NATIONAL FEDERATION OF CROATIAN AMERICANS CRITICIZES TESTIMONY OF DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE ROBERT A. BRADTKE

Washington, D.C. (July 8, 2004). The National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA) today released the text of a letter written by its President, Edward A. Andrus, responding to the June 16, 2004 testimony of Robert A. Bradtke, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, given before the House of Representative's International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Europe.

In his testimony, Deputy Assistant Secretary Bradtke discussed Croatia's prospects for NATO membership. Bradtke said that Croatia needed to show further "progress" on the case of Croatian General Ante Gotovina, pending before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as a condition to NATO membership. Bradtke further placed the ICTY indictment against Croatian General Ante Gotovina on par with the indictments brought against Serbian General Ratko Mladic and Bosnian Serb Leader Radovan Karadzic. Bradtke also discussed the "successes" NATO had had with respect to its peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. Andrus initially pointed out that the indictments against General Gotovina cannot be compared with those against Mladic and Karadzic. He noted that unlike the indictment against General Gotovina, both Mladic and Karadzic have been charged with the crime of genocide. Mr. Andrus emphasized that "Mladic and Karadzic are unquestionably responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Kosovo. Historical facts show that they directed and commanded Serbian forces to engage in systematic killings, rapes and destruction." In comparison, the indictment against General Gotovina "is solely grounded in the claim that he did not take adequate actions to prevent criminal acts by soldiers under his command following the liberation of Serbian occupied territory. Allegedly, no more than 100 to 400 civilians were killed as a result. There is no evidence that General Gotovina directed such killings. In any event, the magnitude of those allegations is a far cry from those crimes alleged against Karadzic and Mladic," he noted.

Mr. Andrus further questioned the reasons behind tying "progress" on the General Gotovina case with Croatia's prospects to join NATO. "Surely, there is no precedent that one can point to where the arrest of a fugitive, whose whereabouts are unknown, forms a stumbling block to greater integration into Western institutions." Mr. Andrus argued that such a policy is especially troublesome in connection with Croatia. Mr. Andrus noted that even President Clinton admitted in his recently published memoirs that Croatia "acted as America's proxy in the region in re-establishing a balance of power in Southeastern Europe. It was military actions undertaken by such men as General Gotovina which achieved this balance. These military successes led directly to the foundation for the Dayton Peace Accord."

Mr. Andrus emphasized that Croatia allowed NATO use of its airspace during NATO's 1999 war against Serbia and has played an active role in the war on terrorism, including sending a military police contingent to Afghanistan and assisting U.S. efforts in monitoring Al Qaeda activities in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Andrus wrote that "Croatia's cooperation with NATO and the United States in these matters is an out growth of its status as one of the most stable, democratic, and prosperous nation-states in Southeastern Europe."

Mr. Andrus further took issue with NATO's claimed successes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to noting that NATO's greatest failure in its mission has been its inability to capture Karadzic and Mladic despite being in control of the country for almost 10 years, Mr. Andrus stressed that the peace which NATO has secured in Bosnia and Herzegovina "has come at the expense of establishing a functioning democratic state which respects the rights of minorities. Croats are the smallest of the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their rights to cultural autonomy and religious freedom have been increasingly trampled on . . . . This bodes ill for the future stability of that country and the ultimate success of the NATO mission there."

Mr. Andrus concluded his letter by noting that the "Croatian community in the United States fully supports" the entry of Croatia into NATO and that of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Partnerships for Peace. Mr. Andrus called on the United States to "move energetically" to secure the rights of all of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to peace, democracy, and security. With respect to Croatia, Mr. Andrus wrote that the NFCA believes that the Republic Of Croatia "has shown that it has more than adequately met the criteria for membership in NATO. We urge that the United States support Croatia's entry into NATO at the earliest opportunity."

The NFCA is a national umbrella organization of Croatian-American groups which collectively have approximately 130,000 members.

For more convention information, please call Joe Foley, Government Relations Director, at 301-294-0937 or Erik Milman, the NFCA's Director of Development, at the NFCA's headquarters at 202-331-2830 or by email atNFCAhdq@aol.com.
 
 

NFCA DELEGATION ATTENDS WORLD SUMMIT OF CROATIAN BUSINESS LEADERS IN CLEVELAND, OHIO

Washington, DC (June 29, 2004) NFCA President Ed Andrus and Eastern Region Vice President Steve Rukavina led a delegation of NFCA past and current Board members and key NFCA activists that participated in the World Summit Of Croatian Business Leaders at the Group 100 meeting that was held on June 25-27. The gathering was sponsored by the American Croatian Business Association and held at the Croatian Hall in Eastlake, Ohio. There were over 250 business leaders from the global Croatian diaspora who gathered to discuss ways to invest in Croatia and to boost development of Croatia's economy. The participants heard from high level Croatian government officials including the Ministers of the Economy, Agriculture, Tourism and Finance regarding structural changes taking place which will create opportunities for investment. The Group 100 meeting concluded with the election of Executive Committee members who will be responsible on an on-going basis to promote investments and business development in Croatia.

NFCA participants included current Board Members Zvonko Labas, Dr. Judy Vogelsang, Joe Rukavina, Tom Steich, Tony Dizdar ,and past board members Miro Koletic, Mijo Radocaj, Nenad Bach, Michael Benz, Niko Hazdovac, Milan Vukovic, and Marko Rudela. Because of their expertise, Dr. Judy Vogelsang and Nenad Bach were selected to chair panel discussions on biotech-medicine and the media. They were both asked to give presentations in their respective fields before the entire audience. NFCA President Ed Andrus also helped lead a breakout session on information technology and was impressed by the number and capabilities of small businesses that have been created within Croatia despite the trying times they've been through. He stated "We were honored that the Summit Leaders recognized the talents of NFCA members and selected them to play a leadership role in this historic event by asking them to chair panel discussions."

Steve Rukavina, Ed Andrus, Zvonko Labas, and Miro Koletic joined Mark Van Fleet of Capstone International at a private meeting with Croatian Minister of the Economy, Branko Vukelic, to discuss the NFCA's efforts at supporting an innovative new program between the Capstone International-US Chamber of Commerce and its Croatian counterpart that will create working relationships between Croatian businesses and U.S. companies. Croatian Finance Minister Ivan Suker, State-Secretary in the central state office for development strategy Dr. Ante Babic, and Assistant Foreign Minister David Sopta participated in the discussions.


On Sunday, June 27, Steve Rukavina was asked by the organizers of Group 100 to moderate and chair the elections for members of the Executive Committee. He was subsequently elected the Eastern USA Vice President of Group 100. Former NFCA board member Miro Koletic was elected Western USA Vice President, and former NFCA president Mijo Radocaj was elected the Group 100 Deputy Treasurer. Marko Rudela and Nenad Bach were also elected to serve on the Board of Directors as well as the Group 100 Advisory Committee.

Steve Rukavina concluded upon his departure from Cleveland that "I am very excited about the planned and proposed development of Group 100 and the growing overall commitment of so many Croatians globally to extend their time, talent, and dollars in the international organizational efforts to invest in Croatia. I have never seen so much Croatian business synergy and Croatian diaspora talent all in one room at the same time."

The NFCA is a national umbrella group of major Croatian-American organizations which collectively have 120,000 members.
 

Where Catholic Hungarians and Croatians make up the majority

interesting article here, from a
website(www.balkanalysis.com) not known for
criticising serbs.

Brian

Serbia & Montenegro: Vojvodina: A Hungarian View
Posted on Wednesday, July 28 @ 12:00:00 EDT by CDeliso

With this article from László Szentesi Zöldi, a
Hungarian journalist and foreign affairs adviser in
Budapest, our readers are treated to the Hungarian
view on current relations with Serbia. Formerly a
reporter for Hungarian Television and Duna Television,
László is presently editor of Budapest's Magyar Nemzet
newspaper.

Vojvodina, the northern province of Serbia, is one of
the most multi-ethnic regions in Europe. It is a land
that has been home to more than twenty different
ethnic groups for centuries. Vojvodina could become
the symbol of tolerance and fellowship of men, but at
present it is rather a sort of time bomb, having
ramifications for the whole region.

In September 1990, Serbia stripped Vojvodina of its
autonomy. Previously, it was an autonomous province
with considerable self-government authorities.
Starting in 2003, tension between some Serbian groups
and individuals of other ethnicities sharply
increased, which has led to some violent incidents. At
the moment some 300,000 Hungarians are living in
Vojvodina, mostly in the northern part of the
province. This means that they make up almost 15
percent of Vojvodina's two million-strong population.

Over the past few years, Hungarians have been targeted
by extremist Serbian nationalists.

The story began in the early 1990s when up to 300,000
Serb refugees came from Bosnia, Croatia, and then
Kosovo. The main problem is that these refugees do not
believe in peaceful solutions between the local
communities. Outside analysts have also noted the
effect of such unhappy immigrants on the “Hungarian
Kosovo.” The incidents in question have included acts
of vandalism against cemeteries, graffiti on Hungarian
churches and schools, and death threats against
individuals. Slogans like “death to Hungarians” and
“Hungarians go to Hungary” cover walls in many towns
of Vojvodina. In March, vandals desecrated a Catholic
cemetery in Subotica, where Catholic Hungarians and
Croats make up the majority.

However the problem goes far beyond slogans. Many
politicians have received threatening phone calls,
including József Kasza, leader of the VMSZ (Federation
of Hungarians in Vojvodina). Physical incidents have
increased dramatically. Young Serbs have beaten up
young Hungarian kids in many places. Minority girls
have been publicly sexually molested by Serbs. The
latter have provoked fights, in which minority
youngsters in many instances have required hospital
care. Some of these cases were reviewed in a recent
article in the Budapest Sun by American researcher
Andrew Ludanyi.

On the other hand, in June five Hungarian young men
severely beat a Serb in the town of Temerin. The
Serbian press used this attack as the first sign of
Hungarian anger against the Serbs, but failed to
mention the previous attacks carried out against local
Hungarians.

The crisis has reached a point where the two
governments had to begin talks about the situation.
Hungarian foreign minister László Kovács phoned
Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica in April to call on
Belgrade to “take a firm stance with respect to
violent incidents against the Hungarian minority in
Vojvodina.”

Then Hungarian interior minister, Mónika Lamperth said
on 18 June during her visit to Subotica that the
Hungarian government is concerned about the attacks
against local Hungarians. “If the Serbia & Montenegro
authorities put an end to attacks on the members of
minorities and enable them to live a peaceful and safe
life, Hungary will do everything in its power to help
Serbia & Montenegro prepare well and quickly for
European integration processes. Otherwise, we will
have to seek the protection of the Hungarian minority
through the Council of Europe,” she added.

At the same time, two major Hungarian-American
lobbying groups in the US have begun to focus the
attention of American policy-makers on the situation
in Vojvodina.

The Belgrade response is not clear. “We do not want to
underestimate these incidents in any way but it is a
mistake to give them an importance they do not have,”
Rasim Ljajic, human and minority rights minister of
Serbia and Montenegro, recently told Reuters. Serbian
PM Vojislav Kostunica has responded by saying that
these racially motivated attacks were “not
characteristic of Serbian society.”

After talks with minority leaders, Mr. Kostunica has
proposed that a multiethnic police unit be established
in Vojvodina “in the very near future.” Local
Hungarian leader József Kasza told the Novi Sad daily
Dnevnik that this new unit would be deployed in
multi-ethnic areas of the province to prevent
inter-ethnic problems and incidents such as had
occurred over the past seven months. The Belgrade
daily Politika responded by warning Kasza that he was
“playing with fire.”

In response, the Hungarian newspaper Nepszabadsag
carried an editorial by Gabor Miklos, that posed the
rhetorical question, “who is playing with fire?” and
threatened that new EU member Hungary could make life
difficult for the Serbs:

“…Serbia's European integration is out of the question
as long as such incidents happen. The roads will be
closed, there will be no talks about a visa-waiver
system, investors will not come, and the pressure will
not decrease.”
 

Zuzul putuje na demokratsku konvenciju u Boston
Srijeda, 28. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

MINISTAR vanjskih poslova Miomir Zuzul u srijedu putuje u Sjedinjene Drzave kako bi nazocio zavrsnim danima nacionalne konvencije demokratske stranke u Bostonu, priopcilo je Ministarstvo vanjskih poslova. Zuzul na konvenciju odlazi na poziv americkog nacionalnog demokratskog instituta i bivse drzavne tajnice Madeleine Albright. Demokratska konvencija je pocela u ponedjeljak, a zavrsava u cetvrtak, kada ce John Kerry biti i sluzbeno nominiran demokratskim kandidatom na americkim predsjednickim izborima u studenome. Hina

Ministar vanskih poslova RH dr. Miomir Zuzul na Konvenciji demokrata u Bostonu
MVPRH - http://www.mvp.hr/

Zagreb, 28. srpnja 2004. - Ministar vanjskih poslova Republike Hrvatske dr. Miomir Zuzul putuje danas, 28. srpnja 2004 u Sjedinjene Americke Drzave na poziv Nacionalnog demokratskog instituta i Madeleine Albright ranije Drzavne tajnice Sjedinjenih Americkih Drzava.

Ministar Zuzul ce u Bostonu kao gost, uz ostale pozvane ugledne svjetske politicare, prisustvovati Nacionalnoj konvenciji demokratske stranke koja je zapocela 25. srpnja, a zavrsava 29. srpnja 2004. Ocekuje se da ce na Konvenciji posljednjeg dana biti nominiran demokratski predsjednicki kandidat za predstojece predsjednicke izbore koji se odrzavaju pocetkom studenoga ove godine. U pratnji ministra dr. Zuzula Konvenciji americkih demokrata prisustvovat ce i hrvatski veleposlanik u Sjedinjenim Americkim Drzavama Neven Jurica.

Blaskic u ponedjeljak na slobodi
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

PREDSJEDNIK Haskoga suda Theodor Meron odobrio je u Den Haagu zahtjev obrane da se bivsi zapovjednik Operativne zone Sredisnja Bosna Tihomir Blaskic pusti na slobodu prije odsluzenja cjelokupne kazne. Meron je upravi Haskog pritvora nalozio da osigura Blaskicevo pustanje na slobodu u ponedjeljak, 2. kolovoza.

Blaskic je pravomocno osudjen na kaznu od devet godina zatvora, a u pritvoru je proveo osam godina i cetiri mjeseca. Americki branitelj generala Tihomira Blaskica Rusell Hayman odmah je nakon sto je Blaskicu izrecena jedinstvena kazna od devet godina zatvora podnio sudu zahtjev za uvjetnim otpustom bivseg zapovjednika Operativne zone Sredisnja Bosna. Vidno zadovoljan obratom u zalbenom dijelu postupka Hayman je kazao kako je odluka Zalbenog vijeca Haskog suda "hrabar korak za sud koji ce podici njegov ugled".

Prvostupanjsko vijece Haskog suda prije cetiri godine proglasilo je generala Blaskica odgovornim i osudilo ga na 45 godina zatvora za zlocine pocinjene u Lasvanskoj dolini tijekom rata u BiH, od kojih je najtezi bio zlocin u Ahmicima kada je 16. travnja 1993. ubijeno vise od stotinu muslimanskih civila. Blaskicu je ukinut najveci dio presude, ukljucivsi onaj u kojem se teretio za zlocin u Ahmicima. Proglasen je krivim za zlocin pocinjen okrutnim postupanjem prema zatocenicima, sto je ukljucilo i njihovo upucivanje na kopanje rovova i koristenje kao zivi stit.

U presudi je utvrdjeno da Blaskic nije imao nadzor nad jedinicama koje su pocinile zlocin u Ahmicima, kao i da je postojala dvostruka linija zapovjedanja kojom su drugi kontrolirali snage HVO-a, a ne Blaskic. U presudi je zalbeno vijece zakljucilo da je u Srednjoj Bosni bilo legitimnih vojnih ciljeva, te da je u slucaju Ahmica, za koje je prvostupanjsko vijece tvrdilo da je iskljucivo civilni cilj, zalitelj imao opravdanja za izdavanje zapovijedi za napad.

Zalbeno vijece utvrdilo je da je prvostupanjsko vijece doslo do pogresnih zakljucaka u presudi primjenom pogresnih pravnih standarda, te je primjenom ispravnih standarda oslobodilo Blaskica za najveci dio presude. Na galeriji na kojoj su bili clanovi obitelji generala Blaskica izbila je erupcija odusevljenja nakon sto je predsjednik zalbenog vijeca procitao da je Blaskic osudjen na devet godina zatvora.

Sam Blaskic je, kao i tijekom citava sudjenja, ozbiljna lica slusao gotovo dvosatno obrazlozenje presude i radio zabiljeske, a njegova supruga Ratka i stariji sin slusali su talijanskog suca drzeci se za ruke. Sudac Pocar objavio je kako ce Blaskic ostati u pritvoru dok se ne uredi njegovo prebacivanje u neku zemlju u kojoj bi trebao odsluziti kaznu do kraja.

Maratonsko sudjenje
Presudu je Blaskic docekao s pritvorskim stazom od osam godina i cetiri mjeseca, sto je tek u hrvatskoj javnosti povremeno poticalo rasprave o pravednosti presude nakon tako dugotrajnog sudjenja, koje se protegnulo na vise od sedam godina. Novi dokazi obrane, koje je Zalbeno vijece prihvatilo, potjecali su iz tri izvora - arhiva HVO-a koji su lezali nedostupni obrani u HIS-u do smjene vlasti u Hrvatskoj 2000. godine, zatim iz Ureda predsjednika RH, te iz haskog tuziteljstva koje ih je pronaslo u arhivu Armije BiH.

U prosincu prosle godine na zalbenoj raspravi Blaskicev branitelj Rusell Hayman je, suprotstavljajuci nove dokaze i iskaze novih sest svjedoka obrane zakljuccima presude donesene u ozujku 2000. godine argumentirao zasto je prvostupanjsko vijece doslo do pogresnih zakljucaka na temelju kojih je Blaskicu izrecena jedinstvena kazna zatvora od 45 godina.

Bivsi zapovjednik Operativne zone Sredisnje Bosne izrazio je na kraju zalbene rasprave zaljenje zbog svih zrtava rata u Srednjoj Bosni, te porucio sucima kako mu je savjest potpuno mirna, jer svim srcem vjeruje da je ucinio sve da sprijeci zlocine, a da se o pocinjenima provede istraga.

Sudjenje ce novinari, koji su proveli mjesece sjedeci svakodnevno na sudskoj galeriji pamtiti ponajvise po potresnim svjedocenjima ahmickih zrtava, kompleksnosti odnosa tri naroda u BiH koji su dugo u sudjenje i dalje zbunjivali suce, Blaskicevom pedantnom svakodnevnom vodjenju biljeski i jos minucioznijem svjedocenju u kojem je danima opisivao kako su mu sat po sat tekli dani u Lasvanskoj dolini. Nedugo nakon sto je Blaskic stigao u Haag rodio mu se drugi sin. Zahvaljujuci pravilima haskog pritvora, koja dozvoljavaju privatne posjete supruga, Blaskiceva se obitelj uvecala za jos jednog clana. Dugotrajni pritvor ostavio je traga na Blaskicevu zdravlju i posljednjih godinu dana bio je cesto na lijecenju. Blaskic se u pritvoru nalazi od 1. travnja 1996. godine kada se dobrovoljno predao.

Ratka Blaskic: Presretna sam i ne znam sto bih drugo rekla
Supruga generala Tihomira Blaskica sa suzama i neizmjernim veseljem docekala je u cetvrtak u Den Haagu vijest da ce se njezin suprug uskoro vratiti u krug obitelji. "Sretna sam sto cemo nastaviti zivjeti zajedno, i zbog djece i zbog sebe. Ako sam ja sada uopce bitna, presretna sam i ne znam sto bih drugo rekla. Sretna sam", kazala je Ratka Blaskic ispred zgrade Haskog suda nakon odluke Zalbenog vijeca kojom je Blaskicu smanjena kazna sa 45 na devet godina zatvora. Hina

----------------------------------------
Sanader - Zadovoljstvo odlukom Haaskog suda - Razloge za veselje ima i cijela Hrvatska
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

Predsjednik Vlade Ivo Sanader izjavio je danas u Visu kako u ime Vlade izrazava zadovoljstvo odlukom Zalbenog vijeca Haskog suda koje je kaznu zatvora bivsem zapovjedniku Operativne zone Sredisnja Bosna Tihomiru Blaskicu s 45 smanjilo na devet godina te da razloge za veselje osim Blaskica i njegove obitelji danas ima i cijela Hrvatska. "Prije svega izrazavam zadovoljstvo presudom kojom je onih strasnih 45 godina prakticki preinaceno na devet godina i mislim da danas svi mozemo osjetiti onaj pravi smisao narodne poslovice 'pao mi je kamen sa srca' ", kazao je premijer Sanader. "Sigurno je da general Blaskic i njegova obitelj danas imaju posebne razloge za veselje, ali smatram da razloge za to ima i cijela Hrvatska", rekao je premijer. Osim toga, izjavio je, "tom je presudom general Blaskic pobio mnoge tvrdnje iz prvotne presude, stoga je to putokaz i drugima kako se treba ponasati."

Zakljucio je kako se konacna ocjena o znacenju te odluke ne moze donijeti prije nego se dobije uvid u tekst presude. Medjutim, vec je sada jasno, nastavio je premijer, osim samog znacenja te odluke za sudbinu generala Blaskica, ovo je, takodjer, dokaz da se na haskom sudu moze dokazati istina, odnosno da se moze dokazati sto je bilo u Domovinskom ratu i u Hrvatskoj i u BiH to je najvaznije saznanje. Hrvatska danas moze reci da je suradnja s Haskim sudom takva da se nasa zemlja uvazava i da ona zna obraniti svoje interese, a tako cemo se ponasati i ubuduce, rekao je premijer, dodajuci kako je na pocetku svojega mandata Vlada kazala kako ce suradnju s politicke svesti na pravnu razinu.

"To i cinimo, a takva vrsta suradnje, ocito je, daje rezultate, pa uskoro ocekujemo i odluku da se generali Cermak i Markac puste da se brane sa slobode i pripremaju za postupak. Na upit da komentira izjave Blaskicevih odvjetnika da su za smanjenje presude umnogome pomogli dokumenti HIS-a i iz Ureda predsjednika koje je bivsa Vlada predala Haagu, a HDZ-ova Vlada nije, premijer Sanader kazao je kako on Vlade ne bi nazivao ni HDZ-ovim ni ovim ili onim, nego je rijec o hrvatskim Vladama.

"Danasnja Vlada i prethodna i one prije nje, imaju dvije zadace: braniti nacionalne interese i suradnju, u punom smislu rijeci, s Medjunarodnim sudom u Hagu, a to znaci da se daju i dokumenti, kazao je premijer. Kako je rekao, jedan od prvih poteza njegove Vlade bilo je davanje dokumenata za obranu generala Gotovine, sto je prethodna Vlada otezala mjesecima, a nikakvih problema s Hagom zbog toga nije bilo.

"Svakom haskom osumnjiceniku treba biti dostupna sva dokumentacija koja mu je potrebna u obrani, rekao je Sanader. Moja ce se Vlada tako ponasati i ponasa se vec u slucaju najaktualnijih optuznica protiv generala Markaca i Cermaka i sestorice Hrvata optuzenih za sukob u BiH",izjavio je. Na pitanje nije li vrijeme da se izadje s konkretnim imenima onih koji su ranije takve dokumente zadrzavali, premijer je odgovorio da on o tome ne moze nista reci, jer, kako je rekao, "nema saznanja, niti informacija", ali sigurno ce se ako postoje indikacije, istraziti cijeli slucaj i povuci odredjene konzekvence". Nije zelio kazati kakve, porucujuci "kad istrazimo cijeli slucaj onda cemo s tim izaci pred javnost". (Hina) xdstr yvkn

----------------------------------------
Hrvati BiH odusevljeni presudom Blaskicu
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

Pobijedila je pravda, ocjena je vecine Hrvata u BiH, odusevljenih odlukom Zalbenog vijeca Medjunarodnog suda za ratne zlocine u Den Haagu kojom je Tihomiru Blaskicu preinacena kazna sa 45 na 9 godina zatvora. Radijska postaja Herceg-Bosna iz Mostara prekinula je u cetvrtak prije podne program da bi izvijestila o odluci Zalbenog vijeca. Hrvatski clan Predsjednistva BiH Dragan Covic izjavio je da je vijest iz Haaga "iznenadjujuca i izvanredna". "Sama cinjenica da je kazna pet puta smanjena govori o cestitosti i nevinosti generala Blaskica, a s druge strane da je prvostupanjski proces pogresno vodjen. Svi smo znali da je osudjen i bio u zatvoru za ono sto nije pocinio", rekao je Covic.

Covic je takodjer rekao da presuda predstavlja satisfakciju za Hrvate u BiH , napose Hrvate srednje Bosne koje se "kolektivno kriminaliziralo". Izrazio je ocekivanje da ce ova presuda pomoci u dokazivanju nevinosti drugih Hrvata iz srednje Bosne. HDZ BiH istaknuo je kako su vjerovali u Blaskicevu nevinost. "Bili smo uvijek uvjereni u nevinost generala Blaskica. Zato smo vjerovali da ce Haski sud donijeti oslobadjajucu presudu. Ocito je da su trazili nacin kako da opravdaju to sto je nevin covjek osam godina u Haagu. Danas smo uistinu sretni i dijelimo radost s obitelji Blaskic i njima odajemo priznanje sto su hrabro i dostojanstvo podnijeli krizni put. Tihomiru zelimo skori povratak obitelji i hrvatskom narodu", rekao je glasnogovornik HDZ-a BiH Pero Pavlovic

Hrvatska narodna zajednica (HNZ) takodjer je u priopcenju pozdravila odluku Zalbenog vijeca kojom je Haski sud, kako se navodi, "pojacao svoj kredibilitet". HNZ ukazuje na vaznost cinjenica iz obrazlozenja presude o "dvostrukoj liniji zapovijedanja" , po kojoj su drugi a ne Blaskic imali stvarnu kontrolu nad snagama HVO-a. (Hina)xzkre ybs

----------------------------------------
Ahmic: Vrijeme je da se otkriju pravi pocinitelji masakra u nasem selu
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

"JA SAM ovo ocekivao puno ranije. Ne moze nevin covjek lezati u zatvoru 45 godina. Slomio sam se ziv uvjeravajuci ljude u Haagu i u Ahmicima da Blaskic s pokoljem nema veze" prva je reakcija na konacnu presudu Zalbenog vijeca Haskog suda kojom se Blaskicu smanjuje zatvorska kazna, a koju je Pincom.info dobio od Mehmeda Ahmica, najvatrenijeg zagovornika teze da je general Blaskic nevin, zbog cega je dozivio masu verbalnih neugodnosti od strane susjeda bosnjacke nacionalnosti.

"Vrijeme je da se otkriju pravi pocinitelji maskara u nasem selu i kad bi sad proveli anonimnu anketu kod mjestana bosnjacke i hrvatske nacionalnosti uvjeren sam da bi 90 posto njih odgovorilo da je Blaskic nevin i da se istraga u cilju pronalaska pravih pocinitelja treba ponovno pokrenuti" - dodao je Mehmed Ahmic koji je od strane radikalnog dijela bosnjackog stanovnistva u Ahmicima optuzen za kohabitaciju s Hrvatima. Iako se ocekivalo da ce se pravomocna presuda Suda u Haagu u slucaju Blaskic u Ahmicima pratiti s pozornoscu, vecina Bosnjaka u ovom srednjobosanskom selu uopce nije imalo pojma o cemu se zapravo radi.

Zaokupljeni rutiniranom svakodnevnicom, vecinu starije populacije Bosnjaka, vise je zanimalo hoce li Vlada Federacije BiH ispuniti obecanje o povecanju mirovina za najavljenih cetiri postom, nego hoce li general Blaskic dobiti 45 ili devet godina zatvora. Mladi su se rasprsili po lokalnim kupalistima, dok su oni imucniji zauzeli neku od turistickih destinacija na Jadranu, gdje svoj gnjev umjesto na postrojbe HVO-a najvjerojatnije fokusiraju na losu poslugu i visoke cijene pizze, cevapa u preskupim restoranima, pise Pincom.info.

"To ti je stvarnost" istice Ahmic - "ljudi naprosto ne znaju sto se dogadja. Upijaju ono sto im se servira kroz medije. Da je nekoga od Bosnjaka 1993 godine bilo pitati tko je Zapovjednik HVO-a Srednje Bosne, je li to general Blaskic 99 posto bi ih reklo da je to Dario Kordic. Kordic je nastupao u medijima, a za Blaskica sve dok nije otisao u Haag nitko ziv nije nikad cuo-istice nas sugovornik. Za razliku od ravnodusnog ozracja u Ahmicima, par kilometara dalje u Vitezu presuda generalu Blaskicu docekana je s opcim odusevljenjem. Iz vecine ugostiteljskih objekata odzvanjale su domoljubne pjesme. Odluka Haaskog suda depresivnu i socijalno neizvjesnu svakodnevnicu u Vitezu, Busovaci, Kiseljaku barem je na jedan dan pretvorila u osjecaj optimizma, samopouzdanja.

Od optuzbi oslobodjeni Zoran Kupreskic koji je pravdu ovog suda osjetio na svojoj kozi, nije skrivao emocije nakon pravomocne presude Suda u Haagu. "Odluka o devet godina zatvora za Tihu donesena je samo da on o njegovi odvjetnici ne bi tuzili Sud u Haagu za gresku koju su nanijeli njemu i njegov obitelji. Sve je dobro Tiho ce biti uskoro na slobodi" - rekako je Kupreskic za Pincom.info. Za skori izlazak generala Blaskica iz pritvora u Schevennigenu kako doznaje Pincom.info sprema se prava proslava na kojoj ce veci broj Blaskicevih prijatelja na simbolican nacin odati Blaskicu pocast za sve ono sto je on u pritvoru prozivio. Hina

----------------------------------------
Sudjenja za ratne zlocine pred sudom BiH pocinju iduce godine
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

VIJECE ministara Bosne i Hercegovine usvojilo je u cetvrtak prijedlog paketa zakona koji bi trebali osigurati pocetak sudjenja za ratne zlocine pred drzavnim sudom te zemlje vec pocetkom naredne godine. Ministar pravde BiH Slobodan Kovac kazao je novinarima u Sarajevu kako zakoni koje treba usvojiti Parlament BiH preciziraju nacin izbora sudaca i tuzitelja te utvrdjuju pravila po kojima ce se predmeti preuzimati od Medjunarodnog kaznenog suda za bivsu Jugoslaviju (ICTY). Posebnim sporazumom izmedju Vijeca ministara BiH i Ureda Visokog predstavnika (OHR) ovlasti za imenovanje medjunarodnih sudaca koji ce suditi za ratne zlocine prenose se na Visokog predstavnika dok ce Ured registraran pri Odjelu za ratne zlocine, organizirani kriminal, gospodarski kriminal i korupciju Suda BiH imenovati domace suce.

Isti mehanizam vrijedit ce i pri imenovanju tuzitelja. Posebnim ce se zakonom urediti status i uloga zasticenih svjedoka na sudjenjima za ratne zlocine. Ministar Kovac je izjavio da se ocekuje da sva sudjenja za ratne zlocine pred Sudom BiH budu okoncana u razdoblju od pet godina. Hina

----------------------------------------
Ministarstvo pravosudja pozdravilo odluku zalbenog vijeca Haskog suda
Srijeda, 29. srpnja 2004. http://www.index.hr/

MINISTARSTVO pravosudja pozdravilo je danasnju odluku zalbenog vijeca Haskog suda (ICTY) koje je bivsem zapovjedniku Operativne zone HVO-a u Sredisnjoj Bosni Tihomiru Blaskicu smanjilo kaznu s 45 na devet godina zatvora. Ministarstvo pravosudja pozdravlja odluku zalbenog vijeca haskog Tribunala, pod predsjedanjem suca Fausta Pocara, u predmetu generala Blaskica, stoji u priopcenju Ministarstva. Ta je odluka donesena nakon svestranog ispitivanja svih cinjenica i dokaza u tom predmetu i svakako ce biti povijesni prilog utvrdjivanju istine o sukobima u sredisnjoj Bosni, kaze se u priopcenju Ministarstva pravosudja.

Prvostupanjsko vijece Haskog suda prije cetiri godine proglasilo je generala Blaskica odgovornim i osudilo ga na 45 godina zatvora za zlocine pocinjene u Lasvanskoj dolini tijekom rata u BiH, od kojih je najtezi bio zlocin u Ahmicima kada je 16. travnja 1993. ubijeno vise od stotinu muslimanskih civila. Blaskicu je danas ukinut najveci dio presude, ukljucivsi onaj u kojem se teretio za zlocin u Ahmicima. Proglasen je krivim za zlocin pocinjen okrutnim postupanjem prema zatocenicima, sto je ukljucilo i njihovo upucivanje na kopanje rovova i koristenje kao zivi stit. Blaskic je u pritvoru osam godina i cetiri mjeseca i njegovi branitelji su odmah nakon sjednice na kojoj je procitana presuda poceli sastavljati zahtjev za uvjetni otpust. Hina

Croatian World Congress H.S.K.
NGO Member of the United Nations
http://www.crowc.org/
 

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF CROATIAN AMERICANS TESTIFIES AT CAPITOL HILL BRIEFING CONCERNING STATUS OF CROATS IN VOJVODINA

(Washington, D.C., July 15, 2004). The National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA) presented a statement at a briefing on Capitol Hill on July 14, 2004 concerning the status of Croats in Vojvodina, a province of Serbia. The briefing was co-sponsored by the House of Representatives' Human Rights Caucus and Hungarian American Caucus.

In addition to the NFCA, presentations at the briefing were given by Mr. Charles English, the Director of South Central Europe at the U.S. State Department, Mr. Ivan Vujacic, the Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro to the United States, Mr. Nenad Canak, President of the Vojvodina Parliment, and Mr. Sandor Nagy, President of the Center for Hungarian American Congressional Relations. Treasurer Zvonko Labas presented the statement on the NFCA's behalf. Mr. Labas noted that the centuries' old Croat community in Vojvodina has been subjected to relentless Serbianization pressures. This can best be seen by the drop in the number of Croats in the Province from approximately 138,000 in 1961 to less than 75,000 in 1991.

Mr. Labas noted that the following the collapse of Yugoslavia, the defenseless Croats of Vojvodina suffered as a result of a number of ethnic cleansing actions carried out by, among others, indicted war criminal Vojislav Seselj. The most well-known of these attacks occurred in the village of Hrtkovci where approximately 350 Croat families were forced out of their homes in 1992. A further upsurge of violence against Croats in the Province occurred in 1995. The tragic results of these campaigns condoned and encouraged by the Serbian government can be seen in the census figures for 2002 which show that only 56,637 Croats remain in Vojvodina, 25% less than the previous decade. Mr. Labas pointed out that observers have noted that many villages which had previously had Croatian majorities have since become purely or majority Serb villages.

Unfortunately, Croats and other minorities in Vojvodina have recently once again been the victims of renewed attacks coinciding with the recent rise in political fortunes of Seselj's Serbian Radical Party. Mr. Labas listed a number of "incidents" which have occurred since December 2003 alone, including attacks against the Croatian Home in Somobor, the toppling of a bust of Matija Gubec (a 16th century Croatian peasant leader) in the Croatian-populated village of Tavankut, anonymous death threats made to consular authorities of the Republic of Croatia in Subotica and the staff of the Croatian-language weekly Hrvatski rijec, the desecration of Catholic graves in a cemetery in Subotica and in Backa Monostor, and the breaking of windows of the Franciscan monastery in Subotica. Mr. Labas noted that just earlier this month, during the night of July 2-3, 2004, the Catholic cemetery in Somobor was hit, with 20 Hungarian, Croat, and other graves damaged.

Mr. Labas argued that "these incidents are tied to the resurgence of support for the extremist Serbian Radical Party. The SRP unabashedly calls for the creation of a Greater Serbia, at the expense of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina . . . . Since its members cannot conceivably turn their violence against internationally recognized sovereign states, they can only do so against [unarmed] minority groups within their borders." While Mr. Labas noted with approval that the Croats of Vojvodina had recently won the right to educate their children in the Croatian language, he expressed concern that the growth in power of such openly racist parties as the Serbian Radical Party presents a threat to the continued stability of the region and to the "day to day lives of Croats and other minorities living in Vojvodina."

In addition to Mr. Labas, Erik Milman, the NFCA's Director of Development, and Joseph Foley, the NFCA's Government Relations Director, attended the briefing.

Mr. Edward Andrus, the President of the NFCA, commented afterwards that he was very pleased that the NFCA was able to bring to the attention of American elected officials an issue which has been clearly overlooked by many human rights organizations. "The Croats of Vojvodina have been subjected to an unprecedented level of ethnic cleansing in the past decade. Western institutions, agencies, and governments have brought pressure to bear on other players in the region to reverse the effects of ethnic cleansing, and they need to now step-up pressure on Belgrade with respect to Vojvodina. Clearly, this has also become an issue of concern to America's Hungarian community and it should become one of concern to American Slovaks as well, as both their minority counterparts have recently experienced increased harassment in Vojvodina. Hopefully, our contribution in this matter will serve as a catalyst to initiate needed changes in the Province."

The NFCA is a national umbrella organization of Croatian-American groups which collectively have approximately 130,000 members.

For more convention information, please call Joe Foley, Government Relations Director, at 301-294-0937 or Erik Milman, the NFCA's Director of Development, at the NFCA's headquarters in Washington at 202-331-2830 or by email at NFCAhdq@aol.com
 

POEZIJA I RACUNALNO-TEHNOLOSKI NAPREDAK

Na adresu Medunarodnog instituta za književnost stiglo više od 8500 tisuca pjesama

(povodom 3 pjesnicke zbirke: ERATO, ERATO Teen i ERATO Junior - koje izlaze iz tiska u rujnu 2004. godine – kao jedinstveno multimedijalno izdanje s podrucja književnosti u Republici Hrvatskoj)

Unatoc sveprisutnoj globalizaciji društva koja je rezultirala sve bržim nacinom življenja i otudenjem od mnogih istinskih životnih vrijednosti, poezija je pokazala i dokazala da živi svoj, zaseban život skriven u najdubljim i najintimnijim zakutcima covjekova bica daleko od svakodnevne strke, imperativa zarade, pokazivanja i dokazivanja. Fascinantna je covjekova potreba da, ušavši duboko u sebe - svoje osjecaje, misli i preokupacije pretoci u stihove i stavi ih na papir – sacuvavši ih tako od prolaznosti i zaborava. Najcešce se ovakvi stihovi cuvaju skriveni u intimnim dnevnicima i bilježnicama, skriveni od ociju javnosti te dostupni samo autoru i njegovim najbližima: upravo je zato neprocjenjiv užitak citati ove pjesme pristigle iz svih krajeva svijeta, sakupljene i dostupne na jednome mjestu. Raspisavši natjecaj ERATO za najljepšu lirsku pjesmu željeli smo potaknuti na pisanje poezije, na kreativno izražavanje kroz pisanu rijec, željeli smo ohrabriti one koji cuvaju svoje pjesme skrivene da ih podijele sa svima nama; ocekivali smo veliki odaziv, no ovakav odaziv, gdje je na adresu Medunarodnog instituta za književnost stiglo više od 8500 tisuca pjesama u sve tri kategorije: ERATO, ERATO Teen i ERATO Junior, zaista je premašio sva ocekivanja. Evidentno je da ovakav odaziv ne bi bio moguc bez tehnološkog i racunalnog napretka te pristupa Internetu - što je omogucilo ne samo informiranje Hrvata diljem svijeta o ovome iznimnom projektu, vec i njegovu realizaciju, koja ne bi bila moguca bez kvalitetne racunalne opreme. Jednako tako, multimedijalni pristup književnosti (uz ove jedinstvene pjesnicke zbirke ide i multimedijalni CD s racunalnim zapisom pjesama objavljenim u zbirkama te audio zapis pobjednickih pjesama – recitacije u izvedbi renomiranih dramskih umjetnika Kreše Mikica i Olge Pakalovic – uz glazbenu podlogu) ne bi bio moguc bez podrške i suradnje s tvrtkom HGspot, koja je prepoznala nužnost i znacaj informatizacije književnosti i umjetnosti. Sudjelovanjem u realizaciji ovog literarnog natjecaja, tvrtki HGspot kao jednom od najpoznatijih racunalnih imena u Hrvatskoj želja je bila istaknuti vezu izmedu modernih tehnologija kojima se HGspot bavi i književno-umjetnickog stvaralaštva. Upravo su racunala i Internet glavni pokretaci novih tokova, te širenja lirskog i opcenito književnog izražaja. Racunala nam otvaraju nove vidike te omogucuju javnu objavu radova pa tako pjesme postaju pristupacne i najširoj publici, a ne samo odredenim književnim krugovima. Premda je format knjige dakako nezamjenjiv, pokazalo se itekako nužnim da književno-umjetnicka djela budu pristupacna i u drugim formatima; tako je danas, primjerice, postalo nezamislivo da ljubitelj književnosti i poezije ne može otici na Internet te uživati u bogatstvu stihova koji su tamo dostupni – i ne samo to: omoguceno mu je kontaktirati sa svima onima koji dijele njegovu ljubav i interese. Novost na hrvatskome književnom tržištu je navedeni multimedijalni CD kreiran prema zamislima informatickih strucnjaka tvrtke HGspot, koji ce omoguciti svima onima koji nemaju vremena citati poeziju u knjiškom formatu ili pak nemaju pristup Internetu – uživati u poeziji udobno smješteni ispred svojega osobnog racunala.

Ivan Cesic
 

Croatia's Stolen Lipizzaners

Dear Readers of CROWN,

I have been a strong advocate for the return of the Croatian Lipizzaner horses, stolen by the Serbs during the Homeland war. ( In addition to the return of all Croatian national treasures and artwork.) Repeatedly I wrote to the Croatian governments of Tudjman, Racan and now Sanader without any results.

Now comes an even worse shocker: According to the Croatian newspaper Vjesnik of July 12, and a commentary by Mr. Ivan Paj from Zagreb, the Ministry of Agriculture is not only allowing the stolen horses to remain in Serbia, but even more outrageous, it offers the thieves registration papers for the Lipizzaners' offspring - and, as though this is not bad enough - as an extra favor it even offers to intercede on behalf of Serbia to be admitted as a member to the International Federation of Lipizzaner Breeders.

Instead of demanding the return of all stolen Lipizzaners and their young, the Ministry is ready to give the Serbs legitimacy of ownership! Is there a sane person in this world who would agree with such perversion of simple justice and rule of law? Is there a Croatian who has forgotten that many of these animals were brutally slaughtered by the Serbs and the rest herded to Serbia? I hope your reaction will be as angry as mine and will prompt you to write a strong protest letter to the Croatian Government urging them to stop this outrage.
Just who in the Croatian government is allowing this miscarriage of justice? Are they trying to impress the EU with their "forgiveness" - let me assure you that the Slovenes would never stoop so low if Croatia had their Lipizzaners. I am disgusted with this bootlicking.

Sincerely,

Hilda Foley
 

I have been living in Croatia near on 2 years now

Dear all,

I have been living in Croatia near on 2 years now. I am Croatian and proud
of it. I love living here even with all the petty problems we have in this
country....and every day it is getting better...believe it or not....whether
SDP is in government or HDZ its the same story. I feel our diaspora will
miss the boat in investing in Croatia and then cry 'not fair'. Regardless
if you have 25 or millions to invest in Croatia, real estate or something
else, there is something for everybody. And stop being sentsitive of being
taking advantage of. From what I have seen first hand that is completely
unfounded, Croatians here like to spread these rumours as it serves the
purpose of keeping returning Croatians suspicious of returning home. They
do have a hidden agenda...and I feel it is this...with more Croatians
returning home...their inheritances will be smaller.

Croatians are being Americanized by the media, etc etc and like American
media reporting our reporters spend a spend a lot of time putting forward
opinions about events, are overly critical and should focus more on factual
reporting rather than offer their subjective opinions. Why do these
journalists help positively by helping to produce a comprehensive vision of
the future of our country as part of the in the EU, because there is no
escaping it, unfortunately. Yes, under communision, or socialism, the first
priority should be as is in American that each citizen deserves to own a
home....let the media focus on something positive that can be done...figure
out how FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC help homeowners and lobby the government
for something similar. Ensure children are afforded their rights...pressure
the government to respond to question of how to force fathers to pay
appropriate levels of maintenance for their children. There are lots of
areas that the media can focus on, that would be positive for Croatia.

I am a daughter of a Croatian emigrant returnee, it is difficult here, but
no more difficult when one understands the culture than anywhere else and
opportunity abounds for those ready to invest time and effort to making a
small difference by turning negativity into positive actions.

I am in real estate full time now and I am ashamed to say that more EU
people are buying apartments and homes in Zadar, Vir, Pag, etc than our own
people, who don't seem to get off the ground but prefer to sit around
discussing how things should be rather than actively participating in the
economic marketplace. Over time I have followed these discussions online
and am partipating less and less. Lots of people offer opinions but few
will make an effort, come back here, and truly understand and work to
changing the bureaucracy, yet eager to criticize, so I am losing respect
for those in the diaspora, but for a few like Hilda Foley.

We who have been in the Diaspora and have returned to our homeland are the
only ones making any real difference, or sacrifice personally, we are
slogging it out, just as our forefathers did when they moved to an unknown
country and started the process of networking and working together. Those
people who continue to disect our past, policize about our future from afar,
invest in Florida, forget it, you will continue to gain no credibility here.
Given that Croatians at home and those in the far away countries are
polarised, I see myself moving more and more to the thinking of those
Croatians at home. If you profess you love your country so much, pack up
and return home and face what we homeland Croatians face every day and try
little by little to make a difference, get employed in your field and work
consistently with smaller companies helping them adopt best practices...that
is how to make a difference, start at the bottom, and expect that it will
take time and patience. Your political observations, while astute, really
do not help the economics and culture of this country one iota.

I did not see Brenda's film, but I do believe a documentary here and there
is good work, and not disect its intentions. But lets leave it for what it
is, not give it names, and let's move on to topics that are important
today...how to unpolarise Croatians abroad and those at home. What can we
begin to do differently to move ahead together, without one feeling that the
other has their own interests at heart. As far as I can tell the only few
activities are moving in this direction and one that I know personally has
spent more than 3 years pushing forward these ideas on a daily basis is Niko
Soljak, and his group Hravska Svjetska Zajednica. I give the man great
credit...they say slow and steady wins the race...so lets pray and hope for
his group's continued success...but it depends on everyone joining this
organization and activiely working towards a future with all Croatian groups
and individuals in and out of the country pulling and actively networking
together.

I agree with both Hilda and Mirna, more has to change, and respect them
tremendously for their personal contributions.


Jadranka Matesic
Visit www.panadria.com for the latest listings in the Zadar region.

 

Your Opinions

Dear all,

A quick comment on the real estate point brought up below.

There is one way to attract the investment without selling the land outright to foreigners -- which may not be problematic in the case of foreigners from the US or Japan, but could be in the case of selling to Italians or others from neighboring countries as it could fuel revanchism. Since it is impossible to create a law that would effectively discriminate between buyers, there needs to be a policy that is flexible that allows non-citizens to invest and have property rights without the outright need to sell the land in perpetuity.

Rather than outright selling, it could be government policy that non-citizens can only lease land for long periods.

Before everyone says no, this is basically what is done in large parts of Britain, where freeholders own the land, and sell off a leasehold for a given period. The freeholder maintains the title and ultimate rights to the property while the leaseholder has rights to use the property in certain ways that are specified under contract. Long leaseholds can be bought and sold like other property rights, and leaseholders have rights to do things like improve the property.

People in Britain and foreigners invest lots of money on these long leaseholds. In fact, in central London, where the most expensive properties are, almost all "owners" are leaseholders, not freeholders, of their properties. Even super-rich investors in multi-million pound properties are often leaseholders. [By the way, most of the freeholders in London are all descendants of aristocratic families, many who received their land from William the Conqueror after 1066, like the Duke of Westminster.]

best wishes
Sanja

Dear All,

We just got back from Croatia and thought we'd chime in regarding the
"selling off of Croatian real estate".

Check out Forbes Magazine (7/5/04) by Joshua Levine. See "The Next
Riviera."

Looks like Croatian real estate has been on the selling block for quite some
time; not just since the HDZ got back in office.

We don't see this as a negative. Croatia's people just don't have the money
to upgrade and improve long neglected properties. That's where foreign
investment comes in. It has certainly helped Spain's Costa del Sol and the
French Riviera. So, why wouldn't it help Croatia's economy, too?

By the way we stopped at Hvar to check out hotels for future stays. None
are above three stars. And, all still had that depressingly Titoist "market
to the masses" look. From our viewpoint, Croatia can use some foreign
investment, whether it's updating and building new hotels, or upgrading
vacation homes. It all creates jobs and brings in MONEY!!

We have thought of buying one ourselves if there are any bargains out there.
We are also looking into long-term rentals but we would want one with the
conveniences we are accustomed to. Only foreign investment can provide
that.

Deanie and Ron in Florida

P.S. By the way, the trip was fantastic. We'll be going again.

P.P.S. Another plus that we noted. Younger and more "modern-thinking"
professionals are now working in the hospitality industry and having contact
with foreigners. This time we didn't hear any of the negativity that we
heard on previous trips (usually from the older tour guides who were still
having difficulty adjusting to the new realities). Youth will win.......and
learn to keep, if they are taught correctly.