatian justice system based on a ICTY arrest warrant, which appears disproportionate to the crime he is accused of and sets a dangerous precedent,' the worldwide press freedom organisation said. Considering the mandate of the tribunal in The Hague, which is supposed to try the most serious of international crimes, it is surprising that one of its decisions led to the arrest of a journalist who, even if he did not respect the law, has not committed a crime of violence.''The same goes for the four other Croatian journalists also accused of contempt of court. Considering that this journalist represents no danger for Croatia and the ICTY, he should be released on bail.' Jovic failed to appear before the judges in The Hague on 26 September, unlike his colleague Marijan Krizic, editor of the weekly Hrvatsko Slovo, who answered his summons and was allowed to leave the court again freely.The two journalists are accused of contempt of court, along with Ivica Marijacic, editor of Hrvatski List, Stjepan Seselj, editor of Hrvatsko Slovo, and Domagoj Margetic, editor of Novo Hrvatsko Slovo, for revealing the identity of a protected witnesses, the current Croatian President, Stipe Mesic, at the trial of Tihomir Blaskic in 1997. They face up to seven years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.The trial of Ivica Marijacic, Stjepan Seselj, and Domagoj Margetic, who revealed the identity of Mesic in their newspapers in November 2004, is to open at the end of October.This confidential information had already been posted on the Documentation and Information Centre Veritas (www.veritas.org.yu) in 1999, and carried by the Bosnian daily Bih Dani, on 1st June 2001. 'I will act in solidarity with my colleague and I prefer to go to prison rather than plead guilty before the ICTY', Domagoj Margetic told Reporters Without Borders.The ICTY chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said on 4 October that she was in favour of membership talks between Croatia and the EU, since Zagreb was fully cooperating with the ICTY. She had given an unfavourable opinion in March, complaining that the Croatian authorities were dragging their feet in arresting fugitive general, Ante Govina, charged by judges in The Hague in 2001. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15230 www.rsf.org/ International Secretariat :Reporters sans frontières5, rue Geoffroy-Marie75009 Paris - FranceTel. 33 1 44 83 84 84Fax. 33 1 45 23 11 51E-mail : rsf@rsf.org Web : www.rsf.org CanadaMontrealEmily Jacquard 1000 Fullum Montréal, Québec H2K 3L7 Tel : 1 - 514-521-4111 Fax : 1 - 514 521 7771 E-mail : rsfcanada@rsf.org  Ivory CoastAbidjanBP 4401 - Abidjan 09 Tel / Fax : 225 22 44 67 15 Email : rsf.abj@africaonline.co.ci JapanTokyoMaru Maru Bldg. 502 3-2-7 Yoyogi, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 151-0053. Japan. Tel : (03) 3379-1401 E-mail : michelt@galaxy.ocn.ne.jp  RussiaMoscowE-mail : rsf@rol.ru  ThailandBangkokGreenery House, 260/18 Lad Phrao 62 Lad Phrao Road, Kwang Bangkapi Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel : 66 2 933 7321 Mobile : 66 1 253 77 80 Email : rsfbkk@loxinfo.co.th  United StatesNew YorkTala Dowlatshahi Mobile : 1 917-239-0653 E-mail : tdowlats@hotmail.com United StatesWashingtonLucie Morilllon Reporters Without Borders Southern Railway Building 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 600 Washington DC, 20005 E-mail : lucie.morillon@rsf.org Tel : (00) 1 202 256 56 13   nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6723/1/E-Croatia-has-got-the-entire-world-by-the-neck.html  , July 06, 2005 }-->span.spelle {} Croatia has got the entire world by the neckHere are a series of six articles written in aspecial supplement to the Financial Times aboutCroatia in their "World Report" supplement, publishedon June 7 2005:Fashion: Strong ties boost cravat businessBy Eric JanssonPublished: June 7 2005 10:45 | Last updated: June 72005 10:45 Along with many small countries, Croatia foreverdreams of making its mark in the world.But few make claims as grand as those issued onCroatia's behalf by Marijan Busic, a Zagreb-basedsociologist and businessman. Mr Busic says thiscountry, slung around the western rim of the Balkanregion, has got the entire world by the neck.Only the rest of the world does not know it yet.Mr Busic says his secret is the necktie, or cravat,which he describes as 'Croatia's contribution to theglobal culture.'History and language are on his side. The word'cravat' stems from the Croatian root for Croat,'hravat'. The necktie itself originated as a kerchiefworn around the necks of Croat soldiers fighting forthe Hapsburg empire during the Thirty Years’ War, inthe 17th century. The style caught on, spreading fromParis to Britain, then via the British empire aroundthe globe.Mr Busic bemoans the fact that many people mistakenlybelieve the necktie originated in Italy or France. Butin their ignorance he has identified a businessopportunity, manufacturing and selling 'original'Croatian cravats as co-owner of a fashion house,Croata.This he does in parallel with his work as director ofAcademia Cravatica, a non-profit organisation thataims to tie the cravat to Croatia in the world’scollective imagination - just as champagne, thebubbly, is linked to Champagne, the region.Croatia’s government is jumping on the bandwagon,giving Croata ties to visiting dignitaries andsponsoring some of Academia Cravatica’s projects. Fromthe company’s launch at the dawn of Croatianindependence until today, so many of Mr Busic'sneckties have been handed to visiting officials that'by now all the politicians in Europe have a few,' hesays.The history-laden sales pitch behind Mr Busic's luxuryproduct and the Croatian state’s official effort tobrighten its image combine to fuel a formidablemarketing operation. Bozo Biskupic, the cultureminister, gushes that the necktie is 'a sign ofcivilisation and mutual respect.' In Croata’s biggest stunt to date, Mr Busic elbowedhis way into the Guinness Book of World Records byfastening an enormous red polyester cravat around anancient Roman amphitheatre in the coastal city ofPula.He confesses mild embarrassment about the vast lengthof polyester, big enough to produce 100,000low-quality neckties. Croata uses silk as a rule. Butat the cost of €60,000, the Pula stunt was a bargain,says Kresimir Spajic, the company’s marketingassistant. 'I would estimate that 1bn people saw thatPula tie on television, through CNN and othernetworks. You can’t say that’s not a marketingsuccess.'After selling 150,000 neckties last year, Croata aimsto boost sales by 30 per cent in 2005. Most of itsties, scarves and related products sell domestically,but 40 per cent last year sold through a combinationof direct exports or sales to foreign touristsvisiting Croatia.Croata exemplifies a host of trends commonly seen insuccessful Croatian businesses.First, the company is taking advantage of inexpensivemarketing opportunities, trading product for exposure.Croata succeeds in making itself ubiquitous in theeyes of targeted consumers, despite its relativelysmall marketing budget.Second, the company positions itself in the luxurymarket and aims to compete directly against leadingwest European firms. Labour costs are higher inCroatia than in many other post-socialist countries.The company identifies its comparative advantage asquality, not quantity or price. A similar trend isseen in tourism, with moves away from mass tourismtoward boutique and luxury options, emphasisingpersonal choice.Third, to keep labour costs down, the company workswhere wages are low. Zagreb is the company’s salescentre, but design and production are located in asmall village outside Slavonski Brod, in a lesswealthy region halfway between the capital and theSerbian border. Most of its employees are women.Fourth, keeping an eye on production costs, Mr Busicdefiantly refuses to yield to cheaper imports. Croataimports Chinese silk, but the company plans to startits own local silk production in the near future. Arisky plan perhaps, but Croatia’s entrepreneurs havenot learned to succeed through risk avoidance.Finally, the company benefits by cultivating afriendly working relationship with state officials.The advantages of this are real if hard to define.Beyond Croata's bottom line, Mr Busic presents himselfas a true believer in his product. 'If you call usjust a tie company, it's offensive to us. Justproducing ties is nothing. This is something veryspecial,' he says.He and other board members describe Croata's goal inquasi-revolutionary terms. Croatia needs the necktiein its new democratic era to find a balance betweendictatorial order and the responsible exercise ofliberty, they say.'If you look at the people who refuse to wear ties -hippies, New Age people - these are people who wantfull freedom and refuse to accept responsibility. Onthe other side, you have responsibility withoutfreedom - dictators, tyrants, those who would controlyou and who incidentally always wear ties. Between thetwo, the tie is a perfect democratic symbol ofrestraint, of dignity, responsibility and freedom.'It sounds like pure marketing drivel. Claimingauthority as a sociologist, Mr Busic insists it isnot.---------------------------------------------New middle class takes the helmDozens of gleaming white sails skim across anaquamarine horizon, watched by lunching tourists atZadar, an ancient walled city on Croatia’s Dalmatiancoast.Visible for miles along the shoreline and dwarfing allthe other sails, an enormous spinnaker hurries intothe distance. Swelled by Adriatic sea-breezes, ithauls the Madex, a racing yacht, to a regatta down thecoast at Split.At the boat’s helm stands Damir Majetic, a middle-agedcitizen of Zadar and lifelong sailor, his facepermanently bronzed by the sun, the ends of hismoustache curled by the wind.As the boat’s new owner and captain, Mr Majetic isjust beginning to make his mark on Croatia’s racingscene. Fellow sailors at Zadar’s private yacht club,Uskok, where he moors the 65ft carbon-fibre racer,already admire him for prising several covetedtrophies away from Split’s longer-establishedskippers.But whatever he wins at sea, Mr Majetic’s greatestvictories have come onshore in the world of business.He is part of a growing class of entrepreneurs thatincreasingly drives economic growth and prosperity inthis country of 4.3m people, across the water fromItaly. Economists in Zagreb, the capital, hail thearrival of a new era of private business led bynimble, lightweight companies.'Small and medium-sized enterprises are a strongsegment of the economy now. These people are allmiddle class. This is the source of a new strata ofsociety. It’s vibrant and getting bigger,' says ZarkoMiljenovic, chief economist at Zagrebacka banka, thecountry’s biggest bank.The good life Mr Majetic enjoys as a yachtsman has notcome cheaply. It is the fruit of years spent running asmall private company, Madex, named like the boat for'Majetic, Damir: Exporter'. 'I work hard to make money so I can sail,' he says.The story of his rise to modest wealth, and manyothers like it, began more than a decade ago, in 1993,while Croatia remained submerged in war against Serbiaand during the non-transparent privatisation processCroats now sneeringly call 'tycoonisation'.At the time, the newly-independent country’s leaders,politically weak in a moment of national crisis,placed hundreds of state-owned companies in the handsof a close circle of loyalists. These new 'tycoons'amassed private fortunes in a flurry of dubioustransactions that distressed ordinary Croats andconsigned once-viable companies to commercial ruin.Mr Majetic could have cashed in then. As formerdirector of a state-owned kitchen appliancesmanufacturer, he received an offer to acquire thecompany cheaply from the state. 'But it felt immoral,'he says.Opting instead to work alone, he scraped togetherloans from friends worth the equivalent of €10,000 andopened a shop manufacturing paint rollers.It seemed reckless then, but it looks wise now. AsCroatia’s new middle class gains strength, the bloatedtycoon class’s influence dwindles. Entrepreneurscontrol a growing piece of the economic pie.'The private sector is taking over, giving us a newbase. It has in some cases emerged from the oldstructures, but it isn’t based on them. This neweconomy now accounts for 50-60 percent of thepicture,' Mr Miljenovic says.As new entrepreneurs start up, they add variety to thegrowing private sector, and this yields security.'Because the economy is not dominated by anyparticular sector, or just a few sectors, the risk ofsudden turnarounds is reduced,' says Martina Dalic,state secretary at Croatia’s finance ministry.Growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP)slowed to 3.8 per cent last year, but Croatia’sfundamentals appear stronger than at any time sincethe collapse of Yugoslavia, 15 years ago. Debtsustainability in public and private sectors, long aproblem, is beginning to stabilise. Inflation remainsbelow 4 per cent annually.Some concerns remain. For example, Zeljko Rohatinski,the central bank governor, says the heavy flow offoreign cash into the country places growing pressureon the kuna, Croatia’s currency, to appreciate. Thiscould jeopardise the kuna’s managed peg to the euro,which holds movement against the euro within a price'corridor' of 15 per cent.'In order to stop appreciation, we inject into thesystem higher and higher amounts of kuna. The systemis sustainable, but the costs of sustaining it arehigher and higher,' Mr Rohatinski says.At the same time, Croatia’s government under IvoSanader, the prime minister, must try to cut statespending this year. Potential targets include thepolitically-sensitive pensions system,heavily-subsidised shipyards and railways. Withoutsuch cuts, post-socialist transition remainsincomplete. The state still doles out subsidiesgreater than twice the European average, as measuredagainst GDP.Despite these challenges, private companies alreadybenefit from an improved business climate,characterised by freer trade and a gradual reductionof red tape - a world away from the economy of adecade ago.Companies like Mr Majetic’s were once underdogs in aworld of socialist-era behemoths. But whereas many bigstate-owned companies now struggle with losses, Madexthrives.It survived a difficult start, thanks to the war’s endin 1995, when homeowners undertook post-war renovationand paint-rollers sold briskly. Now, with 40employees, turnover of €4.5m in 2004 and projectedsales growth of 11 per cent this year, Madex ischanging rapidly. No longer content to sellpaint-rollers, the company imports paint and paintingequipment and aims to evolve into a larger-scalemanufacturer and exporter. A new subsidiary, MadexMarine, also manufactures and repairs sails whiletrading boating paraphernalia.Mr Majetic says several key changes have helped makeCroatia’s business environment much healthier than itwas five years ago.First, policymakers are ushering former blackmarketers into the tax system. This levels the playingfield for others. 'Fewer and fewer firms dealillegally,' he says.Also, despite continuing problem with backlogged casesin the judiciary, 'the courts are doing a faster,better job.'Crucially, banks are opening their doors to smallcompanies, as the foreign banks that dominate thesector diversify their portfolios and compete bypushing down interest rates.Finally, Mr Majetic cites cultural evolution.'Transition from socialism to capitalism is not easy.But our mentality is changing. People finally arebeginning to understand that they have to do thingsfor themselves.'Croatia’s conservative political elite could learnfrom the country’s more flexible private sector.Mr Sanader’s government was stung in March when theEuropean Union called off eagerly-awaited accessionnegotiations, stalling Croatia’s effort to join thebloc. The move gave teeth to a formal protest fromBrussels against Zagreb’s failure to deliver AnteGotovina, a fugitive war crimes indictee, to theUnited Nation’s International Criminal Tribunal forthe former Yugoslavia.The disappointment demonstrated how leaders in Zagrebcould do more to eliminate the war-related politicalrisk that, though vastly diminished, still frustratesCroatia.Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the foreign minister, saysthat by postponing negotiations indefinitely, the EUrisks promoting 'adverse effects, risingEuro-scepticism and a feeling among citizens that theEU doesn’t want us.'But, broadly, Croatia already stands politically andeconomically apart from slower-reforming neighbours inthe western Balkans, such as Serbia andBosnia-Herzegovina.In a victory for Croatia’s liberals, Stipe Mesic, thepresident, a rival to Mr Sanader and his rulingCroatian Democratic Union, won a second five-year termearlier this year. The president carries enormouscredit for advancing democratisation during his firstterm, and he praises Croatia for its progress.'Democracy continues to mature. The last electionswere the first ones in which rival parties did notaccuse each other of being against Croatia,' he says.But as a former member of the country’s socialist-eraelite, even Mr Mesic, a proven reformer, faces popularcriticism from Croats who want faster change. Stubbornpatriots, they fear the pain further economic reformscould bring, but they also ridicule politicians seenas too self-interested to make genuinely hard choices.Unlike today’s politicians, since winning independencefrom Yugoslavia few ordinary citizens have known theluxury of avoiding risk - least of all the newentrepreneurs, who are among the most credibleadvocates of swift reform.'I love my country. Croatia has great potential. Itwill have a great future if the people who build ittruly love it, whatever it takes,' says Mr Majetic.Croatia’s leaders say they are eager to see thecountry succeed as part of a united Europe. To followthrough in 2005 they must clear the present diplomaticlogjam with the EU, start accession negotiations, andmove forward with economic reforms - whatever ittakes.---------------------------------------------Big issues remain to be addressed>By Eric Jansson>Published: June 6 2005 15:57 | Last updated: June 62005 15:57With its vast coastlines and harvesting rights in theAdriatic sea, Croatia would seem a perfect paradisefor placing high-quality seafood on the dinner table.Workers in the central Croatian town of Daruvar,piling deep-frozen octopi into lorries at the start ofa lengthy distribution chain, know the truth is morecomplicated.When Agrokor, the country’s biggest private company,acquired the Daruvar deep-freezer and its fish farms,its managers already knew from their ice creambusiness that distributing perishables in Croatia isno mean feat.Though small in population and geographical area, forpractical purposes this is a big country.Sickle-shaped with a long, thin coastline - the'blade' curving south to Dubrovnik - and an oblong'handle' in central Europe, mountainous Croatia posesheadaches for businesses reaching for a nationwidemarket. Hot summers further complicate the problemsfood distributors face.Ljerka Puljic, Agrokor’s senior executivevice-president, says the company’s frozen foods arm,Ledo, manager of the Daruvar deep-freezer, requires nofewer than 12 distribution centres. 'All ourmanufacturing companies need their own distribution,because transport in Croatia is tremendouslydifficult,' she says.But a hard push by the government to renovate andexpand the country’s motorways promises to shrink thegeography of a country that, for transportationpurposes, remains one of Europe’s most awkward.Already travel times between the capital and the coasthave fallen on some roads from seven hours at the endof the 1990s to fewer than three - offering importantnew logistical efficiencies to help thriving retailand tourism industries.Mrs Puljic says Agrokor stands to save 'tens ofmillions of euros' annually if Croatia’s transportnetwork continues to improve.Stanislav Brodnjak, director in Croatia of animportant competitor to Agrokor in retail trade,Slovenia’s Mercator, which is expanding into thecountry, says improved transport links already haveenabled him to scrap expensive plans for multipledistribution centres once considered essential.With their successful motorways project approachingcompletion, government ministers in Zagreb can affordto gloat a little. Faster roads boost efficiency in anarea of the economy that has long been a drag.However, they must also face the uncomfortable realitythat, in other areas, there remains much room forimprovement.Athanasios Vamvakidis, resident representative for theInternational Monetary Fund, identifies a raft ofmajor tasks for 2005. First comes a technical issue,improving the accuracy of state revenue projections,habitually inflated and used to justify deficitspending.Then come the big spending cuts: re-indexing statepensions, curbing costs in an 'over-consuming' publichealth sector, reducing payments to the state-ownedrailways and cutting subsidies to loss-makingindustries such as shipbuilding.'All these problems are problems the authoritiesunderstand,' Mr Vamvakidis says.IMF officials congratulate Ivo Sanader, the primeminister, and his team for major accomplishmentsracked up during the past 12 months. Croatia’sexternal debt began to fall in early 2005 after yearsof constant growth. The current account deficit fellbelow the IMF’s target, contracting to 4.6 per cent ofGDP on the strength of export growth and tourismrevenues during 2004.The state squeezed its budget deficit down to 5 percent from 6.3 per cent in one year, and the governmentunveiled medium-term reform plans for the railways andhealth sector.But the most politically-sensitive items on the IMF’slist remain untouched. 'The question is whether the government can afford toaddress these issues politically. These things havevery big implications for Croatia’s economy in themedium and long terms,' Mr Vamvakidis says.'Pension re-indexation is a perfect example of whatthe government would really like to do but they cannotbecause of political constraints in the coalitiongovernment.'Mr Sanader’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) holdspower in co-operation with a junior coalition partner,the Pensioners’ Party. Together the two partiesdirectly control fewer than half the seats inparliament, but their minority government stays inoffice with extra support from a handful of smallparties.Mr Sanader’s government agrees in theory with theIMF’s insistence that heavy state spending onpensions, currently 14 per cent of GDP, must go down.The way to do this, Mr Vamvakidis says, is to re-indexpensions according to real wage growth rather than thecurrent standard, nominal wage growth. But the HDZ’spolitical arrangement with the Pensioners’ Party meansa move in this direction could blow apart the rulingcoalition.Fixing the shipbuilding sector will not be any easier.Dominated by state-owned yards on the coast, theindustry posts perpetual losses while absorbing largesubsidies. The state pays for 10 per cent of costs onevery ship manufactured in the yards.Hit hard by the high prices of steel and the euro in adollarised industry, the shipbuilders fail to turnprofits, despite job cuts that reduced the workforcefrom 30,000 workers 15 years ago to 9,500 today, notcounting some 7,000 subcontractors.'Production is at the same level now as when we had30,000 workers. Still, the number needs to go down,'says Mladen Corluka, commercial director for theCroatian Shipbuilding Corporation, a governmentagency.A government plan to privatise one of the mostsuccessful shipyards, Uljanik, located in the portcity of Pula, could point the way forward if itsucceeds this year. But other yards may be moredifficult to sell.As state experts work out final details of a plan tosave the industry, Mr Corluka says Croatianshipbuilding’s fate 'will become clear in the next twoto three months.'At the root of these challenges lies a culturaldilemma. Croatia’s economy has long enjoyed success incomparison with neighbours to the east. Traditionally,it has been buoyed by a strong inflow of tourist cashand a large sector of small private enterprises -previously part of a 'grey market', now legitimised.Such wealth during the socialist era underwrote thedevelopment of heavy industry and encouraged manyCroats, like western Europeans, to place faith in aconsumer-friendly welfare state.---------------------------------------------Banking: New problems emerge as security is restored>By Eric Jansson>Published: June 6 2005 15:57 | Last updated: June 62005 15:57> > Bolted to the neoclassical rooftops above Zagreb’s BanJelacic Square, the names of the foreign-owned banksthat dominate Croatia’s banking sector spell securityfor millions of depositors once scared off byfinancial instability.Zagrebacka banka, owned by Italy’s Unicredito, andPrivredna banka Zagreb (PBZ), owned by Italy’s BancaIntesa, together control 45 per cent of the market.Other big players include Austria’s Raiffeisen, ErsteSteirmärkische, Hypo Alpe-Adria and Germany’s HVB.Foreign banks combine to control 91 per cent of totalassets in the sector.Central bankers praise these banks for reinvigoratingCroatia’s once lacklustre banking sector, anddepositors show their approval by voting with theirwallets. Overall time and savings deposits in thesector trebled from 2001 to today. Demand depositsmore than doubled. Foreign currency deposits grew by61 per cent.The banks have responded by modernising Croatia’sfinancial world. Some 6m charge cards circulate amonga population of 4.3m people, says Bozo Prka, presidentof the managing board at PBZ, making consumer paymentseasier in Croatia than anywhere else in the westernBalkans.But while good news abounds, new problems arise.Central bankers have begun to complain that Croatia ispaying a heavy price for the bank sales. 'Theseforeign banks are great for clients, but from amonetary policy point of view they treat Croatia likea cheap market,' says one central bank analyst.Zeljko Rohatinski, governor of the central bank, saysthe European mother banks of local institutions, eagerto expand business in Croatia, are flooding the marketwith foreign currency, mostly the euro. This booststheir local branches’ lending volume. But it alsoencourages the kuna, Croatia’s currency, toappreciate. In response, the central bank must inject kunas intothe market, guarding the managed peg to the euro - apillar of monetary policy - which permits the kuna tochange value against the euro only within a price'corridor' of 15 per cent.The managed peg, a source of confidence that Croatiacan eventually adopt the euro without difficulty,could be jeopardised, Mr Rohatinski indicates. 'Tostop appreciation we inject into the system higher andhigher amounts of kuna. The system is sustainable, butthe costs of sustaining it are higher and higher.'Mr Rohatinski acted last month to curb the trend,raising banks’ marginal reserve requirements from 30to 40 per cent, aiming to slash yields on externalborrowing. He justified the move on May 18, saying: 'Ido not believe that the current mechanism (the kuna’slink to the euro) can be preserved under the currentcircumstances.'Mr Rohatinski says the frequency of central bankintervention has increased sharply in the past 12months. Asked if Croatia would be able to adopt theeuro by 2010, as some economists say the countryshould do, Mr Rohatinski defers. 'Five years is a longtime,' he says.Mr Rohatinski acknowledges that Croatia’sforeign-owned banks are only following commercialinstincts. 'The economic cycle in Italy and Germany isquiet modest right now, so quite logically they exporttheir capital to other countries. In Croatia, theiryield on capital stands at 16.5 per cent, and yield onassets stands at 1.7 per cent, which is better thanthey can do in their home markets.'Croatia’s central bank has acted previously torestrain foreign-owned banks, capping their annuallending growth at 16 per cent in 2003. Thisrestriction was dropped last year, but it demonstratedthe monetary authority’s readiness to intervene.Boris Vujcic, Mr Rohatinski’s deputy governor, assuresinvestors that the central bank intends to keep themanaged peg in place until Croatia fulfils its goal ofadopting the euro.Mr Vujcic ascribes pressure on the kuna not uniquelyto foreign banks, rather preferring to emphasise'financial markets and adjustments in the country’scurrent account deficit.' New government bond issuesand brisker sales on the Zagreb Stock Exchange alsoraise demand for Croatia’s currency.Mr Prka of PBZ cites a new trend. 'Until recently thefinancial system has been bank-centric. Since the endof last year there is a trend toward capital markets.'But this trend does not relieve the central bank ofits dilemma. It also traces back to the foreign-ownedbanks, all major players in the country’s developingcapital markets.---------------------------------------------Sport: After Goran, new stars court fame>By Eric Jansson>Published: June 6 2005 15:57 | Last updated: June 62005 15:57> > Few tennis fans can forget Goran Ivanisevic’s victoryin the 2001 Wimbledon men’s final. For devotees of thegame, it was as gratifying an upset as they have everseen. The Croat player, then 29, injured and ranked125th in the world, battled through five sets tosnatch victory from Patrick Rafter, the favouredAustralian.For Croats, the victory transcended tennis. Riveted bythe spectacle of Croatia’s chequerboard red and whiteflag waving in Wimbledon’s centre court, a deliriousnation imagined its own apotheosis being transmittedby satellite to the watching eyes of the world.Miroslav Blazevic, then coach of Croatia’s nationalfootball team, solemnly but absurdly compared MrIvanisevic to Jesus Christ, testifying that he hadwitnessed 'another resurrection'.The champion returned home a national hero. Greeted inthe seaside city of Split by 150,000 fans, he strippedto his underwear, raised his fists and declared: 'Weare the craziest people in the world.''After that, kids appeared with rackets in thestreets, in the parks, playing tennis everywhere. Itwas a fairytale,' says Gordan Gabrovec, a leadingtennis journalist in Zagreb.But televised apotheoses have a way of fading. MrGavrovec says the country’s national system fordeveloping tennis players is weaker than it should be.Still known to every Croat as 'Goran', the local boymade good, Mr Ivanisevic is now retired and living inMonte Carlo. Croatia lives in the year 4 A.G., longingfor a new alter Christi on the men’s tour.If there is life after Goran, it comes at the momentin the form of Ivan Ljubicic, a Croat player rankedninth in the world by ATP, the men’s professionaltennis association, and rising.Mr Ljubicic crashed out early at the French Open inParis last month. But he remains an interesting figureto watch, not least because he bears littleresemblance to the erratic Mr Ivanisevic. Judging from Mr Ljubicic’s performance, recent changeson Croatia’s tennis scene mirror broader changes inthe national character.Mr Ivanisevic, an emotional player prone to tempertantrums, was forever ridiculed by commentators whosaddled him with two nicknames - 'good Goran' for hismoments as a graceful charmer, 'bad Goran' for hisepisodes as a foul-mouthed prima donna.Commentators in the US and Europe did not alwaysrestrain themselves from drawing comparisons betweenthe shaggy, bearded star and Croatia as a whole, anation known equally during the 1990s for itsdelightful Mediterranean scenery and the war crimestoo often committed in its name.By contrast, the shaven-headed Mr Ljubicic, 26, is aportrait of discipline and calm. He quietly disposesof his opponents, then swiftly shifts his focus to thenext match.'Maybe my life experience is already a bit too roughfor me to be wild,' he explains in fluent, literateEnglish, which he speaks along with Italian.A war refugee from Banja Luka, the Bosnian Serbheadquarters during the Bosnian war and ever since¸ MrLjubicic moved with his family to Italy. By the age of14, he was living alone and managing his own home.Mr Ljubicic’s success is a reminder that everyone canbecome a refugee. Some of the nation’s brightestlights were among those forced to flee the Balkanwars, though it may take some years for others toattain a similar level of prominence to Croatia’s newtennis star.Mr Ljubicic says he is pleased to be a new ambassadorfor his country, which is nowhere more visible beyondits borders than in the world of sport. 'We simplyseem to be really good at sport, whether it’s tennis,football, skiing, handball, whatever. We arephysically big, tall and strong, and we are a sportscountry. Open any newspaper and you will find 15 pagestotally dedicated to sport.'Tennis fans longing for a new glimpse of MrIvanisevic’s fire might invest some hope in21-year-old Mario Ancic, another Split native, whomATP currently ranks 18th in the world. Lanky, erraticand fond of tossing his racket, Mr Ancic knockedBritain’s Tim Henman out of Wimbledon in 2004 beforelosing in the semi-final.Whence comes that fire? 'Dalmatia,' says Mr Ljubicic,referring to Croatia’s coastal region. 'There’sdefinitely a difference. The Dalmatians show theiremotions. They want to win at any price. The rest ofus are calmer. I am calmer.'---------------------------------------------Tourism: Tension between two visions>By Eric Jansson>Published: June 7 2005 09:38 | Last updated: June 72005 09:38> > The boat drifted by one morning and lingered justoffshore. On board, a Russian businessman - a magnateof some stature if not quite an oligarch - gazedcoolly toward the land. His eyes settled on a brightyellow villa ornamented in Venetian gothic floralpatterns, built in 1905 for a wealthy Italian family.Days later, there was a knock on the door. The Russianwanted the villa and would pay €1m. 'No' came theanswer from Vjeko Martinko, the owner, who now enjoystelling this story.A few days passed, and again the Russian’s assistantarrived with an offer, higher into the millions. 'No'again.Once more the man visited, raising his offer. MrMartinko says he turned him down flatly, with someadvice. 'I’m sorry, but some things in life arepriceless. Some things cannot be sold. This place isone such thing.'Mr Martinko’s view of his private property, VillaAstra in the seaside retreat of Lovren, which he runsas a boutique hotel and gourmet restaurant, bearslittle resemblance to the view Croatia’s rulers oncetook of assets along the country’s splendid coastline.Under Yugoslav Communist rule, prize coastalproperties became gifts to Party loyalists - includingthose who once inhabited Villa Astra - while most ofthe shore became a playground for the proletariat.Crowds jammed into countless campsites andcement-block hotels. The state clung jealously to theland, as private owners like Mr Martinko now do, butit also cheapened it by opening it to all comers.In the new era, tension between these competingvisions - one of total exclusivity and one of totalaccessibility - defines the struggle for the future ofCroatian tourism.The stakes are high. Croatia attracted 9.8m foreignvisitors last year. Tourism accounted for more than 20per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), withreceipts worth €5.7m attributed directly to theindustry, according to state statistics.The London-based World Travel and Tourism Councilcalls Croatia’s tourism market the fifthfastest-growing market in the world and predicts thattourism will account for 30 per cent of the country’sGDP by the year 2015. To stay on track, Croatia must continue its balancingact, accommodating both high-end and low-endholidaymakers. For years, the former have holed up ingrand hotels around Dubrovnik, while the latter makedo in campsites and rooms-for-rent.But critics add that the country must also plug animportant hole in its market - the very-high end.With its vast shoreline and more than 1,000 islands,Croatia possess ample space to provide super-richguests - stars of business, sport and Hollywood - theprivacy they require. But the country’s existinghigh-end hotels, mostly massive resorts andself-catering villas, cannot always do the job.Such shortcomings drive the country’s wealthiestvisitors on to the water, where they spend cateredholidays on private holiday yachts, landing onlyoccasionally in secluded harbours to stretch legs.Some of these, like the aspiring Russian buyer, laterseek ways to buy their own exclusive properties.Spotting a business opportunity, a small but growingnumber of entrepreneurs aim to fill this gap.Among those tipped for success are Mr Martinko, withhis Villa Astra and other properties near Lovren, andthe Turkish proprietors of the Pucic Palace, the firstluxury boutique hotel to open within Dubrovnik’s oldwalled city.Benefiting from exclusivity and privacy, both optionsoffer delights found at none of Croatia’s luxurymega-hotels, including the newly refurbished 139-roomHilton Imperial Dubrovnik, the Hilton Group’s firststep into the market.At the Pucic Palace, guests sip cocktails on aexquisite stone porch overlooking Dubrovnik’s famoustiled rooftops. Rather than inducing claustrophobia,as the sometimes-crowded walled city can do, thelocation provides a soothing escape even in the heartof the city. Soundproofed walls block out the noise ofthe walking streets below.By contrast, Villa Astra, in the northern region ofIstria, capitalises on a quiet location directly onthe shore and exploits synergies with Mr Martinko’sother retreats, including a nearby hilltop farm. By aserene pool, guests eat sumptuous meals made oflocally harvested ingredients - scampi, mussels, wildasparagus, strawberries and nettles.'This is the future of tourism in Croatia,' MrMartinko says.He blasts both old-style mass tourism in Croatia andthe tendency of today’s top-end guests to hidethemselves away on hired yachts. Such tourism is 'anindustry with no human element.''There is so much capital floating around in theworld, targeting Croatia. We must focus it on what issustainable.'Some of the world’s most exclusive boutique hoteliersaim to enter the market, among them Singapore-basedAmanresorts International, whose only other effort inEurope to date operates in Courchevel, France.With new entrants like these, Croatia’s image couldsoon change for the better.http://news.ft.com    nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6724/1/E-A-Conversation-with-Gary-Kasparov-from-Split-Croatia.html   A Conversation with Chess Master Gary Kasparov, from Split Croatia...about Bobby Fisherhttp://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3806793    nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Tue, 03 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6726/1/E-Prosecutors-to-blame-for-their-own-headache-.html  Prosecutors to blame for their own headache (?)CHRIS STEPHEN Op-edFor someone who didn't suffer in Croatia, it is irrelevant what the charges are. Value on truth and justice need to be placed regardless of "headaches". They are NOTHING to compare with the "headaches" we had to go through.Nenad BachSLOBODAN Milosevic has dedicated his time in court to wrong-footing a legal process he refuses to recognise, but it is the former Yugoslav president's health that has created the biggest headache for prosecutors. It is not Mr Milosevic's fault that, at 62, this whisky-loving, heavy smoker is suffering from a heart condition which has forced the court into continual delays which have already stretched a six-month prosecution session into a two-year circus. And Milosevic is within his rights to demand the right to defend himself. In fact, prosecutors have only themselves to blame. It is they who chose to charge Milosevic with crimes in three wars, rather than just one, turning what might have been a fairly straightforward case into a vast undertaking. In 1999, when Milosevic was first indicted, he faced charges related only to crimes in Kosovo, the southern province where nearly a million ethnic Albanians were expelled, and ten thousand killed, by Serb forces. Had prosecutors stuck to these charges, the trial would be over now and a verdict would be in, almost certainly pronouncing him guilty. Instead, the current Hague tribunal chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, decided to charge him with crimes in Croatia and Bosnia as well. Not only did this decision triple the caseload of the trial, but it added new complications. In Kosovo, Milosevic was the legal commander-in-chief of the security forces, making it comparatively simple to prove him responsible for atrocities by those forces. But in Bosnia and Croatia, he had no official link to Serb forces in what were separate countries, and proving unofficial links has taken much court time. Finally, while there has been plenty of gruesome evidence of genocide in Bosnia, there has been none, at least in open court, showing that Milosevic ordered it.The result of this ambitious charge-sheet has been a whale of a trial, with a 125-page charge sheet, one of the longest in history outside fraud trials, comprising 66 separate counts. Proving guilt in two or three of these would be enough to put Milosevic away for life. Prosecutors insist that only with all 66 counts examined can they prove Milosevic was at the centre of all the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Yet their decision has left the judges on the horns of a dilemma. If they simply carry on with the trial, stopping each time Milosevic falls ill, the case may go on indefinitely. If they impose a lawyer, they will risk being accused of denying him his legal right to defend himself. Almost certainly a court-imposed lawyer will get no co-operation from the former president. The trial was supposed to announce the arrival of the war crimes process on the world stage. Instead, is has provoked questions about whether such mega-trials are practical, questions all the more pertinent with the start of Saddam Hussein's trial. • Chris Stephen is author of Judgment Day: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic, published this month by Atlantic Bookshttp://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=772912004   nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 07 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6725/1/E-The-Brief-Future-of-NATO-.html  The Brief Future of NATO (?)Wednesday July 07, 2004 (0106 PST)Willard Payne Op-edYou can place your comments at the bottom. There are number of writings around the world about such topics and most of them have major flows in facts. I think that no matter how small the Newspaper/Emagazine is, that the truth should be spoken and published. This category is "Media Watch". When someone calls it "extremely ridiculous" and we call it "scream for freedom" there should be a civilized reaction. Microphone is yours. If you can not submit from this page, please go to the source page. NBWhen NATO agreed to recognize the extremely ridiculous division of Yugoslavia in 1991 it sealed their fate. The following year Iran established relations with Croatia. Since then Iran has stated Croatia is our entry into Central Europe. Iran does not mean a cultural entry but a Jihad invasion assisted by Balkan people. That is the reason Germany sent to Poland Leopard tanks and the US agreed to help Poland upgrade her air force. The upgrading began a little more than a year ago. About two months ago Iran's Defense Minister Adm. Ali Shamkani visited Warsaw no doubt to look over Poland's new equipment. I had truly believed Europe had gotten tired of map making and that World War II would be their last war fought in Europe. Their culture in fact so much of their militaristic identity resides in "Grand Design" visions. Grand Illusions which they assume will show the world their prominence and greatness. Sometimes the scheme works. The last time international stability broke down to this extent was 65 years ago. Of course the West believes, at least most of them, that things will never again to that extent but because of so much corruption on the highest level of Western and Russian society and Beijing's eagerness to arm the Islamic world, the powers that be have been investing in the breakdown all the time. I personally never believed I would ever see another European war in my own lifetime but I underestimated certain sinister aspects of European character. The Grand Deception, which you can see through if you know their history and therefore pattern. The diplomatic show, an elaborate subtle ritual designed to impress and at times insult with its procession of prominence, prestige, stature and of course power. In 1990 CNN showed a meeting of NATO and Warsaw Pact military representatives meeting somewhere in Europe. They were saying they were going to merge their military commands. The military delegates would not say publicly how they were going to achieve this but I could tell the way they were looking they were up to something extremely suspicious. The following year Yugoslavia is divided and the division is recognized, initially the twisted boundary of Croatia which cut off Serbia's access to the sea. It was designed to cause conflict but I assumed this new Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), headquartered in Vienna, and Brussels NATO headquarters, thought they could settle it diplomatically but they underestimated the impact of weapon dealers. Weapon dealers are perhaps the most profitable and busiest business operations in the world especially since the invention of the machine gun late in the 19th century. However not all the weapons were coming from Europe. During one of the winters in the first half of the 1990's when there was a pause in the fighting due to the weather, an article mentioned Serbia having by far the best weapon contacts including receiving weapons from Libya. I first assumed some Libyans simply wanted to cash in on the conflict but I eventually realized the Islamic world also knew the West put itself completely out of position by starting another front. As I believe I mentioned in an earlier article Khomeini's beliefs spreading over North Africa so of course you will have action in the Mediterranean, with the Balkans now fighting the West has simply started another front. Persia and the Arab world can use events just as well as anyone and.......for the whole article go to sourceSource: http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=69965 What do you think about the story? function cntrfunc() { document.speakoutForm.cntr.value = 5000 - document.speakoutForm.comments.value.length;}function validate() { if (document.speakoutForm.cntr.value < 0) { alert("Your comments exceeds the maximum limit"); return false; }}   Send us your comments:     Name: Your E-mail Address: Your Country: None Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda S. 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The PakTribune reserves the right to edit comments that are published.     nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 07 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6727/1/E-Magical-Mario-sparks-Croatian-revolution.html  Magical Mario sparks Croatian revolution LONDON : Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic is the latest in a long line of sportsmen from the tiny Balkan republic of Croatia to make an impact on the world stage. Since declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1992, Croatia has produced several top talents despite having a population of just 4.5 million.For Croatia to produce tennis stars like Goran Ivanisevic, Iva Majoli, Ivo Karlovic and Karolina Sprem would be achievement enough.But the republic's football team reached the quarter-finals of the European Championships in 1996 and third place at the 1998 World Cup with players such as Davor Suker, Slaven Bilic and Zvonimir Boban.Croatia are the world champions at handball while skier Janica Kostelic pulled off the unprecedented feat of winning three gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.Her brother, Ivica, is the world slalom champion. Meanwhile, basketballers such as Toni Kukoc, with the Chicago Bulls, and the late Drazan Petrovic, who made his name at the New Jersey Nets, distingushed themselves in America's NBA.And this despite Croatian sport having no structure for nurturing talent early."No system is the best system," jokes Neven Berticevic, a journalist with Croatian sports daily Sportske Novosti."The truth is that we really do not have a sports system in our country. There is no system in schools or universities, everything is based on clubs in all the sports."Success in individual persuits has dramatically risen since independence. Team sports were very strong in the old Yugoslavia, with competitive leagues in football, handball and basketball.Sport funding was distributed centrally, whereas today the emphasis is on individuals finding the money themselves. Stars must make themselves in Croatia.So it helps to have the family onside.Ivanisevic senior sold the family home when his son was fourteen in order to invest in Goran's talent. When Ivanisevic junior made it as a professional, capping his career with the 2001 Wimbledon title, the family got their house back."They are not going to have any contracts or any money until they get to the top level of their sports, but it's not big money," said Berticevic."That's one of the reasons that of the Croatian team at Euro 2004, only one plays in the domestic league."If you want to succeed at a higher level and make big bucks, then you have to go abroad. A lot more people leave now."But despite the flight of talent from Croatia once it has reached international level, the fight to have made it stays with their players."He represented Croatia in so many ways," Ancic said of his mentor Ivanisevic."You saw here great Croatian performances. I think it's great for a small country that it is going to start developing even more. I think that's good."- AFPhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/93576/1/.html nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sat, 03 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6728/1/E-Tuning-in-to-WELW.html  Tuning in to WELW -"Voice of Croatia"04/27/04Clint O'Connor Plain Dealer ReporterYou know how radio stations brag about caring for the community? How they're close to home and right in your back yard (even though they're controlled by corporations thousands of miles away)? WELW is in someone's back yard. Literally. It's behind a tool shed, actually, down a long driveway in a tiny, lonely building that can best be described as a shack. The shack hides out in a residential neighborhood in Willoughby (and Eastlake), which also explains its call letters: ELW stands for "EastLakeWilloughby." In an era of suffocating consolidation, when most stations are controlled by distant giants such as Clear Channel, Infinity, Radio One and Salem, locally owned WELW AM/1330 is as unassuming as its home. It primarily offers "oldies," rock 'n' roll gems from the '50s, '60s and '70s.But if you tune in at 5:45 a.m., you'll hear a priest praying the rosary. Click on at 3 in the afternoon, and you'll catch Tony Petkovsek's "PolkaRadio." Nights are filled with Lake County Captains' baseball games and high school sports. On weekends, it's "Health Talk," a philosophical show called "Visions," "The Italian Hour," "Voice of Croatia" and "Shalom America." "We're really here for people over 50," said Ray Somich, the station's president and principal owner. "People in their 50s don't get a lot of respect from radio stations and advertisers. But we know that someone turns 50 every seven seconds." WELW signed on in 1965 as a religious station. It also has been Top 40, Country and Talk. Sadly, it no longer airs one of its signature shows, "Swap Shop," which allowed Maggie in Mentor to try to unload a set of dishes, while Earl in Euclid expressed his desire for a semidecent, secondhand lawn mower. The Somich strategy is simple: Keep it local, air as much community information as possible and be omnipresent at local events and promotions. WELW even has a mission statement. Mention a "Mission Statement" in most radio circles, and it probably would read something like: "To squeeze every miserable dime out of this station, trim budgets and staff, and make corporate headquarters smile." WELW's mission statement reads: "To continuously provide superior communication service, in accordance with the Ultimate Truth, to add value to the life of anyone whom we encounter, in an environment that unconditionally nurtures Respect, Integrity and Love." Zowie. When asked what the "Ultimate Truth" is, Somich says, "We are here to add value to the universe and the God that is in all of us. We're not all of one religion, but everyone here understands there is more to life than punching a time clock."That would include morning man Allan Parrish, "Dean of the Dusty Discs"; midday host and music director Ravenna Miceli; and Scott "The Scottster" Howitt, the mad rhymer who is on afternoons before and after polka. Miceli and Howitt were both formerly big-time jocks with big- time ratings at Majic (WMJI FM/105.7). It's akin to jumping from the QE2 cruise ship to a dinghy. They like the dinghy. "I'm blown away that people have found me here, it's really humbling," said Miceli. "The biggest difference is we're not controlled by corporate America. We're giving people what is not available on conventional radio." WELW boasts a much larger playlist than most oldies stations; the jocks will find and play that obscure request you call in, and, more importantly, they say they have the freedom to play and say anything they want. "We play the original hits," says Somich, "not the remix, not the shortened version, not the speeded-up version. The way they sounded before the conglomerates owned all the stations." On a recent afternoon, Howitt spun "She Ain't Lovin You" by the Distant Cousins ("one of those WIXY records") and "The Little Black Egg" by the Nightcrawlers ("an old WHK record"). They were not huge national hits, but they were Cleveland hits. Howitt's musical frame of reference is not necessarily bands and singles but the defunct Top 40 AM stations that played them: WIXY (as in Wicksy-1260), WHK, KYW and CKLW out of Canada. Back when listeners had extreme loyalty to a particular station. "Cleveland has this rich music and radio history," says Howitt. "That's what makes a station like this more precious. If you can make even a few people feel better, give them an escape feature from paying a buck-80 for gas, then you've done something." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: coconnor@plaind.com, 216-999-4456 © 2004 The Plain Dealer. http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/108306900132521.xml   nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Mon, 10 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6729/1/E-Music-around-the-bonfire.html  Dancing around the fireOp-ed:Not sure about autheticityo of the story, but here it is, what people write and think.NBThursday, February 05, 2004Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury Music: Plucky charmsFlogging Molly upends Irish tradition By Ched Whitney For the uninitiated, the experience goes something like this: The ensemble comes on stage, toting the requisite traditional instruments--fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin, etc. The singer, a fortysomething Irish gentleman, cues the band members, and they launch into what sounds like a conventional Irish ditty. Then someone bumps the turntable to 78 rpm. Flogging Molly has been blending Irish folk rhythms with punk rock velocity since singer and acoustic guitarist Dave King got the band the together in the late '90s. King--who was the singer for the '80s hard rock band Fastway--met his bandmates at Molly Malone's, a venerable Los Angeles Irish pub where King performed on open-mic nights. "The guys and the girls used to come down and see me, and that's where we all met," King said recently from his L.A. home, where the band has been rehearsing for a new album, a follow-up to 2002's Drunken Lullabies. Having tasted some success and played at Madison Square Garden, King decided some of the associated trappings of that success didn't jibe with the lessons of his modest Irish upbringing. But the music did. "For me growing up in Ireland, I was brought-up piss-pot poor. We had nothing," King says. "We had one room in the flat. But we had a piano in that room. Almost every Friday and Saturday, my mother and father would go out to the pub, and they'd come back with a load of people. And they'd all sit around the room and take turns singing a song. All we had was music. "Looking back on it, it's almost like I'm trying to get back to that stage--the honesty of just music." Flogging Molly released its first studio album, Swagger, in 2000 and quickly built a cult following with frequent gigs. A much-hailed run on the 2001 Warped Tour brought the band additional notice. While King is certainly pleased with the success, he is adamant that the band makes music first and foremost for themselves. "People might say, `Why traditional music?' When you're young, you want to hear electric guitar and let your hair grow and fuckin' rock out or punk out, or whatever," he says. "To me, when I came over to America [about 10 years ago], it hit me: I was brought up on this music, and I ran away from it." And though King says, "I don't fuckin' care if you don't like [Flogging Molly]," he says he feels fortunate to be doing something that resonates with people. He relates a story from an Italian friend who worked in refugee camps inCroatia. Lacking the resources to rebuild the bombed-out cities, people were forced to live in camps. "Every night, Herzegovinians and Croatians and Yugoslavians were all sitting around the campfire and bickering. Every night they'd build a bonfire and the Croatians would want to here Croat music and they'd bicker over it." One night King's friend got out his boombox and put on Flogging Molly, and everyone stopped fighting and started dancing around the fire. "Now if I can be sitting here in L.A. rehearsing or something," King says, "and somebody that we don't know, who are going through hell on Earth... and we're putting a smile on their face? I mean, for fuck's sake, that's more than any politician will ever fuckin' do. It's very, very humbling to think that you're doing something in your life that maybe means something to somebody else."Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury, 2001 - 2004Stephens Media Group http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Feb-05-Thu-2004/23132431.html nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6730/1/E-The-cell-phone-guns-made-in-Croatia---Time-Magazine.html  Press M for Murder: Cell Phones That KillN O T E B O O KPress M for Murder: Cell Phones That KillSecurity experts are watching for guns disguised as mobile phonesBy ADAM ZAGORINMonday, Feb. 02, 2004Don't be surprised if you're asked to whip out your cell phone and make a call next time you go through airport security. A mobile phone that masquerades as a gun may sound like a device concocted for 007, but it's the latest hidden weaponry to show up on the radar of law-enforcement folks. Sources tell TIME that cell-phone guns, some of which have been seized in drug raids in the Netherlands, England and Germany, have been cited in several federal security alerts over the past year, the most recent just over a month ago. Though heavier than normal phones, the lethal ones look nearly identical. The hollowed-out devices, made in Croatia, are fired by punching buttons on the keypad and can shoot four .22-cal. bullets in rapid succession. So far, no phony phones are known to have surfaced in the U.S. And aviation-security experts say screening equipment now in use can detect the cell guns and other "improvised explosive devices," such as fake calculators, cameras, laptops and PDAs. To speed your next security check, you may want to leave some of those gadgets behind, along with your tool kit. Says a senior U.S. law-enforcement official: "Even a screwdriver could conceal a shotgun shell in a hollowed-out handle."From the Feb. 02, 2004 issue of TIME magazinehttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040202-581402,00.html nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 29 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6731/1/E-Katarina-Tomasevski-Rapporteur-on-the-right-to-education.html  China's education record of Tibet Disappoints UN expert  TibetNet[Sunday, December 21, 2003 10:14] Dharamsala 20 December: A UN human rights expert has sharply criticised the education policy pursued in Tibet by the People's Republic of China.Ms. Katarina Tomasevski (Croatia), the Special Rapporteur on the right to education of the UN Commission on Human Rights has submitted a report to the 60th session of the Commission following an official mission to Beijing in September this year. The report is made available on the official website of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The 22-page report said that: "The Special Rapporteur was dismayed at the illiteracy rate in Tibet, 39.5 per cent, and asked the Ministry of Education (of PRC) whether one reason might be the fact that the literacy test was in Tibetan, while Mandarin is used in political, economic and social life." The Special Rapporteur recommends " full integration of human and minority rights in education policy, law and practice." Highlighting that her report was not a comprehensive one due to many factors, including budget restrictions and the duration of the mission of 10 working days being confined to Beijing, Ms. Tomasevski adds: "An education that would affirm minority rights necessitates full recognition by the majority of the worth of minority languages and religions in all facets of life. Otherwise, education is seen as assimilationist and, hence, not compatible with China's human rights obligations." On the denial of religious education in schools, the report points out: "Contrary to China's international human rights obligations, religious education remains prohibited in both public and private educational institutions. Although the first words of China's initial report under the Convention of the Rights of the Child describe it as "a consistent respecter and defender of children's rights", children's rights in education have yet to be recognized." The Special Rapporteur recommends "an immediate affirmation of China's international human rights obligation to ensure free education for all children by eliminating all financial obstacles" saying that Beijing's goals of eliminating illiteracy and attaining compulsory education were never accomplished. The report also dwells on China's failure to increase budgetary allocations to education and urges that "the budgetary allocation for education be increased to the internationally recommended minimum of 6 per cent of GDP, that is, doubled from 3 to 6 per cent of GDP. Although international human rights law mandates priority for human rights in resource allocation, China's budgetary allocations favour military expenditure at the expense of investment in education, the report said. The report (http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.2004.45.Add.1.En?Opendocument) will come up for discussion during the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights which will take place next year at the UN office in Geneva, from 15 March to 23 April. The official mission of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education is the only third occasion when Beijing had invited a thematic special procedure of the UN Commission on Human Rights to either visit China or Tibet. In 1994 and 1997, China received the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention with both missions being allowed to visit Tibet. http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=5699 nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6732/1/E-OBSTRUCTIONIST-TACTICS-MUST-BE-UNMASKED.html  CROATIAN MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: OBSTRUCTIONIST TACTICS MUST BE UNMASKED!17/12/2003 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------Brussels, 17 December 2003. In the process for enlargement to the countries of south-east Europe, the European Union has laid down that the conclusion of the process of ratification of the Association and Stabilisation Agreement (ASA) is a necessary condition for the formal commencement of membership negotiations. According to well-informed sources, it seems that 13 of the 15 Member States are finalising the process of ratification of the Association and Stabilisation Agreement with Croatia, while the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have frozen the process because they claim that Croatia has not fully respected its commitments towards the International Criminal Court for Crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia (ICC). Question from Olivier Dupuis, Member of the European Parliament, Radical, to the Commission: "Is the Commission aware of this difference of opinion between 13 Member States on one hand and 2 Member States on the other, founded according to some sources on the question of Croatia's respect of her commitments towards the ICC, and according to others on the will to link the membership of Croatia to that of other (or the other) countries of south-east Europe? Does the Commission believe that the recourse to a de facto suspension of the process of ratification of the Association and Stabilisation Agreement by two Member States is opportune? Does the Commission not agree that it should urge the Council to come to an immediate decision regarding Croatia's compliance with the criteria of the Association and Stabilisation Agreement, committing the European Union and all its Member States and putting an end to time-wasting tactics?"www.radicalparty.orghttp://coranet.radicalparty.org/pressreleases/press_release.php?func=detail&par=6411 nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6734/1/E-Hold-Russia-to-the-same-standards-as-Croatia.html  Russia's a Grown-Up By Anne ApplebaumTuesday, December 9, 2003; Page A31 It has an army, a stock market and a national bank. It has a seat on the U.N. Security Council, ambassadors in most world capitals and Olympic ice skaters. It has a flag, and quite a few satellites. So why can't we treat Russia like a grown-up nation? Certainly at the moment we don't -- and we haven't, really, since the collapse of the Soviet Union. When George W. Bush meets Tony Blair, the atmosphere is friendly but businesslike. When he meets Jacques Chirac, the atmosphere is chilly but still businesslike. When he meets Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, Bush bends over backward, not just to be businesslike or friendly but to be best friends. The U.S. president looks into his Russian counterpart's eyes or steps out of line to compliment him for his "vision" of "democracy and freedom and rule of law" or invites him to his ranch. To be fair to President Bush, his tactics are no different from those adopted by President Clinton, who routinely greeted his best friend, then-president Boris Yeltsin, with an enormous bear hug. President Clinton was also similarly inclined to wax eloquent about freedom and democracy in Russia, even as both began shrinking. What neither president has been particularly good at -- what no one has ever been particularly good at -- is treating Russian leaders like responsible adults or treating Russia like a country capable of abiding by the rules of the Western institutions it wishes to join. This week, Russians participated in a parliamentary election that, for the first time, all of the normally mealy-mouthed Western observers actually declared to be unfair. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called it "overwhelmingly distorted." The Council of Europe, which promotes human rights in Europe, criticized the use of state-run media and taxpayer money to promote pro-Kremlin candidates. Considering that in 2000 neither of those organizations picked up on the extensive fraud, documented by the Moscow Times, that marred the presidential elections in Russia, their remarks are quite extraordinary -- and there should be consequences. By that I don't mean we should send the Marines to Moscow or try to influence Russian voters. Our ability to alter the course of internal events in Russia is limited, and always has been. But we do have the ability to call a spade a spade or to call a non-democracy a non-democracy, and we should do so. The Russian president, for example, has lately appeared at meetings of what used to be called the G-7 -- the group of the seven richest democracies -- and is now, since President Clinton first invited President Yeltsin, known as the G-8. Since Russia is neither particularly rich nor a proper democracy, maybe it's time the Russian president stopped coming. The point would not be to punish Putin, who would save a lot of time and money if he stayed away from that particular gabfest anyway. The point would be to make sure that our rules remain our rules and that they are not distorted because we feel obliged to smile patronizingly whenever the Russians violate them. It's not as if it hasn't happened before. Back in the 1990s the International Monetary Fund bent over backward not to offend Russian sensibilities -- or to attach any of the normal strings to its loans -- and lost a good deal of money as a result. "We are a great country," said President Yeltsin at one point, in response to foreign economic advice, "and you cannot tell us what to do." Later he stomped out of an OSCE meeting when told that Russia was violating that organization's human rights rules in Chechnya. At the time, our polite toleration of that sort of thing was wrong but understandable, given Russia's instability, and the old Soviet Union's historical enmity. But now another decade has passed, the Soviet Union is a distant memory, and the current Russian government can hardly be described as unstable. Yet we still say nothing when Russians remain in violation of European security agreements, and appear reluctant to hold Russia to the same standards we require of, say, Croatia.The result is not only a distorted Russian-American relationship but a degrading of our own Western institutions and alleged ideals. Why should Iraqis listen when we talk about democracy if we don't talk about democracy with President Bush's best friend Vladimir? Why should Zimbabweans listen when we talk about human rights violations if we don't apply the same standards to Chechnya? The White House has issued a few statements of mild distress about what was clearly an electoral farce. That's fine, as long as we don't mind if others don't take us seriously in the future. applebaumanne@washpost.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51261-2003Dec9.html nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 12 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6733/1/E-Ivo-Sanader-Next-Croatian-Prime-Minister.html  Croatia Names Next Prime Minister Dr. Ivo SanaderIvo Sanader was named Croatia's prime minister designate on Tuesday and has been asked to form the country's new government. Sanader, whose center-right HDZ party won 66 of 160 parliamentary seats in elections held two weeks ago, must now piece together a ruling coalition. The HDZ has won the backing of six other parties, giving it a slim majority in the new parliament, although it still has to agree on the distribution of cabinet posts. The HDZ says it has abandoned the extremist nationalist policies of its former head, the late ex-President Franjo Tudjman, who led Croatia into international isolation until his death in 1999.Sanader says his government's priorities will be raising living standards at home, resolving unsettled issues with neighbors and acquiring EU membership. (EUObserver.com) nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Fri, 12 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6736/1/E-RFERL-report---Croatian-elections.html  Croatian Elections ReportRADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC___________________________________________________________RFE/RL Balkan ReportVol. 7, No. 39, 5 December 2003A Weekly Review of Politics, Media, and Radio Free Europe/RadioCROATIAN VOTERS OUST THE GOVERNMENT. Croatian voters apparentlyreturned the late President Franjo Tudjman's Croatian DemocraticCommunity (HDZ) to power in the 23 November parliamentary elections.The ballot reflected a general disappointment with the sometimesfractious government of Social Democratic Prime Minister Ivica Racanand its failure to raise the standard of living, rather than a returnto the nationalism of the early 1990s (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 21November 2003).Racan admitted defeat, saying in Zagreb on 25 November thathis Social Democrats (SDP) clearly lost to the HDZ. "We congratulatethe HDZ on its very good results," Racan said. "We expect them totake responsibility and form a new government as soon as possible,"he added, noting that his government will continue in office in acaretaker capacity until HDZ leader Ivo Sanader forms a cabinet.Racan said that the SDP will then go into the opposition.With a voter turnout of about 66 percent, final officialreturns on 3 December showed the HDZ the clear winner. It will have66 seats in the new 152-member parliament, the SDP (with itscoalition partners Libra, the Liberal Party [LS], and the IstrianDemocratic Assembly [IDS]) 43, the Croatian People's Party (HNS)(with the regional Primorsko-goranski Alliance) 11, the CroatianPeasants Party (HSS) nine, the Croatian Party of [Historic] Rights(HSP) eight, the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU) three, theCroatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS)-Democratic Center (DC) coalitionthree, and one for the Croatian Democratic Peasants' Party(HDSS).In addition, eight seats were reserved for representatives ofethnic minorities. Four additional seats were assigned torepresentatives of the diaspora, all of which were for HDZ. The finalnumber of diaspora seats depended on precisely how many ballots werecast by Croats living outside Croatia. A 3 December statement by theelection commission (DIP) described the turnout among the minoritiesand the diaspora as "poor," both objectively and in comparison withthe 2000 elections.But the results seemed unambiguous, in any case. Sanader saidin Zagreb on 24 November that his government's priority will beraising the standard of living -- an apparent recognition of why theelectorate ousted the Racan team. Sanader pledged to cut VAT from 22percent to 20 percent, to seek admission to the EU by 2007 and toNATO by 2006, and to promote good relations with Croatia'sneighbors.He added that his pledge to promote integration with the EUand NATO clearly includes cooperation with the Hague-based war crimestribunal. Sanader stressed throughout the campaign that the HDZ hasbroken with its nationalistic and authoritarian past. Observers note,however, that nationalist rhetoric often emerged at HDZ campaignrallies.One question that quickly surfaced after the HDZ victory hadbecome clear was whether Sanader will be able to form a governmentwithout the open or tacit support of the HSP. The EU andCroatia's neighbors are likely to be wary of a government thatincludes HSP members or depends on HSP votes in the parliament. Thatparty is likely to insist on a tough line on cooperation with theHague-based war crimes tribunal as part of any price for its support.But HSP leader Anto Djapic told RFE/RL's South Slavic andAlbanian Languages Service on 2 December that his party will notsupport a government with its votes in the parliament if the cabinetdoes not include HSP ministers. The HDZ was reportedly reluctant toinclude HSP deputies in the cabinet lest it face internationalisolation as did the Austrian government when the far-right FreedomParty (FPO) first entered a cabinet.Attention is currently focused on whether Sanader can puttogether a working legislative majority with other parties,especially the HSS, rather than with the HSP. Talks with HSS leaderZlatko Tomcic and other party officials began soon after theelections, but attempts to hammer out a joint program seem to havestalled because of allegedly irreconcilable differences over economicpolicies. Tomcic said on 1 December, however, that the HSS is willingto support a minority HDZ government in the parliament. It is notclear whether the HSS has definitively ended negotiations or is usinga tactical ploy to extract better terms from the HDZ.A truly tantalizing possibility would be the entry into thegovernment of the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS), whichwill have three legislative seats allotted to the Serbian minority.Before the election, party leader Milorad Pupovac suggested such apossibility, as did his colleague Vojislav Stanimirovic after thevote.The SDSS subsequently backed off from its tentative offer,but as with the case of the HSS, it is too early to tell whether thisis the last word or a negotiating tactic. The SDSS can afford todrive a hard bargain, because Sanader knows he will have aninfinitely easier time convincing the EU, NATO, and other foreignpartners that the HDZ has mended its nationalist ways if Serbs are inhis cabinet.Croatia's neighbors and partners generally reacted calmlyto the news of the HDZ victory. Slovenian Foreign Minister DimitrijRupel said in Ljubljana on 24 November that Croatia will soon have astable government, recalling that Slovenia has worked with previousHDZ-led governments.Serbia and Montenegro's Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovictold RFE/RL in Belgrade that cooperation between the two countrieswill continue regardless of who is in power in either of them.In Sarajevo, Dragan Covic, who heads the Bosnian Presidencyand is a member of the Bosnian branch of the HDZ, hailed the Croatianelection results. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said inPodgorica that he congratulated Sanader and looks forward tocontinuing good bilateral cooperation.In Brussels, an EU spokesman noted that the elections "tookplace in an orderly fashion," stressing, as did several top EUofficials, that the Brussels-based bloc will judge the new governmenton the basis of its deeds and not its words. The EU did not fulfillthe outgoing government's hopes of being promised admission by2007. Brussels also alienated some Croats recently by appearing tosuggest to voters that they should not vote for the HDZ or its allies(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 October and 14 November 2003, and "RFE/RLBalkan Report," 27 June 2003).In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman RichardBoucher noted the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope's (OSCE) observation that the elections were fully up tointernational standards.And hope springs eternal. Vesna Pusic, who leads theleft-of-center HNS, said on 25 November that she hopes that her partyand the others in the Racan government will have a chance to form anew cabinet if the HDZ fails to put together a working legislativemajority. (Patrick Moore) nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 07 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6735/1/E-Sanader-to-form-Croatia-cabinet.html  Sanader to form Croatia cabinet ZAGREB, Dec. 9 - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic gave the leader of the formerly hardline nationalists who won last month's general election 30 days on Tuesday to form a new government and win parliamentary approval for it. Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader said he would present his centre-right cabinet to the inaugural session of parliament on December 22. The move will restore to power the formerly hardline nationalist HDZ, which led Croatia to independence and then into international isolation during its 1990-2000 rule. A pragmatic technocrat, Sanader says he has reformed and moderated the party and has set out a pro-European agenda. Local media have speculated that the cabinet will contain few old faces from the HDZ hierarchy. ''My priorities are raising the living standards at home, gaining membership of NATO and the European Union and resolving open issues with our neighbours,'' Sanader said after meeting Mesic at the president's office. The international community remains wary of the party founded by the late President Franjo Tudjman and remembered for its hardline nationalism, poor human rights record and economic mismanagement while in power. A mission of Western human rights monitors, the OSCE, urged Sanader on Tuesday to boost human rights and help the return of Serb war refugees. ''(Human rights) are key for Croatia's EU integration,'' mission chief Peter Semneby said in a statement. The HDZ won 66 seats in the 152-seat parliament in the November 23 poll, but two parties quickly withdrew from coalition talks. Instead, Sanader will form a minority government with a small centrist ally -- a grouping made up of the Democratic Centre (DC) and the Social Liberal Party (HSLS). ''I am starting consultations for the posts within the party now, and with our partners next week, and I plan to present all the ministers to parliament on December 22,'' Sanader said. Sanader also counts on support from deputies for ethnic minorities and pensioners and will probably have enough hands in parliament to tackle vital issues like the budget and reforms necessary for progressing towards European Union membership. Analysts believe the new government will face an uphill task right from the start and some voiced fear that its minority status might slow the pace of reforms. ''Sanader's cabinet will have a serious test already on the budget approval, as the 2004 budget must be ready in March. I cannot be sure they will win support for it smoothly,'' political analyst Davor Gjenero said. The new government will also soon get new indictments from the United Nations war crimes tribunal against Croats suspected of atrocities during the 1991-95 independence war. Cooperation with the tribunal is one of the key areas on which Croatia will be judged as it seeks to persuade the European Commission to accept it as an EU candidate. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Sun, 07 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6740/1/E-Nikolic-advocates-Greater-S.html  Media WatchNikolic advocates "Greater Serbia"NOVI SAD -- Wednesday - Presidential hopeful Tomislav Nikolic said last night that his Serbian Radical Party had not given up on the idea of a "Greater Serbia". "My desire is to once again found a state in Serb Krajina", Nikolic told Novi Sad Television Apolo, in reference to the area in Croatia which was briefly declared a Serb republic during the war in the early 1990s. "Why wouldn't I want Greater Serbia to be united?" he asked. Nikolic, who topped Serbia's abortive presidential election, said that with the existing borders Serbia should cut diplomatic ties with Croatia. The Radicals' deputy leader said that if he became president he would insist on the return of the Serbian army and police to Kosovo. Asked if this implied the possibility of another war, Nikolic replied: "Yes, if you mean clashes with Albanian terrorists." "Whoever attacks a Serb village or a Serb house, we'll get into a conflict with him. If defending Serbs means confrontation, then I'm ready for confrontation".http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=25701&order=priority&style=headlinesRadical candidate says Croatia an "occupying force" | 16:18 | Tanjug BELGRADE -- Thursday - Serbian presidential hopeful Tomislav Nikolic has denied saying his Radical Party would go to war over the Krajina region of Croatia, but reiterated that Croatia remains "an occupying force" on Serb land. "It's a lie that I said we'd go to war", Nikolic told a press conference today, when asked about his comments on Tuesday evening on Novi Sad television Apolo.He claimed the media had summarised his hour-long interview in three sentences."This is my truth", he said today. "Croatia is an occupying force in the territory of the Republic of Serb Krajina. One day, when the circumstances in the world change, when each and every person in the world gets the opportunity to live on his own land, then I guess Serbs will also be allowed to live on their own property. Then, he added, Serbs living in Serb Krajina will have the right to say whom they wish to live with. Nikolic came top in this month's abortive Serbian presidential elections. His party is also expected to perform well in parliamentary elections in December.  nenad@nenadbach.com (Nenad N. Bach) Thu, 27 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/6739/1/E-Croatian-New-pilgrims-give-thanks.html  New 'pilgrims' give thanksBy STACEY PALEVSKY, Courier Staff WriterBRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photorapher Drajic, Stana and Milan Visnjic celebrate today their second Thanksgiving in America. They moved from Croatia to Waterloo last year. WATERLOO --- We all know the story of Thanksgiving --- pilgrims, Native Americans, corn, Plymouth Rock and turkey.But do we remember the reason for this feast?The meal celebrated the Puritans' successful escape of religious persecution in England.Last year, more than a million people immigrated to the United States. Today, like the Pilgrims did so many years ago, they will celebrate their new freedom with a Thanksgiving dinner of their own.Drajic and Stana Visnjic, with their sons Milan and Dusan, immigrated from Croatia last year. Today is their second Thanksgiving in Waterloo. This year they're inviting many people to dinner --- cousins, and friends from English as a second language classes.For the Visnjics, Thanksgiving is a deeply emotional holiday."First, we're thankful that we get the chance to enter the U.S.A. after a very hard and difficult period in our country during the war," Milan said through a translator. "Two, we're thankful to God because we've found here a lot of good people and good friends. My mom and dad have found a good new life."Stana is in charge of the kitchen, and she will prepare the Thanksgiving feast. She watched a how-to on television, but it was just for reinforcement --- they eat turkey in Croatia, too.Stana plans to make traditional soup and cookies, and also will serve potatoes and a salad. She'll also offer her guests a plate of cheese, since she likes cheese with her turkey.Miriam Rincon's family will also modify her turkey recipe. Rincon's mother will prepare the Thanksgiving feast for Rincon's children and her two brothers."We cook the turkey in Mexican way, and use some red sauce on the whole turkey," Rincon said. "We'll have rice and beans, too."She and her husband Domingo Rubio moved to Waterloo from Mexico about 10 years ago. Though she doesn't remember her first Thanksgiving, she does remember being grateful for a better life in America."This year I'm thankful for being in good health, that's one of the most important things," Rincon said.For refugees, life America can be not only a relief, but an answered prayer. After Esaie Toingar left Africa to escape Chad's civil war, his wife, Brigitte, soon followed. This Thanksgiving --- their third --- Brigitte is still appreciative of the peaceful life she has found in Cedar Falls."I thank God for the community. I thank him for guiding me, and for helping me get through a healthy birth," Toingar said. Three weeks ago the Toingar's welcomed a second daughter into the world, Joyce.But Thanksgiving can be bittersweet for immigrants and refugees.The Toingar's left most of their family in Chad, and though Brigitte is sad to be away from her family on this Thanksgiving, she can't help but be grateful for her escape. Her daughters