Croatia has not yet shown it merits a place in the EU
(op-ed Nenad Bach) or vice versa
The Independent, which once used to be pro-Croatia has
run this scathing editorial on Croatia. I urge all to
reply - politely and briefly - , giving postal
address and telephone number, to
letters@independent.co.uk You need to give postal
address and telephone number.
Brian
Croatia needs time to develop its own merit, that could be higher then European standards, especially of the last century. We can, and we will build better society then anybody is expecting from us. Just give people a chance to show their talent. Step aside with long list of legal obstacles and let the sheer Croatian talent fly.
On the subject of war crimes and the titles that appeared in many newspapers as "war criminal" accused yet innocent, unless proven guilty... the whole thing should be dismissed. Let's not give a chance for another History Remodeling as it happened in 1945. What an interpretation of truth, one can easily call a lie, as far as someone can imagine, became quotable for the next generation. Time is NOW to step forward and say loud what needs to be told. Croatia defended it's sovereignty and freedom of it's citizens with our own blood and tears. Even in case that the general wasn't a war hero, he just became one. In my eyes.
Ja placam chekom a ne u "gotovini"
Nenad Bach
The Independent 4 March 2005
Croatia has not yet shown it merits a place in the EU
EUROPE SHOULD be marking a significant event on 17
March. Croatia, the former Yugoslav republic that 10 years ago was being
torn apart by civil war, is to open formal membership negotiations with
the European Union. The mood has soured, however, and EU leaders are
poised to call off the talks over Zagreb's failure to arrest an army
general who has been indicted for war crimes.
Croatia's Prime Minister, Stjepan Mesic, travelled to
Brussels this week protesting that Zagreb is powerless to comply
with the demands of the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague
for the arrest of General Ante Gotovina. Mr Mesic contends that the
general has fled Croatia and, moreover, that EU pressure on the issue is
damaging his public's support for the EU.
Europe's leaders would be unwise to listen to these
hollow protestations. Croatia may have undergone an economic transformation
since the death of its former president Franjo Tudjman in 1999. But
its political transformation has not kept pace, and this is
symbolised by the refusal to force individual war criminals to accept
responsibility for their alleged deeds. An essential part of any nation's
coming to terms with its wartime past is to ensure that justice is
administered to those responsible for atrocities. General Gotovina is
number three on the UN's "most wanted" list for his role in the
killings of Croatian Serbs in 1995. But one of the reasons he has
not been arrested yet is that so many Croats still regard him
as a war hero.
The EU would also be setting a dangerous precedent in
its dealings with the rest of the former Yugoslavia if it allowed
Croatia to enter talks at this stage. The two most notorious indictees,
the Bosnian Serbs Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are still at large.
Although he claims to be powerless, Mr Mesic could at
least order General Gotovina's cronies to be arrested or placed
under surveillance. Officials at The Hague believe the general is still in
hiding in "the region". Such steps might go some way towards
convincing the world that Croatia is serious about purging its legacy of
violent nationalism and is ready to begin the process of admission to
Europe's family of democracies.
