Croatia- Andorra 2:0

Croatia's Dado Prsa, left, is challenged by Roberto Jonas Alonsoof Andorra during a qualification match for the 2004 European FootballChampionship, in Varazdin, Croatia on Wednesday April 2, 2003. (AP Photo/HrvojeKnez)

ZAGREB, Croatia - Milan Rapaic scored twice fromdead ball situations to give Croatia a 2-0 victory over tiny Andorra onWednesday in a Group 8 qualifying match for the 2004 European Championship.

The 28-year-old winger, who was a constantthreat on the left flank, scored his first goal in the 11th minute after heneatly converted a penalty kick awarded after striker Tomislav Maric was trippedin the box.

"We deserved to win, but we should have played better and scored up tofive goals against such a weak and indisposed team," Croatia coach OttoBaric said.

Rapaic scored the second a minute before the interval with another superbfree kick from outside the penalty area that sailed over a defensive wall andinto the top corner of goalkeeper Luis Alvarez's net.

The Croats dominated the match with flurries of attacks from all sides of thepitch and could have scored several more goals, while the visiting Andorranswere unable to move into a goalscoring position during the entire game andrarely passed the halfway mark of the pitch.

The win lifted Croatia into second place in Group 8, overtaking key rivalsBelgium. Bulgaria leads the group with 10 points, three ahead of Croatia andfour ahead of Belgium.

Lineups:

Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa; Dario Simic, Boris Zivkovic, Igor Tudor, JosipSimunic (Niko Kovac 45th), Milan Rapaic (Mario Babic, 64th), Robert Kovac, JerkoLeko, Tomislav Maric (Marko Stanic, 45th), Dario Srna, Dado Prso.

Andorra: Luis Alvarez, Manuel Ayala, Antoni Lima, Emiliano Gonzalez ( AlainMontwani, 90th), Genis Garcia, Oscar Sonejee, Juli Fernandez, Manuel Jimenez (JordiEscura, 54th), Juli Sanchez, Marc Pujol, Agusti Pol (Jesus Lucendo, 8th).

U KVALIFIKACIJAMA ZA EP HRVATSKA SVLADALA ANDORU s 2:0 (2:0) 
Rapaic i Estonija za aplauz  I drugu pobjedu na putu prema Portugalu potpisao je Milan Rapaic prekrasnim pogotkom iz slobodnog udraca i sigurnim izvodenjem jedanaesterca 
VARAzDIN - Nakon nezaboravne predstave protiv Belgije, Milan Rapaic je blistao i u Varazdinu, te potpisao i drugu pobjedu u pet dana. Hrvatska je nadjacala Andoru s 2:0 i zauzima drugo mjesto u 8. kvalifikacijskoj skupini za Europsko prvenstvo 2004. godine. A prije jos samo sest dana nasa je reprezentacija bila izgubljena. 
HRVATsKA - ANDORA 2:0
VARAzDIN - Gradski stadion. Gledatelja 8.500. Vrijeme oblacno, vjetrovito. sudac salomir (Rumunjska) 6. 
strijelci: 1:0 - Rapaic (10 - 11m), 2:0 - Rapaic (44) 
HRVATsKA: Pletikosa 6.5 - R. Kovac 6.5, Simic 6.5, Simunic 6 (od 46. N. Kovac 6) - Srna 7, Leko 6.5, Tudor 6.5, zivkovic 6.5, Rapaic 7.5 (od 65. Babic 6) - T. Maric 6 (od 46. stanic 6.5), Prso 7. Izbornik Otto Baric. 
ANDORA: Alvarez 7 - Ayala 5, sonejee 5.5, Fernandez 6, Alonso 5, J. Garcia 5- Gonzalez 5.5 (od 90. Mottovani -), Pujol 5.5 - Pol 5.5 (od 79. Lucendo -), Gimenez 5 (od 55. Escura 5) - J. sanchez 6. Izbornik David Rodrigo. 

Varazdinci su napunili svoju "bombonijeru", zahvalili "kockastima" na velikoj pobjedi nad belgijskim Crvenim vragovima i prizeljkivali da se mreza Andore do vrha napuni. I tih je osam tisuca gledatelja sinoc najvise pljeskalo Milanu Rapaicu i Estoniji. Njemu za prekarsan pogodak iz slobodnog udarca, za sigurnost pri izvodenju jedanaesterca i za nekoliko minijatura. Estonicama pak stoga jer su otrgnuli favoriziranoj Bugarskoj dva velika boda i borbu u nasoj kvalifikacijskoj skupinu uciniliuzbudljivom. David Rodrigo, izbornik gostiju, postavio je ispred svog vratara Jesusa Alvareza barikade. Prestrasen cetvorkom "kockastih" protiv Belgije, on se potpuno zatvorio, s nakanom da primi sto manje pogodaka. Otto Baric je znao da ce se Andora zacahuriti, no ostao je pri svom planu, zaigravsi s tri stopera i zivkovicem ispred njih. I spocetka nismo uspijevali probijati bokove, pa smo pokusavali dalekometnim topnistvom naceti goste. Tek se Dado Prso nudio, trazio je s kim ce odigrati dupli pas, ponovno se dopao, namjestio veliku prigodu Tomislavu Maricu, no malo je bilo raspolozenih. I onda je jedna visoko nabacena lopta Darija simica pala u sesnaesterac, Alonso je zakacio Maricevu nogu na kojoj je stajao. Ostalo je s bijele tocke obavio Rapaic. I dalje smo se mucili, bilo je poluprigoda, a onda je pri samom kraju prvog poluvremena Rapaic iz slobodnog udarca na semaforu ispisao 2:0. Kasnije se ispostavilo - i konacni rezultat. 
Tudoru drugi zuti karton 

VARAZDIN - Igor Tudor kaznjen je zutim kartonom, a kako mu je to drugi u ovim kvalifikacijama, ne smije nastupiti na gostovanju protiv Estonije 11. lipnja. 
- Upozorili smo Tudora da se cuva zutog kartona, no nije bio oprezan. steta - komentirao je Otto Baric, ocito vec razmisljajuci o sljedecem susretu. 
zal zbog Tudorova kartona djelomicno je nadoknadilo zadovoljstvo zbog remija Bugara. (zv)
U nastavku smo vrlo rano imali tri prigode, no uspjeli smo samo razbuditi vratara Alvareza, koji je sjajno reagirao. Taj pocetni zalet je polako nestajao, sve smo vise grijesili, akcije su bile sve sporije i na kraju varazdinsku cemo utakmicu pamtiti po velika tri boda. 
Do puta u Tallin ostalo je nesto vise od dva mjeseca, a za izbornika Barica ostala je briga kako pronaci igraca koji ce malo bolje povezati redove, preko kojeg ce ici igra. Priznat ce i izbornik da takvog jos nemamo, no obecao je da ce ga pronaci, i to medu nogometasima koji su bili u kadru na posljednje dvije utakmice. 
IGOR FLAK

ZAGREB, Croatia - Croatia kept its hopes alivefor a berth in the 2004 European Championship by trouncing Belgium 4-0 in aGroup 8 qualifying match Saturday.

Youngster Dario Srna put the Croats ahead in theninth minute with a misdirected cross on the right side that wrong footedgoalkeeper Franky Vandendriessche and flew into the right side of the net.

Genk striker Wesley Sonck then had a chance to level the score, but failed tobeat Stipe Pletikosa from close range.

Monaco striker Dado Prso, who was making his debut for the Croats, made it2-0 eight minutes after half-time when he headed in a cross from winger MilanRapaic.

Forward Tomislav Maric made it 3-0 in the 68th minute with another headerfrom the small box, while midfielder Jerko Leko finished the scoring eightminutes later when he weaved his way through the Belgian defense with amesmerizing run and fired the ball home.

"It was painful," said midfielder Thomas Buffel. "When theyscored the second goal, we knew we were in trouble."

The win vaulted the Croats, who were floundering in second-to-last place withonly one point from two matches, back into the running for a berth in theEuropean Championship, to be played in Portugal. The Belgians remain in secondwith six points from four matches, behind runaway leaders Bulgaria, who areundefeated in three matches, on nine points.

Lineups:

Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa; Dario Simic, Boris Zivkovic, Igor Tudor (Niko Kovac78th), Josip Simunic, Milan Rapaic, Robert Kovac, Giovanni Rosso (Jerko Leko46th), Tomislav Maric, Dario Srna, Dado Prso (Mario Stanic 68th).

Belgium: Franky Vandendriessche, Joos Valgaeren (Jelle Van Damme 66th), TimmySimons, Olivier De Cock (Eric Deflandre 56th), Daniel Van Buyten, Peter Van derHeyden, Gaetan Englebert (Walter Baseggio 54th), Bart Goor, Emile Mpenza, ThomasBuffel, Wesley Sonck.

Remembering the CroatianMiracle on Ice

Mark Pavelich

When the US Olympic hockey team won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY., the victory for the Americans would eventually be labeled as the "Miracle on ice" as a bunch of unknown collegians defeated the heavily favored Russians. The win also changed the face of professional hockey by introducing the game to an even wider American audience and introduced us to a then unknown young hockey player from Minnesota whose grit and determination would later take him to very solid NHL career.

It was February 1980, the winter Olympics were starting in Lake Placid, my morning ritual consisted of reading the Chicago Sun-Times before I boarded the "L" at Harlem station on my way to school on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. There were 2-3 pages dedicated to the Olympics and the names of some of the Olympians representing the USA. One of those last names has a long-standing tradition in the NHL that dates back to the 1950's. 

Mark Thomas Pavelich was born February 28th 1958 in Eveleth Minnesota. He is the son of Croatian pre World War II immigrants that arrived in the USA from the "Lika" region of Croatia and settled in rural Minnesota in an area known as the "Iron Range". Growing up in Eveleth, like a typical "Lican" Mark liked the outdoors and would go fishing and hunting often. His other passion was playing hockey and watching his hero's Guy Lafleur and Bobby Orr on the "tube" as they worked their magic during Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts on the CBC. 

"Prvo skola a onda profesionalni hokej."
After progressing through the Eveleth minor hockey system Mark Pavelich enrolled at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. In his first season with the Bulldogs Pavelich scored 12 goals and added 7 assists for a total of 19 points. His second season in the NCAA with the Bulldogs was even better as he scored 14 goals and assisted on 30 for 44 points in 36 games played. The 1978/79 season at the University of Minnesota was a breakthrough year for Mark Pavelich as he scored 31 goals and assisted on 48 others for a total of 79 points in 36 games, which at the time became the new school record. He finished 3rd in the league (WCHA) scoring race, was given NCAA West First All-American Team honors and named to the WCHA First All-Star Team as the Bulldogs finished the season in 3rd place in the WCHA Upper Division. After 3 progressive years with the Bulldogs Pavelich was starting to impress a lot of people, and there was one more year left of collage eligibility. 

The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Bosnia: A Military
History, 1992-1994

I know some of you know about this book, but its
already available for pre-order on amazon, although
the blurb I could find only on the UK site. I daresay
it will cause a stir!

"In a conclusion which some may find uncomfortable,
Shrader argues that far from being the attackers, the
Bosnian Croats in Central Bosnia were clearly out
numbered, outgunned and on the defensive. "

The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Bosnia: A Military
History, 1992-1994 (Eastern European Studies) 
Charles R. Shrader 
Our Price: Ł32.95 

Reviews

Synopsis
In this volume, Charles R. Shrader offers a military
history of a crucial conflict in Bosnia between two
former allies. When the Bosnian Serbs and their
Serbian allies attacked Bosnia-Herzegovina in March
1992 the Bosnian Croats and Muslims collaborated to
defend themselves. As Serbian pressure increased and
it became clear that the West would not intervene, the
two allies began to stake out their own claims.
Drawing from cases presented before the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Shrader
describes the organization and tactical doctrine of
the Croatian Defence Forces and the Muslim-led Army of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. He analyses the strengths and
weaknesses of the two sides in such fields as
communications, training and logistics. In a
conclusion which some may find uncomfortable, Shrader
argues that far from being the attackers, the Bosnian
Croats in Central Bosnia were clearly out numbered,
outgunned and on the defensive. 

Brian Gallagher

brigall@yahoo.co.uk  

Tonight (4/3/03) on ER (NBC) Dr. Kovac tries to bring an ill Croatian boy to the US

FILM LINEUP OF THE 2003 ASN WORLD CONVENTION

***For the complete preliminary program, registration form and general
information on the convention, please consult our web site at
www.nationalities.org***
The ASN World Convention, the world's largest scholarly gathering on
identities and nation-building in East Central Europe, the Balkans, former
Soviet Union, and Eurasia, will be screening recent documentaries and
feature films, in addition to its large selection of panels. The Convention
runs 3-5 April 2003 at Columbia University, sponsored by the Harriman
Institute. Each screening will be followed by discussion.

The 2003 selection of documentaries includes the internationally-acclaimed
CHILDREN UNDERGROUND (US, 2000), on runaway children in Romania, winner of
the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize in 2001; RETURNING HOME;
REVIVAL OF A BOSNIAN VILLAGE (Bosnia Herzegovina, 2001), by Norwegian
anthropologist Tone Bringe, and Peter Loizos, on the return of Croat
refugees to a previously mixed village, the sequel of Bringe's 1993
documentary We Are All Neighbours; GREETINGS FROM GROZNY (UK, 2002),
following a detachment of special Russian forces and a unit of rebel
Wahabite fighters; THE DAMNED AND THE SACRED (Netherlands, 2002), on the
contrast between a Chechen traditional youth dance group touring Europe and
the reality back home, from Dutch director Jos dePutter, whose previous
film The Making of a New Empire screened at ASN 2000; KILLING THE STORY
(UK, 2002), a BBC investigation on the murder of a leading journal, the
tape scandal, and allegations of sanctions breaking in Ukraine; SOLDAT (UK
2001), a
riveting portrayal of conscripts in the Russian army; HOPING FOR PEACE
(Georgia/Abkhazia region, 2002), a joint report from journalists in Georgia
and Abkhazia on the Gali region in Abkhazia, mostly populated by ethnic
Georgians, and running along the ceasefire line; and SHTO NOVOVO, AN ELEGY
FOR THE UNION (US 2003), on industrial depression, corruption, and Russian
outmigration in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan (the screening will be preceded by
the short WOMEN, WATER AND SOCIAL CHANGES: LESSONS FROM CENTRAL ASIA). The
convention will also screen the feature films THE WAR (VOINA)(Russia,
2002), a brazen fictional account of a rescuing operation in Chechnya, the
latest Russian film of young actor Sergei Bodrov Jr.; and FORTRESS EUROPE
(Slovenia, 2000), on immigrants from the East trying to smuggle their way
to "Europe". A few more films will be added to the lineup before the
convention.

Dominique Arel (darel@brown.edu)
Film/Video Section Chair
CHILDREN UNDERGROUND
US 2000 (1h45 mins.)
Directed by Edet Belzberg
Contact: <belfilms@aol.com>
In Romanian with English subtitles
Venturing below the streets of Bucharest, Romania to the infamous Piata
Victoriei subway station, filmmaker Edet Belzberg introduces us to five
members of a "family" of orphaned, abandoned, and runaway children living
there. The children beg and steal to buy food and Aurolac, which they sniff
to get high. In this striking cinema verite documentary, Belzberg reflects
on the difficult problem of youth homelessness at the beginning of a new
millennium, where children with highly developed skills of survival are
addicted to life on the street. Winner of the 2001 Sundance Special Jury
Prize for Documentary.

RETURNING HOME: REVIVAL OF A BOSNIAN VILLAGE
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001 (48 mins.)
Directed by Tone Bringa and Peter Loizos
Contact: <Tone.Bringa@cmi.no>
In Croatian and Bosniak with English subtitles

Filmed between 1999 and 2001, "Returning Home" documents the return of the
internally displaced Muslims or Bosniaks to their homes seven years after
being expelled from an ethnically mixed (Bosniak/Croat) village in central
Bosnia. "Returning Home" is a sequel to "We are all Neighbours" produced in
1993 by Granada Television in co-operation with Tone Bringa. The earlier
film chronicles the gradual breakdown in personal relationship between
Muslims and Croats as war approaches the village of "Dolina". Following
some of the same families featured in the 1993 film, this film highlights
the decisive role of the international community in facilitating returns to
this village by guaranteeing the returnees' security and providing economic
means for house reconstruction. Above all, however, it talks to steely
determination of the displaced villagers to rebuild their pre-war lives,
and their surprisingly sympathetic attitude toward Croat refugees living
in their homes.

GREETINGS FROM GROZNY
UK 2003 (52 mins.)
Directed by Paul Mitchell and Tatiana Rakhmanova
Contact: Andy Halper <Halper@thirteen.org>
In Russian and Chechen with English subtitles

For three weeks in May 2002, Paul Mitchell filmed in and around Chechnya.
He followed a detachment of special Russian forces and a unit of rebel
Wahabite fighters. The director and his crew, who also lived with Chechen
refugees in Grozny and the surrounding villages, give us a moving glimpse
of the life of civilians ruined by the war. They take us to the valley of
Pankisi on the border between Chechnya and Georgia, a zone that, according
to Russian and American secret services, could well serve as a new based
for radical Islamists linked to Al Quaeda. The documentary posits the
viewpoints of Russian forces about "cleansing operations"-described as
simple identity checks- against those of the civilian Chechen population,
often the main victims of these raids. Operations that, according the human
rights groups, constantly violate the most basic rights.

THE DAMNED AND THE SACRED (DANS, GROZNY DANS)
The Netherlands 2002 (76 mins.), English subtitles
Directed by Jos de Putter
Contact: Frank van den Engel <zeppers@xs4all.nl>
In Dutch, Russian and Chechen with English subtitles
After The Making of a New Empire, which screened at ASN 2000, director Jos
de Putter again focuses his attention on Chechnya, with an attractive
portrait of a traditional youth dance group. They go on a tour of Europe;
the contrast between the destroyed buildings in the Chechen capital Grozny
and the concert halls of Europe is gigantic. The dancing teacher impresses
on the youngsters that they have to show the Europeans that Chechens are
normal people, not terrorists, and that therefore they have to do their
utmost. De Putter continuously switches between here and there; the two
worlds are bridged by endless bus trips and melancholic music. The
alternation makes clear that these children carry their ravaged country
with them everywhere they go.
KILLING THE STORY
UK 2002 (55 mins.)
Produced by Ewa Ewart (BBC, UK)
Contact: <eva.ewart@bbc.co.uk>
What links the murder of a leading journalist, the President of the
Ukraine, a shy young bodyguard and allegations of international arms
smuggling and sanctions breaking? In a documentary prepared for the BBC
investigative series Correspondent, reporter Tom Mangold unravels the
threads that hold together an extraordinary mystery story involving
conspiracies at the highest level, secret tape recordings, beatings by
government goon squads and a moving target, running for his life with a six
million dollar price on his head.
SOLDAT
UK 2001 (77 mins.).
Directed by Paul Jenkins
Contact: Daniel Wolf <daniel@firstcirclefilms.co.uk>
In Russian with English subtitles
The Russian Army, up close and personal, the first time a foreign
television production has been allowed extensive and long-term access. The
film follows conscripts drafted as a cheap alternative to the professional
army Russia can no longer afford. For two years, recruits are sucked into a
highly ritualized and hierarchical system of barrack room hazing, brutality
and humiliation called dedovshchina ("the rule of the grandfathers"). They
emerge fundamentally changed. Junior and senior officers are seen
struggling against seemingly endless woe in an army starved of basic
resources. Though most maintain a grim humour, the results are shocking and
sad.
HOPING FOR PEACE
Georgia/Abkhazia region 2002 (35 mins.)
Directed and produced by Svetlana Korsaia (Abkhaz State Television), Mamuka
Kuparadze (Studio Re), Mikheil Mirziashvili (Studio Re), in collaboration
with the London-based NGO Conciliation Resources.
Contact: Rachel Clogg <rclogg@c-r.org>
A unique collaboration between Abkhaz and Georgian journalists. Made in
2002 this is the first joint documentary film in the decade since a
ceasefire brought to an end the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-93. Exploring
the lives of people in the Gal/i region on the front line between the
conflicting parties, this thirty minute film grapples with key challenges
in the faltering peace process. Working together on all aspects of the
production the four journalists together visited Gal/i, Sukhum/i and Tbilisi.

SHTO NOBOVO, AN ELEGY FOR THE UNION
US 2003 (52 mins.)
Directed by George FitzHerbert (Harvard U, US)
<fitzherb@fas.harvard.edu>
In Russian, Kyrgyz and Uzbek with English subtitles

An evocative portrait of transition in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. While
illustrating the traditional pastoral life of the Kyrgyz, the film
addresses issues of industrial depression, corruption, and the outmigration
of the Russian population since the Soviet collapse, and gives voice to the
nostalgia with which many remember the Soviet era.

preceded by
WOMEN, WATER AND SOCIAL CHANGE: LESSONS FROM CENTRAL ASIA
US 2003 (20 mins.)
Directed by Billur Gungoren (Columbia U, US)
<bggr@elcat.kg>
An exploration of gender differences in the water sector drawing lessons
from a community water management project implemented in six villages in
Central Asia between 1998 and 2001. Common myths on women's roles and
abilities in water management, specific aspects of gender inequalities
during the transformation period, and an innovative social change process
are described.

THE WAR (VOINA)
Russia 2002 (1h55 mins.)
Directed by Alexei Balabanov
Contact: <intercin@edunet.ru>
In Russian
Overshadowed by events in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the war in
Chechnya goes on and on, the Chechens taking hostages and detonating bombs
in southern Russia and the Russian army repressing the rebellion with
scorched earth brutality. In Alexei Balabanov's controversial slice-of-war,
two Russian soldiers and two touring British actors are taken captive by
the Chechen rebels. John, one of the two young Britons, is sent home to
fetch 4 million pounds as ransom for his fiancée. Back in England, the
authorities don't want to hear anything about it, but the actor finally
manages to find the required sum and he and a fellow ex-hostage Vanya
revisit Chechnya in a blaze of disorganized, vicious revenge. Twenty-year
old lead actor Aleksei Chadov was voted Best Actor at the 2002 Montreal
World Film Festival.
FORTRESS EUROPA (TRNDJAVA EVROPA)
Slovenia 2000 (80 mins.).
Directed by Zelimir Zilnik
Contact: Alenka Sfiligoj <toni.trsar@siol.net>
In several languages, English subtitles.

Artyom and his daughter Katya try to smuggle their way into Italy to join
Artyom's wife Sveta, who had emigrated to Italy a long time before and
found a job with the last remaining coachman of Trieste. Artyom, Katya and
a group of other refugees are however arrested, first by the Slovenian and
then by the Italian police. The refugees are confronted with all kinds of
procedures at police headquarters and then moved to a centre for illegal
immigrants, awaiting deportation, the heavily guarded "Fortress Europe."
Zelimir Zilnik became internationally known in the Sixties for his visually
expressive and critical films.

 Free Gas Masks to US residents

www.Freegasmasks.com    

New Jersey company offered 100,000 surplus adult and children's gas masks for cost of shipping and handling. Masks are free to US residents - shipping and handling is $9.85 each mask. 

I called them today, March 26, 2003 and they still have 20,000 available.

Katarina Tepesh

Fishing in Croatia

Check out the last paragraph in this story concerning the potential for excellent fishing in Croatia. This appeared in the March 23, 2003 New York Times. John Kraljic

March 23, 2003
Seeking God's Fish, a k a Tigris Trout
By JAMES PROSEK


he little-known trout of the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in eastern Turkey present a fascinating evolutionary puzzle for trout biologists. Both of these rivers flow to the Persian Gulf, where trout were never native. It is generally accepted that trout evolved from ocean-going relatives, so if they did not get to the headwaters from the sea then where did they come from?
Toward the end of the last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, when the glaciers were melting and retreating north, a lot of excess water was flowing off inland areas and the trout had routes available to them that no longer exist.
It is thought, therefore, that trout invaded the Tigris and Euphrates basins from headwater streams of the Mediterranean, Caspian and Black Seas during postglacial times (or as a result of other natural phenomena that created a connection between river drainages). Hence, these fish should be some kind of genetic hybrid of the three oceans or isolated populations of each. No one had really studied them, so nobody knew.

The only published information on the Tigris trout was in a paper written in 1954 by the Italian biologist Enrico Tortonese of Torino University, entitled, "The Trouts of Asiatic Turkey." The single female specimen he observed was from a stream he called Sitak, in southeast Anatolia, which is most likely a village and river called Çatak.
My friend Johannes Schöffmann, a baker from southern Austria and a fanatical trout fisherman, thought it might be interesting to go there and find them. So we organized an expedition to southeast Turkey six years ago.
The word for trout in Turkish is alabalik, incorporating the prefix, ala, which can mean either a scarlet shade of red, or speckled, and balik, which means fish. I wanted to think that alabalik meant God's fish, combining Allah, or God, with balik, fish. 
It made sense to call this trout God's fish because it was one of the few, if not the only, native fish in Eden. The historic location of the garden was said by some to be the headwaters of the Tigris River. John Milton wrote in "Paradise Lost" that the Tigris bubbled forth near the Tree of Life itself. The trout and all fish were favored by God; after all, he chose a calamitous fate for man, the flood, that would leave the fishes temporarily displaced but ultimately unharmed.
In the summer of 1997, Johannes and I traveled overland from his home in southern Austria to eastern Turkey. Our goal was to look for native trout in the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. After catching some native trout in northern Greece and in the coastal streams of the Black Sea in Turkey, we made our way to the Euphrates basin and its small tributaries northwest of Mount Ararat.
Finding trout to be more or less abundant there, we headed south toward the Iraqi border and the headwaters of the Tigris. Because so little information existed on the trout of the Tigris, we were especially curious to see how distinct they were from other brown trout. These were, after all, the native trout of Eden.
But the garden was not so easy to enter again. Southeast Turkey had been occupied for many years by the Turkish military in an effort to keep the Kurds from separating and establishing their own nation, Kurdistan. For this reason we — an Austrian and an American in a Land Rover — had trouble gaining access. The members of the military warned us of Kurdish guerrillas in the hills. They told us we could be kidnapped and taken hostage, but we were persistent. Army personnel searched our vehicle to see if we were a threat, but at last we appeased them with cartons of cigarettes. They laughed and started to believe that we actually wanted to catch alabalik.
A van of police officers escorted us to a stream near the town of Çatak, about 25 miles from the Iraqi border. We were allowed three hours to fish in a swift and freezing cold river and caught nothing. It did not look promising. Hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles lined the road as the army prepared for a military operation in Çatak that evening. We abandoned our mission and headed west again toward the Mediterranean coast.
Johannes was disappointed by our first effort but not deterred. He returned to southeast Turkey with his wife, Ida, in September 2002, when he convinced the military to let him go where he wanted, paid Kurdish militia members to guide him to the streams and caught six specimens. The red and black spots on the native Tigris trout were jagged and irregular like cracked peppercorns, and they had unusually large and rounded fins. Johannes believed that the large fins were an adaptation to living in such fast rivers.
Now the trout in this region face a new threat: war. How the trout will fare only time will tell. In desperate times local people use explosives, bleach, nets and all manner of scurvy techniques to snare the fish for food. In other cases, however, the trout are the beneficiaries of war.
Johannes and I saw this in Croatia last summer, where stream banks like those of the Zrmanja River were mined so heavily that native people are afraid to go there. The trout in such Balkan streams have been left untouched for more than 12 years. Their populations are among the most healthy of any trout stream I have seen; a fantastic fishing opportunity for any anglers willing to risk their lives to catch a beautiful native fish.

FILIPOVIC NOKAUTIRAO SAPPA

HNA
HR-K1-FILIPOVIC-Sport 

SAITAMA, 30. ožujka (Hina) - Hrvatski borac Mirko Filipovic nokautirao je u 1. rundi americkog gorostasa Boba Sappa na K1 turniru u japanskoj Saitami. 
Popularni "Cro Cop" srusio je nakon samo minutu borbe 170 kilograma teskog i dva metra visokog protivnika kombinacijom udarca lijevom nogom u jetru i snaznim lijevim direktom izravno u Sappovo oko. Bivši igrac americkog nogometa, kojeg zovu "Zvijer", ostao je lezati na podu, a da prakticki nije dotaknuo hrvatskog borca. 
Filipovic je ovu pobjedu, koja ce mu jako podici ugled medu K1 borcima, posvetio sinu Ivanu. 

International lawyers court injustice

Jerusalem Post

International lawyers court injustice

By V.M. Raguz and Barbara Novosel

Mar. 27, 2003 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was inaugurated March 11th with the swearing in of its 18 judges. Israel does not recognize the ICC, and rightfully so. 

In fact, given the latest developments in international criminal law and practice, all responsible states, even if they are signatories of the ICC, will follow the Israeli lead if found in similar situations. 

The precedents at the precursor to the ICC, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the ICTY, will need to be substantially altered before international criminal law and courts can be viewed as credible institutions. 

The majority of supporters of international tribunals are universal justice enthusiasts probably like the writers of this article a decade ago, when they were helping the Organization of Islamic Conference draft the first paper submitted to the United Nations on the establishment of the ICTY. 

Enthusiasm often gives away to reality. Having closely followed the work of the ICTY or practiced before it, our enthusiasm has given way not only to reality, but also to deep disappointment. 

The ICTY has established law and procedure, employed witnesses and evidence, and designed an appeals process of a type and in ways not seen in any national jurisdiction of the democratic world. Much of the blame lies not with the ICTY, but with its founder, the United Nations Security Council, that has refused to seriously review its work since its inception nine years ago. 

The ICTY has thus operated in a vacuum, serving the interests of its prosecutors, disregarding the interests of universal justice. 

The peoples in the Balkans have also been shortchanged, because the ICTY was to have been the primary vehicle for reconciliation. Because of its actions and decisions, the ICTY's credibility has been reduced to the lowest levels. 

War criminals like Slobodan Milosevic and Vojislav Seselj now see it as a stage where they can become heroes, immortalized by large segments of their countrymen. Others, like fugitive Ante Gotovina, see it as a hanging court that shackles innocent lives. 

Policy failures notwithstanding, the ICTY is actually weakest on the issues of substantive law it created. At its founding in May 1993, the ICTY officials and future judges were instructed by the UN secretary-general and members of the Security Council to carry out their duties within existing international law. 

So much for a court taking cue from its legislature. The ICTY has created law that is practiced nowhere else. 

For example, at the time the crimes in the Balkans were committed and the ICTY was founded, the standing law said that crimes against humanity involved attacks against civilian population that must be both systematic and widespread. The Hague prosecution insisted that "and" should be "or," so that in proving this serious charge it would need to prove only one element. 

Moreover, the court refused to design a legal test on either notion. Thus, in an extreme case, this could result in someone being convicted of a crime against humanity if there was a plan to kill one civilian during an attack, or if a number of civilians were killed but no premeditated plan existed. 

This drastic change in international criminal law was effected by changing a three-letter connector. 

ONE MAY be surprised, but just about any action by the Israeli army that results in civilian deaths would qualify as a crime against humanity. Neither will this reality escape the NGOs and other international humanitarian law enthusiasts, who will pursue lawsuits against the premiers of the UK and Spain in particular for their leading roles in the intervention against Iraq. 

The ICTY made it possible for anyone with superior status civilian or military to be convicted under command responsibility for any crime if he knew or had reason to know that a subordinate had committed crimes, or if he failed to take measures to prevent such acts, or punish the perpetrators. 

For example, a civilian defendant's conviction of crimes against humanity in a particular area was based solely on an order from a military commander to take a village. The commander claimed in the order that the civilian leaders had been informed about "everything." The court found this sufficient proof that the defendant had necessary knowledge. 

It is difficult to imagine a case where the ICTY would not find necessary knowledge. And it is almost certain that based on this precedent, the Belgian high court or any other could convict Ariel Sharon or any other senior Israeli official for crimes against humanity related to the Sabra and Shatilla massacres. 

Another drastic development in the law on crimes against humanity is the ICTY's definition of "civilian population." It has adopted a wide definition, so if the target is predominantly civilian, the attack it not permissible, which in itself appears acceptable. 

However, in practice, the ICTY has in effect ruled that if there is shelling coming from a 50-resident building because of the presence of a mortar and a 40-person armed unit, it cannot be attacked. 

Similarly, if these 40 soldiers are alone in the building and they abandon arms, even unbeknownst to the attacker, they are considered civilian. One can just imagine the range of abuses in modern wars, such as the one on the streets of Israel, which such law promotes. 

As to the procedure, it is an accepted fact now that there is no guarantee of speedy proceedings at the ICTY. Defendants wait for years to have their trials commence. The trials and appeals take a few more years. 

One middle-ranking officer, Tihomir Blaskic, has been imprisoned over six years already, and his appeal is yet to begin. Once on trial the defendant is at a huge disadvantage, unless he is wealthy like Milosevic, since the ICTY allocates almost all of its funds to the prosecution.

Many trials have turned into secret proceedings, because key witnesses are often heard in camera. The oral testimonies are full of hearsay evidence, acceptable at the ICTY. 

Another injustice to the rules of evidence used by today's democracies is the practice at the tribunal that allows newspaper articles, unsigned documents and copied documents as evidence. The obligation to provide exculpatory evidence seems not even to be a theoretical issue with the prosecutors. 

Finally, there is the fundamental issue of the appeals process. Both the trial and appellate judges are judges of one institution, contrary to the practice in modern democracies, where the trial court is separate from the appeal instances. The trial judges regularly appear as appellate judges in closely related or effectively the same cases. 

The ICC has crafted an improved appeals process. It has separate trial and appeal chambers, and the judges cannot serve in both. But this is just one small step in improving the international criminal law, and restoring its credibility. That credibility will be crucial for the Arab world in particular, when Saddam Hussein and his immediate subordinates are eventually tried there. 

V.M. Raguz was ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU and NATO in 1998-2000. Barbara Novosel practiced before the Tribunal on the defense side for two years. 

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1048678851540