ASHDOWN'S EDUCATION MANIFESTO

Slobodna Dalmacija's BiH has run a piece on Ashdown's
UK education policies. My article from last October
has filtered through! Link to SD item below, as well
as my original piece.

Brian

http://members.madasafish.com/~opus/Croatia/Brian.Gallagher.200404.html

VIEWPOINT FROM LONDON

by Brian Gallagher

The Croatian Herald, Australia No. 987 - 10.10.03

Paddy Ashdown's manifesto commitments and his writings
whilst he was leader of the Liberal Democrats in the
United Kingdom shed a lot of light on his policies in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. In particular, the details on
education are of great importance, as that is a major
issue right now in BiH, especially for the Croats. And
Ashdown's views are very close to the Croats.

In BiH, reform of education is being debated by
parliament. There is a push by the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to place
education on the entity level away from the local
level. In the Muslim-Croat Federation this would mean
control passing to the education ministry in Sarajevo.


Croats are very concerned about this; not unreasonably
they wish their children to be taught in their own
language and about Croat culture, which they are able
to do now at local level. They believe this may be
compromised if it is placed at entity level; the
Croats are significantly outnumbered in the Federation
by the Bosniaks.

If a solution is not found, then Paddy Ashdown may
impose one. If one considers his political track
record then in theory his solution would be something
Croats find agreeable.

In an interview for the Guardian last year, Ashdown
stated that he is implementing the 1992 Liberal
Democrat manifesto in BiH.

So it seems that Ashdown is drawing on his party
policies as leader in running BiH. The 1992 election
manifesto is very clear on education: Under "Putting
education at the heart of the community" they discuss
the independence of schools and colleges and their
pioneering local management. They want education
within a "democratically accountable framework of
local education authorities". Local education
authorities in the UK roughly translates into cantons
in BiH, rather than the entities.

The manifesto also says that education is an area that
"should be devolved from Whitehall (central
government) and brought nearer to the people they most
affect."

For Ashdown's 1997 manifesto - which I personally
campaigned for - previous ideas are built upon, with
more power to be given to schools. The "valuable role"
of church schools is recognised, and where there is
substantial community support, the major faiths can
establish publicly funded voluntary schools.

Furthermore, the role of national culture and language
is also regarded as important. The 1997 Scottish
Liberal Democrat manifesto under "A new deal for
Gaelic and Scots culture", states they "will support
and maintain the diversity of Scotland's linguistic
and cultural traditions." Specifically they will
support and develop the provision of Gaelic in
education and that they will "Promote a greater
emphasis on Scottish culture in the mainstream
curriculum".

It is obvious from all this that Ashdown's commitments
as party leader were to local control of school and a
strong recognition and support of religion, language
and culture. The positive implications for Croats are
clear.

In 1994 Ashdown wrote a book entitled 'Beyond
Westminster - Finding Hope in Britain'. Essentially he
travelled across the United Kingdom, including
deprived areas, spending time with the diverse people
of the country.

In East London, he speaks approvingly of Saturday
schools run by and for ethnic minorities which "teach
their religion, preserve their language and culture
and supplement mainstream education". Croats of course
are a constituent people, not an ethnic minority. They
expect mainstream schools to do their job rather than
having to organise separate schooling themselves. And
East London is extraordinarily multi-cultural in
contrast to BiH. The situations are very different.

But the critical point here is that Ashdown supports
the preservation of people's language, culture and
religions.

In Beyond Westminster's conclusion Ashdown declares
his belief in local communities and people providing
solutions - not centralised government.

In total, it is very clear that Paddy Ashdown's
manifesto commitments as Liberal Democrat leader and
his own words lean towards local control of education,
an appreciation of religion in schools and supporting
the development of local language and culture. This
certainly would benefit Croats - but it also benefits
Serbs and Bosniaks as well. No one group should be
able to dominate another in any field in BiH under the
guise of unity - Serb domination in former Yugoslavia
was hardly a good idea.

Croats should set about reminding Paddy Ashdown of his
manifesto commitments - and use them right now in
support of their case for their schoolchildren and
students to be taught in their own language and about
their own culture.

If Ashdown has to impose a solution, it will be
interesting to see what he does; I am sure many
observers in Britain will be keen to see if he sticks
to his principles.

Š Brian Gallagher

My 'Viewpoint from London' column appears fortnightly
in the Australian 'Croatian Herald' and thereafter at
www.croatiafocus.com

DOORS ART FOUNDATION
www.doors-art.com

CORDIALLY INVITES YOU
TO

THE MULTI- MEDIA EXHIBIT

OF
CROATIAN CONTEMPORARY ART
 

To celebrate our cultural heritage Doors Art Foundation invites all those interested in Croatian art and culture to join us for an evening of Art Exhibit of Contemporary Croatian Artists.

The Multi-Media Exhibition includes photography, graphic design, music and literature by the following artists:

Nenad Bach     www.nenadbach.com
Mario Lalich    www.mariolalich.com
Andrej Urem   www.andrejurem.com

We are pleased to announce our collaboration in organizing our event with an engineer and the five- times Grammy winner Mr. John Holbrook.


Opening night: Friday, May 07th 2004
6pm-9pm

Exhibit dates: May 08 and May 09 2004
Exhibit time: 9am – 7pm

Location: Bradford Grave’s Gallery
549 W. 52nd Street 8th Floor
(Between 10 and 11th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019

Directions via Subway:
a. A, C or E lines to 50th Street Station (8th Avenue/Worldwide Plaza)
b.. B,D,F,V lines to 47-50th Street, Rockefeller Plaza Station (6th Avenue)
c.. N, R or W line to 49th Street (7th Avenue)
d.. 1 or 9 line to 50th Street Station (Broadway)

Please, RSVP
Daniela: daniela@doors-art.com
212.265.0090
Edita : edita@doors-art.com

Our doors are widely open to welcome anybody interested in Croatian art!
 

Dear friends,

Well, it took a while, but our movie is finally coming out here!
"Justice" is opening on April 28 at the Pioneer Theater on 3rd Street
and Avenue A, New York City, New York and it'll play there for at least three weeks. For more
info go to the website, www.justicethemovie.com .

We'll probably have an opening night party, so let us know if you're
around.

And tell everybody you know!

Best to all,
Evan

Justice
The Festivals

Tribeca Film Festival -- Dramatic Competition
Maui Film Festival -- Dramatic Competition
Rhode Island Film Festival
New Haven Film Festival -- Fave of the Fest
Athens Film Festival -- Best American Film
Waterfront Film Festival
Dubrovnik Film Festival -- Dramatic Competition
Breckenridge Film Festival
Sao Paulo Film Festival -- International Competition
Annapolis Film Festival
Marco Island Film Festival -- Best Screenplay
Santa Fe Film Festival
Sarasota Film Festival
Myhelan Film Festival
Cleveland Film Festival
Reel World Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival

Justice

Principal Crew

Writer and Director -- Evan Oppenheimer
Producers -- Amy R. Baird, Amelia Dallis
Director of Photography -- Luke Geissbuhler
Music -- Nenad Bach
Editor -- Allison Eve Zell
Casting Directors -- Felicia Fasano, Mary Vernieu
Production Designer -- Beth Kuhn
Sound Designer -- Bill Montei
Sound Recordist -- Paul Bacca
Costume Designer -- Dona Mandel
Props -- Kirsten Kane
Music Supervisors -- David Hnatiuk, Ramsay Adams
Comic Book Art -- David Jerrel Anderson
Associate Producer -- Martin Schepelern

 

Early talk about Justice
After American Splendor how about another funny-sad rumination on
making sense of a crazy world through the comics? That would be
Justice. This Marvel of a sophomore feature puts Evan Oppenheimer in a
League of Extraordinary Filmmakers.
-- 2004 Cleveland Int'l Film Festival

Humorous, intelligent and warm, Justice interweaves a variety of
relationships into a gentle, thought-provoking story. Daphne
Rubin-Vega's performance is particularly touching.
    -- The New Sun (New York)

Oppenheimer shows a deft touch in pulling humor out of a grave topic,
and in so doing he captures how we've all gone on--not by forgetting,
but by simply living.
    -- 2003 Tribeca Film Festival

Scores waited as long as an hour outside the United Artists cinema to
see films like Evan Oppenheimer's Justice.
    -- Entertainment Weekly

A terrific cast (including the always extraordinary David Patrick
Kelly)…strong and appealing actors who allow Oppenheimer to create
subplots through charming vignettes about a range of New York
encounters…Justice is a movie for adults who understand that comics
haven't been kids' stuff for nearly a generation now, and for anyone
who wants to balance idealistic dreams with daily struggles.
-- New Haven Advocate ("Fave of the Fest")

[A] thoughtful and humorous story that explores America's shared
process of assimilating the 9-11 trauma. Director Evan Oppenheimer
(whose first feature film, The Auteur Theory, earned widespread praise
and many awards) shows a very Doonesbury-like skill in pulling humor
from a sobering subject. 
    -- 2003 Maui Film Festival

All praise Evan Oppenheimer for daring to acknowledge what too many
people tiptoe around: that black humor is often the best way to deal
with grief.
                        -- The Flick Filosopher (flickfilosopher.com)

What makes a hero? And who exactly is a hero: A firefighter? A teacher?
A vigilante dressed in tights? Comic book writer Drew (you'll recognize
actor Erik Palladino from "ER") explores the definition of "hero" in
this funny feature film…The ending is worth every minute of this
twisty-turny film.
    --The Naples Daily News

Justice is a hip, energetic urban tale about how big-city life can
actually revolve around small social coincidences…Featuring a wonderful
cast, Justice is the type of film that definitely reaches people on
several different levels. The cleverness of each story is highlighted
by Oppenheimer’s ability to show how our concepts of heroism and honour
have changed since September 11 – and he proves that even in the
toughest of times, we all rely on each other, whether we know it or
not.
        -- 2004 Reel World Film Festival
Justice

Principal Cast

Erik Palladino -- Drew Pettite
Michael Jai White -- Tre
Daphne Rubin-Vega -- Roberta
Ajay Naidu -- Mohammed
Catherine Kellner -- Mara Seaver
Marisa Ryan -- Julia
Tom Guiry -- The Red Anarchist
David Patrick Kelly -- Marty
Joelle Carter -- Monique
Michael Ealy -- Woody
Leo Fitzpatrick -- The Egg Machine
Larry Pine -- The Legend
Helena Lewis -- Helena
Alan Cox -- Palm Sunday
Dan Cantor -- Terrence the Ugly American
Tim Kang -- Bodega Owner
Gloria Irizarry -- Luiza
Firdous Bamji -- Samir Khan
Monique Guesnon -- Day-Old Bagel Lady
Scott Miller -- Cigarette Man
Waleed Zuaiter -- Pretzel Vendor
Shoshannah Stern -- First Patron
Jimmy Wallick -- Second Patron
Evan Lee Oppenheimer -- He Got Next
Dan Ziemann -- Perry
Emory Van Cleve -- Big Guy

Justice

Synopsis
Three very different -- yet intimately connected -- New York stories:

Drew -- A comic book writer, Drew has been greatly affected by the
death of a good friend in the World Trade Center attack. As a tribute
-- and an attempt to do something constructive -- he creates a new
comic book hero, a hero based on a real-life New Yorker. But when a
Village Voice writer comes sniffing around the story, Drew finds
himself hiding a battery of secrets...

Mohammed -- A street vendor, Mohammed is justly proud of his "Breakfast
Time" cart. But, one day, Mohammed  finds himself without any bagels --
and a breakfast vendor in New York needs his bagels...

Roberta -- A Latina activist, Roberta has got a lot on her plate in the
days leading up to September 11. The Giuliani administration is
threatening her advocacy group with budget cuts, and her husband is
pressuring her to start having kids...

Gradually, the relationships between these characters become evident.
And, as we see how fate sometimes hangs on the most tenuous of
coincidences, the question is asked: How do we learn to live in a world
in which everything is so uncertain?


Justice

The Actors

Erik Palladino -- Erik was one of the leads on "ER", the most popular
drama on TV, for three years, playing the headstrong Dr. Dave Mellucci.
He has also appeared in U-571 and Can't Hardly Wait.

Michael Jai White -- Michael played the lead character in the hit movie
Spawn. He also starred in Exit Wounds and Universal Soldier: The
Return, and is featured in the forthcoming Quentin Tarantino film Kill
Bill: Vol. 2.

Ajay Naidu -- Ajay starred in the cult hit movie Office Space. He has
also appeared in movies ranging from Suburbia to K-Pax to Bad Santa.

Daphne Rubin-Vega -- Nominated for a Tony Award for "Rent", Daphne
recently starred on Broadway with Jimmy Smits in "Anna in the Tropics".
On film, she's co-starred in Wild Things and Flawless.

Catherine Kellner -- Catherine's first movie was Six Degrees of
Separation. More recently, she played Nurse Lt. Barbara in Pearl
Harbor.

Marisa Ryan -- Marisa's career began playing the young daughter on the
television series "Major Dad". She has appeared in numerous films, as
well as the HBO series "Mind of the Married Man".

Leo Fitzpatrick -- Leo was the star of Larry Clark's controversial film
Kids. He also played Selma Blair's disabled boyfriend in Storytelling
and appeared on the HBO series "The Wire".

David Patrick Kelly -- DP's renowned roles range from Luther in The
Warriors (he uttered the famous line, "Warriors, come out and play") to
Jerry Horne in "Twin Peaks" to T-Bird in The Crow.

Michael Ealy -- Michael stars as Ricky, the twice-convicted felon who's
trying to turn around his life, in Barbershop and Barbershop 2. He was
also featured in 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Larry Pine -- Larry Pine played Dr. Ostrov in Vanya on 42nd Street. His
numerous other films include The Royal Tenenbaums, Dead Man Walking,
and The Shipping News. He also played Arnold Zelman on "Oz".

Tom Guiry -- Tom played Staff Sergeant Ed Yurek in Black Hawk Down. His
first starring roles were in The Sandlot and Lassie, and he has
subsequently starred in Tigerland , U-571, and Mystic River.

Joelle Carter -- Joelle was one of John Cusack's "Top Five Break-Ups"
in High Fidelity. She has also appeared in American Pie 2 and Swimming.

Justice

The Director

Justice (which world premiered as one of only four American films in
the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival) is Evan
Oppenheimer's second feature film. It has won him numerous accolades in
film festivals around the world.

Evan Oppenheimer's first film, The Auteur Theory, made on a shoestring
budget of $70,000, appeared in over thirty festivals worldwide,
garnering various awards, including the "Best Feature" award at the
2000 Breckenridge Film Festival, hosted by NBC film critic Jeffrey
Lyons. It appeared on Showtime and The Movie Channel, and is available
on home video from Pathfinder Pictures. Reviewers have called it
"ingenious", "among the best first features I have ever seen", "one of
the best independent films of the year", and "easily the funniest indie
film since Clerks".

Evan Oppenheimer received a B.A. in English from Yale University. He
was an editor for three years at Atheneum Publishers; among his books
was the definitive biography of  Lawrence of Arabia, named a New York
Times "Best Book of the Year". Evan then moved on to NYU Film School,
where he spent half of his time making films and the other half
captaining the varsity baseball team. His student film Cross Road Blues
won first prize at the University Film & Video Association Student Film
Festival.

Evan lives in New York with his wife, Lia, and baby daughter, Zoe.

(Full reviews attached)

Praise for The Auteur Theory

Oppenheimer's satire is ingenious, collapsing film-class bluster with
the whodunit logic of Agatha Christie, "Scooby Doo" and one of those
Scream movies.
                -- Wesley Morris, San Francisco Chronicle

"Another movie about filmmaking?" I hear you cry. Hang on, this one's
different...The Auteur Theory -- like Christopher Guest's The Big
Picture before it -- cleverly focuses on the sacred and reveals the
profane. And it's funny, to boot.
                -- Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

Oppenheimer mercilessly lampoons independent film festivals, and the
self-important buffoons they often attract, in this extremely clever
black comedy. Expect rentals from younger, hipper patrons, especially
those from college towns and metropolitan areas that have arthouse
theaters and host their own festivals.
                -- Ed Hulse, Variety

Smart, funny, and fresh...This ranks among the best first features I
have ever seen.
                -- Ayo Johnson, Bermuda Sun

A fun, light chance to watch festival filmmakers get smacked
around…Funny stuff…The sheer chutzpah of this project suggests that
Oppenheimer has the fearless nature of a born director.
                -- David Poland, TNT Movies, Roughcut.com

**** (Four stars) Laugh-out-loud imitations of Quentin Tarantino, Spike
Lee, Michael Moore, obscure foreign films, and the egos and weirdos of
the film festival circuit.
                -- Curt Holman, CreativeLoafing.com

Easily the funniest indie film since Clerks.
                -- 2001 San Francisco Independent Film Festival

The Naked Gun of filmmaking films, skewering both filmmakers and
festivals alike.
                -- Cinemad Magazine

An incredibly promising first feature from a very talented filmmaker
who has a keen eye for detail, a penchant for witty storytelling, and a
serious love for both the craft and the art of this highly competitive
medium...One of the best independent films of the year.
Bruno Derlin, Guerrilla Filmmaker

A fine cast wrings out some clever humor, and director Evan Oppenheimer
does as good a job of parodying pretentious film students as anyone
since "The Big Picture". (Watch for the recreation of the Kennedy
assassination, staged with 8-year-olds.)
                -- Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper

Unpretentious, intelligent, silly, and very winning.
-- David Annandale, UpcomingDiscs.com


 

Croatian Cultural Thursdays

and

Croatian Cultural Association Napredak present:

DUNJA KNEBL AND ZVONKO NOVOSEL PERFORMANCE

Thursday, April 29th
7 PM
Auditorium Of The Church Of St. Cyril And Methodius
502 West 41st Street
New York, NY

Free Admission
Info: kdeletis@excite.com

Dunja Knebl, a Croatian ethno-singer, will be singing her interpretations of Croatian folk songs and Zvonko Novosel, a theater actor from Croatia, will recite poetry by famous Croatian poets.

Please join us for a reception afterwards and take the opportunity to meet the performers (both are fluent in English) and learn about the new ethno-trend in Croatian music.

More information about the artists and the program can be found below.

PROGRAM:

Zvonko Novosel

Poems by Jure Franicevic Plocar, Mate Balota, Miroslav Krleza, Melita Runje, and Tin Kolumbi as well as the following famous Croatian poems:

Majka Marija by A. G. Matos,
Hrvatska by Drago Ivanisevic
Hrvatska, ljubavi moja by Zlatko Tomicic
Hrvatska Hrvatom by August Harambasic
Hrvatski jezik by V. Nazor

Dunja Knebl

Voyage with Songs Through Croatia

1. Hrvatsko zagorje – Dobar večer, moja draga
2. Međimurje – Dej mi, Bože, joči sokolove
3. Podravina – Lepe ti su Molivarke
4. Prigorje – Karanfilje, cvijeće moje
5. Turopolje – Dragi dragoj
6. Slavonija – Slavuj, tico mala
7. Dalmacija – Klakar
8. Istra – Meni te je majka jobećala
9. Općehrvatska – Blijeda djeva
Biographies:

DUNJA KNEBL was born in Zagreb, Croatia and lived in the US, Indonesia and Russia. After participating in "Viet-Rock" in 1968 (a production by the Zagreb Student Experimental Theatre) she decided that singing and guitar playing would remain her hobby. After completing her studies of English and Russian at the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy she worked most of her life as a translator and language teacher, and she sang folk songs to her friends.

Dunja’s repertoire is very wide, and now includes several hundred Croatian folk songs alone. She has performed in many countries.

In 1997 she was nominated for the Croatian Porin award as the best female singer. The 1999 edition of World Music The Rough Guide (Volume I) recommended her album "Iz globline srca". Since then two more albums have been released and the more recent one titled "Da sam barem guska" includes traditional folk songs from some of the countries Dunja has lived in. More info at:http://www.dunjaknebl.com

ZVONKO NOVOSEL graduated from the Theater Arts Academy in Zagreb, Croatia in 1986. Since 1991 he has been an Independent Stage Actor within the Croatian Arts Association and regularly performs in various theaters, museums, associations, and clubs. He has had over one hundred performances and acted in numerous films and theater productions.

He also taught elementary school, high school, and college students in the basic elements of stage acting, including exercises in speech, perception memory, stage reality, improvisation, modeling, and imagination in Berlin, Germany. He taught drama to Croatian refugees in the Croatian Catholic Mission Drama Workshop and regularly participates in Zagreb Acting Studio Zagreb, Croatia.

Croatians are currently presidents of 3 countries

I think this story is interesting - Croatians are currently presidents of 3 countries (Croatia, Argentina and now Slovakia)(sometimes 4 with Bosnia-Herzegovina). And I guess we now have someone who's in line to the Jordanian throne (how far down the line is another question).

John


As for Rym Brahimi there is a transcript on CNN.com where she says she's half Croatian:
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0309/19/lad.04.html


-Marko


CNN correspondent to wed Jordanian prince
Friday, April 23, 2004 Posted: 1846 GMT (0246 HKT)

The couple were engaged in Paris.

(CNN) -- CNN correspondent Rym Brahimi is engaged to Jordanian King Abdullah
II's half-brother, Prince Ali.

An engagement ceremony was held Friday in Paris and the wedding is set for
September 7.

After the marriage, the well-known TV reporter will become a princess.

The Jordanian royal palace issued an announcement Friday and congratulated
the couple, wishing them success and happiness.

The head of a special force in command of protecting the monarch, Ali is the
son of the late King Hussein from his third marriage to Queen Alia. She died
in a helicopter crash in 1977.

Brahimi has Algerian and Croatian heritage. Her father is Lakhdar Brahimi,
the U.N. envoy leading the team that is helping the interim Iraqi government
develop a political infrastructure as it approaches sovereignty.

She began her career at CNN in 1998.

She has covered major events of the era such as the Iraqi war, the Saudi
response to the 9/11 attacks, the Kosovo war, the haj pilgrimage, and the
bombing of the USS Cole.

She is fluent in English, French, Italian and Arabic.

The engagement ceremony was aired on Jordanian state-owned media.

Among those shown in attendance, in addition to the couple, were the king,
the palace sheikh, Jordan's ambassador to France, and Brahimi's family.

Queen Rania, King Abdullah's wife, was not present. Prince Ali's sister
recently married the crown prince of Dubai.

CNN Arabic.com editor Caroline Faraj contributed to this report
 

CROATIAFOCUS COMMENT

A BRITISH U-TURN OVER CROATIA?

21.04.04

by Brian Gallagher

Are the British gearing up for a U-turn over Croatia?
Previously, the United Kingdom, in the form of Europe
Minister Denis McShane and the Foreign Office were
insistent that Britain would block Croatia joining the
EU if it did not hand over General Ante Gotovina. Yet
within days of negative comments, the UK has not
blocked the EU from giving a positive 'avis' to
Croatia's desire to join the EU. There are a number of
reasons for this, but one factor that may be
overlooked is the rather larger U-turn by Prime
Minister Tony Blair over the European Constitution.

Britain has seemed more concerned with Gotovina than
with the Serbian indictees Karadzic and Mladic, no
doubt because of the British role in supporting
Belgrade during the war.

But in Zagreb on 19 April, MacShane was full of
glowing words for Croatia. He believed that Croatia
would join the EU before the end of the decade. He
even mentioned Croat partisans working with Britons
during the second world war - a far cry from the
'Ustasha' propaganda of old. Of course, MacShane did
not explicitly say policy had changed - the UK could
still veto Croatia's entry into the EU and may yet do
so. Even so, he went out of his way to be positive.
"Gotovina no longer remains an obstacle to saying
Croatia can start accession talks," MacShane told the
Guardian.

A large part of this turnaround has no doubt much to
do with anti-British feeling developing in Croatia; it
appeared from MacShane's interview statements that
Britain did not care if Croatia could not get hold of
Gotovina - they would block Croatian entry anyway.
Anti-British feeling is not in the UK's interests. A
negative 'avis' from the EU would have meant no more
hold over Croatia by the UK, EU or Carla del Ponte.
Furthermore, the emergence of the 1995 videotape of
General Gotovina berating his officers for their
soldier's criminal acts has severely damaged the
credibility of an already highly dubious UN indictment
- which ludicrously claims that such acts were part of
some master plan by Gotovina and others. This cannot
have passed unnoticed in the Foreign Office.

However, British domestic politics may have played a
major role. On 20 April, Tony Blair announced a
British referendum - bizarrely not mentioning the word
'referendum' - on the proposed European constitution.
This is regarded as major U-turn - he previously ruled
out such a referendum. There has been much humour
about Blair's 'reverse gears' - he once said he had
none. It is certainly one of the most extraordinary
turnarounds in recent British political history.

What has this got to do with Croatia? Blair will no
doubt campaign for a 'yes' vote. He is already making
strong pro-EU comments. He will not want any arguments
or discords with his EU partners; this would play into
the hands of 'no' campaigners.

It is known that Britain - with the Dutch - are the
ones preventing Croatian entry into the EU. In June,
if Britain votes against Croatia to start accession
talks it would create an EU split. This would annoy
other countries - who then may be disinclined to work
with Britain on other matters. MacShane's U-turn seems
to follow straight on from Blair's - which had been
extensively leaked to the press days before Blair made
his announcement.

Of course, the Croatia issue is a small thing in
relation to UK politics, and we can expect similar
changes on other EU policy issues. But Blair wants to
show the UK working with Europe in a harmonious,
positive way. Will he really want a split - big or
small - with Europe over General Gotovina? Especially,
as mentioned above, when the indictment is so flimsy?
Let alone the questions that may - justifiably - arise
again over Serbophilia in the Foreign Office.

Certainly, the various generals Croatia has sent to
the Hague of late has provided a good excuse for
Britain to change tack - they can now report how
impressed they are with Croatia's co-operation.

It is revealing that this Croatia U-turn it has
nothing to do with morality and all the rest of it -
but everything to do with Britain's interests and the
politics of the Blair government. Something Croats
would do well to bear in mind.


Š Brian Gallagher
www.croatiafocus.com

The Zivili Group Teaches Croatian Dancing

The following appeared in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette from Ohio. The Zivili group is lead by Melissa Pintar Obenauf and Pamela Lacko who are also involved with "Heart of Croatia" which sells Croatian products at http://croatiagifts.safeshopper.com

John Kraljic
**********************************************

Dance troupe treats kids to a show

By HOLLIE SAUNDERS
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
-------------------------------------------------------------

E-G photos by William Cannon
Melissa Obenhauf (center) of Granville demonstrates the steps of a traditional Croatian and Serbian dance to third-graders Cheyanne Hines (left), Dakota Linkous and Anthony Moore inside the gym at South Elementary School in Lancaster.

LANCASTER -- Students at South Elementary School danced and sang songs popular with residents of southern Slavic nations Tuesday.

The education was from Zivili (Zhee-vee-lee, which means "to life"), a dance company that is this year's artist-in-residence.

Melissa Pintar Obenauf led the singing and dancing while Pamela Lacko Kelley played the bisernica, a small stringed instrument native to the countries which once were Yugoslavia.

Both performers are directors of the professional ethnic dance company based in Columbus.

Taylor Cain, 8, part of the third-grade group, said she had a lot fun.

"We get to be with them every day, and this was the first time. It's a lot of fun," Cain said. "The song we learned means fun and to life."

Quincy Hughes, 9, said the dancing was really cool.

"The dancing and singing was really easy to learn, and it was fun," Hughes said. "(Obenauf and Kelley) are really nice people."

Chris Crockett, 8, said he was looking forward to the two weeks that Zivili will be at South School.

"It's cool to learn stuff that people who are different do, and to learn how they speak," Crockett said. "We learned they dance in a circle so that everybody can dance."

Obenauf and Kelley will be at South through April 29. They will teach the students the culture of Croatia and Bosnia as well as their music, dance and costumes.

According to South School Principal Peggy Merton, the visit is made possible through a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Funds also were donated by the Junior Women's Club, the Moose Lodge and the school's Parent Teacher Organization.

Andrew Brown, music teacher at South School, along with educators Dawn Gerds and Debbie Rockwood, requested Zivili return to the school for the artist-in-residence program.

The group previously visited the school for two weeks in 1999.

Brown said he was very excited that Zivili is at South School, and said the students and staff members will benefit from their educational program.

"This past summer, I did my master's degree program in Hungary. I teach music classes here by using the Kodaly (a Hungarian composer) philosophy of music education," Brown said. "I wanted to learn songs and dances from Eastern Europe so I can incorporate them into my music classes. I recommended Zivili to come here so we can learn more about that area."

Obenauf and Kelley will meet every day with the third and sixth-grade classes who make up the two core groups. The other grade levels will meet with the guest educators four times during their visit.

The teachers attended a workshop after school Tuesday in which they will learn dances and activities that they can apply to classroom lessons after the Zivili artists have completed their residency.

On April 29, the students will present a program for their families and invited audience to showcase what they have learned.

Obenauf said she and her fellow performers enjoy working the school-aged children.

"Pam and I both have degrees in education. Both of our grandparents are Croatian. So for us, it's wonderful to be able to share what we are passionate about in an educational setting," Obenauf said. "We get to perform and still be in education, so it's the best of both worlds."

Obenauf said they also share their culture at different colleges. Zivili has also toured the United States and Europe, and have performed with orchestras in various venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Zivili also performed several years ago at The Lancaster Festival.
 

Dubrovnik International Film Festival on the pages of filmfestivals.com,
world's best web portal for film festivals:

"Festivals are about bringing people together from all over the world to
exchange ideas, inspire creativity and see each other's work. Seeing how someone
else sees things. So as long as there are filmmakers, there will be film festivals.
Having a film festival in the grand old city of Dubrovnik, you could not ask for a better
location. Because it's all about location, easy access to theatres and something else
to do between films. The main outdoor theater is spectacular - it overlooks the
Adriatic Sea and provides the perfect setting to have a drink at sunset and then screen
a film. Bringing a film festival to Dubrovnik, completes the circle from the old
world to the new and back again. Having recovered from the Serb Army shelling in the
90's, Dubrovnik is blossoming into a rising european hot-spot for A-list
celebrities and jet-setters." says Ziggy Mrkich who runs the Dubrovnik Festival (an after for
Cannes?)  Tough job, as tough a job as filmmaking? Perhaps.
http://www.filmfestivals.com/cgi-bin/shownews.pl?obj=ShowNews&CfgPath=ffs/filinfo&Cfg=news.cfg&news=tv&text_id=25390 

Dubrovnik IFF
May 27 - 30, 2004
Dubrovnik, Croatia
www.DUBROVNIKiff.org

Croatia Gets a Very Positive Avis
 

Ivana Novakova
21 April 2004

Chris Patten, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner
Yesterday, in Strasbourg, the European Commission recommended in its avis to the European Union to start the negotiations with Croatia on full membership in the Union. Avis is a document used by the Commission to evaluate, on the request of the Council of Ministers, the capacities of a country to start the negotiations on full membership and to accept the responsibilities and obligations charged in the full membership.

'The Commission recommends that the negotiations on integration of Croatia into the European Union should be opened’, state the conclusions of the avis. It lists not requirements or conditions, but cites, among other points, that the Chief Prosecutor of The Hague Tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, said this month that “Croatia is fully cooperating with the ICTY.’

Romano Prodi, EU Commission President
However, the avis also states that Croatia needs to make additional efforts in the fields of minority rights, return of refugees, reforms of the judiciary, regional cooperation and fight against corruption. It states that the political criteria were fulfilled and that Croatia is a functioning democracy with stable institutions which guarantee the rule of law in the country.

Majority of economic criteria were also fulfilled, with the conclusion that Croatia “can be considered a functioning market economy” and the addition that, in mid-term, Croatia should be able to compete with the competition pressure and the market forces in the Union, if it continues with the programme of reforms in order to eliminate the remaining weaknesses of its economic system.”

The environmental protection was the sole field for which it was estimated that no long-term engagement would be needed to fulfill the criteria, but it will require great investments.

'In order to assist Croatia in the preparations for accession negotiations, it would be necessary to undertake a thorough analysis of the harmonization of legislation. The Commission, moreover, proposes to the EU to prepare a pre-accession strategy for Croatia and to prepare the necessary proposals”, state the conclusions of the avis.

Simultaneously with the avis, the Commission presented the draft-European partnership document for Croatia, which identifies the priorities in the preparations for accession.

http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/84115/1/
 

Croatia Inches Closer to EU Membership

EU Commissioner Chirs Patten squarely backs Croatia's application for EU membership

The European Commission has pledged to back Croatia's application to join the union. Although a start date for accession talks won't be confirmed until June, the former Yugoslav republic is already en-route to home base.

In an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten and Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen announced the commission's support for Zagreb's application, adding they would suggest to the Council of Ministers that they start membership talks "quickly."

Patten described it as an "historic day for Croatia," which is the second Balkan country after Slovenia to have come so far in a bid to become a part of the growing European Union. He said Croatia had made a lot of progress but stressed that there was still work to be done.

Directly addressing Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul, who was present at the debate in Strasbourg, Patten said Zagreb needed to reform its judicial system, do more to protect its minorities and make it possible for Serb refugees to return to their homes.

Verheugen praised Croatia's growing economy, which is a key factor for potential accession to the EU. "Croatia is better placed today than most of the countries that will be joining on May 1st," Verheugen said in reference to the impending expansion of the union from 15 to 25 members. "The economy is strong, very strong, and in close cooperation with the economy of the EU," he added.

The expansion commissioner said he believed EU support for Croatia's increasing efforts to meet membership entry requirements would send an "important and powerful signal" to the entire region. He cited the former Yugoslav republic as an example to it neighbors that effort pays off.

Clean bill of health

Croatia first applied to join the EU roundtable in February 2003, but the application stuck on the issue of how much Zagreb was doing to cooperate with the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Banging the drum of concern were principally the Netherlands and Britain, who wanted to see Zagreb do more to track down war crimes suspects before endorsing its application. Britain, in particular, wanted Croatia to hand over General Ante Gotovina, who has been wanted in The Hague since 2001 for alleged war crimes against Serbs in 1995.

Although the fugitive Gotovina has still not been captured, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has overseen the handover of eight suspects to the tribunal since his election in November. They include two indicted generals and six former Bosnian Croat officials. And this seems to have been enough to pacify Britain, which has now dropped its blocking tactic.

"The British government hopes to see Croatia as a member of the EU before the decade is out," Denis MacShane, Britain's Minister for Europe told the Guardian newspaper. He added that "Gotovina no longer remains an obstacle to saying Croatia can start accession talks."

Speaking in Strasbourg yesterday, Chris Patten said UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte had given Croatia a clean bill of health for its cooperation with the tribunal. "She concluded that Croatia is fully complying with the tribunal, and sees no likelihood of that situation changing. As far as the Gotovina case is concerned, she indicated that the Croatian government is doing all it can to help locate and turn him over to The Hague," Patten told Reuters.

New chapter in Balkan history

It's a breakthrough for the Croatian prime minister, who is hoping to lead his country into the EU in 2007 along with Romania and Bulgaria. "We're opening today a new page in our history, and I'm sure the whole nation is sharing in the happiness of taking this first concrete step towards EU membership," Sander said in the Croatian capital.

In accession he sees a chance not only for his people, but also for the entire region. "Croatia has the chance to become a success story, to pave the way for our neighbors in southeast Europe to follow," Sanader said. "A unified Europe wouldn't stand a chance if new dividing lines were introduced, and some countries were excluded from unification."

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1176063_1_A,00.html