Letter To Lord Robertson
Lord Robertson
NATO Secretary General
NATO Headquarters
Blvd. Leopold III
1110 Brussels, Belgium
Nov. 10, 2002
Dear Lord Robertson,
It is rather perplexing that NATO wishes Croatia to accept total regional cooperation with the very nation that has subjugated it and led a brutal war against it in the past century - Serbia. Why should Croatia be closely associated with nations with which it shares no common cultural or historical ties except ones by force and decisions in the last century - again by the Western Powers? Croatia is a western-oriented,
central European nation, not Eastern European or Balkan. Certainly NATO members Greece and Turkey are in the Balkans and cannot be considered Western European, yet Croatia, right across from Italy is being designated as an East European, Balkan country. Why this difference?
Croatia's army is far more experienced and ready for NATO membership than any of the others lately considered for acceptance. It is simply a lame excuse to say that Croatia is not ready for NATO because its army is"politicized". Croatia's army never influenced elections, yet Turkey has been in NATO in spite of a strong military influence in its nation.
In turn, NATO is already accepting Yugoslavia/Serbia into some of its policy groups, SEEGROUP and SEECAP, a country which has far more indicted war criminals than any other of the recent wars in former
Yugoslavia and which it still refuses to extradite. One of them, Seselj, is still a member of Parliament! In addition its army is still communist and not under the government's control. That fact was clearly illustrated recently as repeatedly military equipment and intelligence was transferred to Iraq.
Croatian authorities caught the latest shipment in full cooperation with NATO and other Western intelligence. What has Croatia earned for such full cooperation? - A push into Serbia's arms with the SAA nonsense and no foreseeable date of admittance into NATO. In view of the Iraq scandal, Serbia should be removed from SEEGROUP and SEECAP as it has no place in determining any NATO policies.
Furthermore, are you aware that Yugoslavia's president Kostunica has made public statements during the recent election campaign that "Republika Srpska" in Bosnia is only temporarily separated from Serbia and will eventually be Serbia's again? In that case it would border Croatia's "Krajina" region that Serb rebels and Yugoslav army occupied during the war. How long before Serbia tries to take also that region? It is obvious that Serbia is not a peace-loving nation but one always looking for expansion into others' lands by any means.
It is wrong to plan any "mini-NATO" in Eastern Europe that only divides nations into East and West again. Croatia should have the right to join NATO on its own merits, not in some "group setting" that does not naturally exist. Croatia does not want to be pushed into associations with countries like Albania and former Yugoslav republics Serbia , Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia, which have been repeatedly cited as the worst countries of Eastern Europe in regard to smuggling, especially in human beings and drugs, lawlessness and other criminality. ( See Jane's Intelligence Review, Nov. 04 2002). Note that Croatia is not cited in any such reports. It simply does not belong in such company. There has been too much injustice and unfairness toward Croatia and hopefully NATO will recognize this and correct it.
Very truly yours,
Hilda M. Foley
Public Relations
National Federation of Croatian Americans
13272 Orange Knoll
Santa Ana, Va. 92705 USA
Letter To Lord Robertson
Lord Robertson
NATO Secretary General
NATO Headquarters
Blvd. Leopold III
1110 Brussels, Belgium
Nov. 10, 2002
Dear Lord Robertson,
It is rather perplexing that NATO wishes Croatia to accept total regional cooperation with the very nation that has subjugated it and led a brutal war against it in the past century - Serbia. Why should Croatia be closely associated with nations with which it shares no common cultural or historical ties except ones by force and decisions in the last century - again by the Western Powers? Croatia is a western-oriented,
central European nation, not Eastern European or Balkan. Certainly NATO members Greece and Turkey are in the Balkans and cannot be considered Western European, yet Croatia, right across from Italy is being designated as an East European, Balkan country. Why this difference?
Croatia's army is far more experienced and ready for NATO membership than any of the others lately considered for acceptance. It is simply a lame excuse to say that Croatia is not ready for NATO because its army is"politicized". Croatia's army never influenced elections, yet Turkey has been in NATO in spite of a strong military influence in its nation.
In turn, NATO is already accepting Yugoslavia/Serbia into some of its policy groups, SEEGROUP and SEECAP, a country which has far more indicted war criminals than any other of the recent wars in former
Yugoslavia and which it still refuses to extradite. One of them, Seselj, is still a member of Parliament! In addition its army is still communist and not under the government's control. That fact was clearly illustrated recently as repeatedly military equipment and intelligence was transferred to Iraq.
Croatian authorities caught the latest shipment in full cooperation with NATO and other Western intelligence. What has Croatia earned for such full cooperation? - A push into Serbia's arms with the SAA nonsense and no foreseeable date of admittance into NATO. In view of the Iraq scandal, Serbia should be removed from SEEGROUP and SEECAP as it has no place in determining any NATO policies.
Furthermore, are you aware that Yugoslavia's president Kostunica has made public statements during the recent election campaign that "Republika Srpska" in Bosnia is only temporarily separated from Serbia and will eventually be Serbia's again? In that case it would border Croatia's "Krajina" region that Serb rebels and Yugoslav army occupied during the war. How long before Serbia tries to take also that region? It is obvious that Serbia is not a peace-loving nation but one always looking for expansion into others' lands by any means.
It is wrong to plan any "mini-NATO" in Eastern Europe that only divides nations into East and West again. Croatia should have the right to join NATO on its own merits, not in some "group setting" that does not naturally exist. Croatia does not want to be pushed into associations with countries like Albania and former Yugoslav republics Serbia , Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia, which have been repeatedly cited as the worst countries of Eastern Europe in regard to smuggling, especially in human beings and drugs, lawlessness and other criminality. ( See Jane's Intelligence Review, Nov. 04 2002). Note that Croatia is not cited in any such reports. It simply does not belong in such company. There has been too much injustice and unfairness toward Croatia and hopefully NATO will recognize this and correct it.
Very truly yours,
Hilda M. Foley
Public Relations
National Federation of Croatian Americans
13272 Orange Knoll
Santa Ana, Va. 92705 USA