The Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina Conference Declaration

The British Foreign Office has pursued a policy consistently favorable to Belgrade and hostile to Croatia and Bosnia

The American Spectator

March 2006

The railroading of a former U.S. ally.
America, The Hague, and Ante Gotovina

Robin Harris

THE CHARGES AGAINST GOTOVINA are baseless
 

GREAT POWERS LIKE AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD to be too sentimental about foreign friends whose purpose has been served. But sometimes it pays to keep faith with individuals who collaborate successfully in one's policy goals. This is particularly so when those
concerned know the inside story of U.S. covert activity and when their fate sets a precedent that jeopardizes U.S. personnel. Such is the case of the former Croatian General Ante Gotovina, arrested in Tenerife in December for alleged war crimes and now in prison at The Hague.Gotovina's arrest was widely welcomed. Even the Croatian government was delighted, since the failure to apprehend him had served as a reason, or excuse, to delay Croatian membership of the European Union. He had been on the run since 2001, when he was first indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Aptly for a man whose name translates as "Tony Cash," Ante Gotovina had a high price on his head -- $5 million from the U.S. State Department alone.Gotovina was made for the role of international ogre. At different times a French legionary, soldier of fortune in South America, "muscle" in the political underworld of Paris, he was the kind
of shady swashbuckler that the world of NGOs, diplomats, and international lawyers loves to hate. Gotovina was also no fool. He had a shrewd idea that he would never gain a fair trial. So he disappeared. Or more
precisely he "appeared" wherever it was convenient to locate him. The ICTY chief prosecutor,
Carla Del Ponte, claimed that she "knew" he was in Croatia. In September 2005, she also knew that the Vatican "knew" exactly which Croatian monastery he was in. This turned out to be completely wrong. When he was arrested three months later, Gotovina's passports revealed that he had been in Tahiti, Argentina, Chile, China, Russia, the Czech Republic, Mauritania, and Mauritius, but not Croatia. By now,
though, Gotovina was notorious. His name was uttered in the same breath as those of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. But unlike the butchers of Sarajevo and Srebrenica, Gotovina is not accused of ordering anyone's murder, let alone genocide. The military operation, "Storm," conducted by Croatia in early August 1995 to recover territory, the so-called Serb Republic of Krajina (SRK), occupied by rebel
Serbs supported by Belgrade, was an act not of aggression but of self-defense. The indictment mentions 150 Serb civilians as having died. These deaths were caused by Croat civilians bent on revenge, while Croatian police did nothing to help. That was, indeed, shameful. But it happened after the conclusion of the military campaign, not during it. Responsibility for maintaining order had been formally transferred by the Croatian government from the military to the civil authorities. Gotovina himself was no longer even in the area. He had joined Muslim and Croat forces in the continuing campaign within Bosnia. Despite these facts, which are not contested, Gotovina is now accused by the court of a series of crimes which could result in his lengthy incarceration. The explanation lies in the opening section of the indictment. This describes Operation "Storm" as part of a "joint criminal enterprise, the common purpose of which was the forcible and permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region." The question, though, is: If "Storm" was indeed a "criminal enterprise," were high officials of the United States not also morally, and even criminally, culpable? IN FACT, EVEN TO POSE THE QUESTION exposes the foolishness and injustice of the case. The United States does not participate in or close its eyes to war crimes. Yet the U.S. certainly encouraged, assisted, and monitored "Storm" at every stage. The various accounts of what happened --official and unofficial -- make that crystal clear. The CIA knew what was happening, because it had provided the intelligence and technical support to make it happen. The Pentagon knew, because approved U.S. military advisers were involved. The White House and the State Department knew, because since the previous year's Washington Agreement it had been U.S. policy to create a Croatian-Bosnian military alliance to roll back Serb territorial gains, so as to make a just peace possible. One should recall the dire position. After four years of aggression, Greater Serbia had come to occupy 70 percent of Bosnia and a third of Croatia. Britain and France had vetoed America's plan to lift the arms embargo against Bosnia and to launch air strikes at Serb forces. The UN "safe areas" in Srebrenica and Zepa had fallen. Thousands of Muslim men and boys were being massacred. Sarajevo was under continuous siege. Above all, another strategically vital "safe area" at Bihac in northwest Bosnia was under attack by Serb forces from Bosnia and from the SRK. The fall of Bihac would not only have created another humanitarian tragedy. It would have put the seal of victory on Serb aggression and prevented a viable Bosnia from surviving.  Only in these circumstances was "Storm" finally launched. It was a minor military triumph, a textbook NATO-style operation based on overwhelming fire-power, real time intelligence, efficient logistic support, and the avoidance of civilian casualties. Within 72 hours Krajina was re-occupied. As Croatian and Muslim armies then attacked Serb forces inside Bosnia and U.S.-led NATO air strikes broke Serbia's will to resist, the outlines of a new, imposed peace settlement emerged. Flawed as the Dayton Agreement of that November was, it has since brought peace, reconstruction, and some return of refugees. A less satisfactory result of "Storm" was the mass departure of the Serb population -- probably between 80,000 and 150,000 people -- from the area. The indictment alleges that this was the whole purpose of the operation. But the exodus was ordered by the Serb leadership itself, for its own reasons. The text of the order from Milan Martic, so-called president of the SRK, was published some weeks later in the Belgrade journal Politika. It was endorsed by the SRK military chief, General Mile Mrksic, an appointee of Milosevic. The military evacuation was designed to retrieve heavy armor to be used in Bosnia. But why the civilians? The answer makes complete sense in Balkan terms. It was to advance Belgrade's policies of ethnic cleansing and re-settlement of Serbs in eastern Bosnia and Kosovo, parts of a planned Greater Serbia. Accounts given in evidence before the ICTY show exactly how the Krajina Serbs were funneled down to these areas. Whether the Croatian government was pleased or displeased to see the Serb exodus is unclear. President Franjo Tudjman had ambiguous feelings about the Serbs, as opposed to Muslims, whom he despised. But whatever Tudjman and others felt is irrelevant. The point has been made very clearly by Peter Galbraith, U.S. ambassador to Croatia at the time: "The fact is, the [Serb] population left before the Croatian army got there. You can't deport people who have already left."

THE CHARGES AGAINST GOTOVINA are baseless. They are also in the widest sense politically motivated. They were brought primarily because the ICTY needed to prove to Serb opinion that it was not biased against Serbia. This, it was hoped, would make it easier to arrest Karadzic and Mladic, both still at large.But there were other motivations too. It suits many international interests to place aggressors and victims of aggression on an equal footing when rewriting the history of recent Balkan wars. The implication that all sides were equally to blame goes some way towards vindicating the egregious policy failures of the European Union and particularly Britain. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the British Foreign Office has
pursued a policy consistently favorable to Belgrade and hostile to Croatia and Bosnia. Britain has been the main block to Croatia's bid for EU membership. It is now very keen to see Gotovina sentenced. Britain is also a leading proponent of universal international jurisdiction, of which the ICTY was the forbear and the International Criminal Court is the full expression. The main loser from this trial -- apart from Gotovina -- is the United States. Its successful intervention to end the Bosnian war will be effectively criminalized. It will be exposed as an unreliable sponsor of potential surrogates in areas where it wants to exert influence. It will have its intelligence methods and sources embarrassingly revealed. On top of all that, if it is finally established that commanders of legitimate operations which incidentally lead to the exodus of civilian populations can be tried as participants in a criminal enterprise, it is difficult to see how future U.S. interventions can safely be conducted at all. So there is more at stake in The Hague than the rights of Tony Cash.

Robin Harris was a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Policy Unit. He writes on the Balkans and is the author of Dubrovnik: A History (London: Saqi, 2003).

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_ds_issue.asp?issue_id=32&dsNavSecID=2
 

Kostelic's brother criticizes Swedish organizers

Kostelic breaks record

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - The brother of Janica Kostelic criticized Swedish organizers on Saturday for not playing the Croatian anthem after she won the slalom the day before.

"It really leaves a bitter taste. It is shameful," Ivica Kostelic told a Zagreb radio station.

Janica Kostelic - who clinched the World Cup overall title on Thursday with a fourth-placed finish in the final super-G - won the slalom on Friday in Are, Sweden.

On Saturday, Kostelic broke the record of former Swedish ski star Pernilla Wiberg for the number of points in a single season after she won the women's World Cup giant slalom finale.

"It says it all about that famous Scandinavian tradition" of equality, said Ivica Kostelic, who won silver in the men's combined at the Winter Olympics in Turin. "Are we really equal if our anthem was the only one not being played?"

Janica Kostelic has won six Olympic medals at Turin and Salt Lake, four of which are gold.


http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Skiing/2006/03/18/1494358-ap.html

Pisemo Strategiju. LiderPress.hr

Klapsko pjevanje, čista energija, razminiranje, itd..

KLAPSKA PJESMA - SVJETSKI FENOMEN

Za pravu studiju s konkretnim brojevima, trebalo bi preko 100 stranica i 6 mjeseci istrazivackog rada. Ovo je skoro pa tok misli, ali ponovljenih u mojoj glavi bezbroj puta.

KLAPSKA PJESMA - SVJETSKI FENOMEN

Zvuci Sredozemlja - Hrvatski Misticni Glasovi.
Za ozbiljno predstavljanje svijetu kroz kuturu potreban je plan i to dugogodisnji. Recimo 10 godina za pocetak (za sada nema dugorocnih projekata ministarstva kulture). Klapsko pjevanje tada ima veliku mogucnost postati svjetski fenomen. Posljedice toga su viseslojne i ogromne. Od utrostrucenja turizma do samopouzdanja nacije. Po mom misljenju jedan od najsigurnijih pokusaja bi bio plasman Klapskog pjevanja u svijet. Kako to ostvariti?
1. Vrhusko kvalitetna proizvodnja CDa (pogledajte primjerke SACDa Klape Sinj i Klape FA Lindjo - www.klapasinj.com )
2. Distribucija tih CDa po svim kontinentima, ne samo Internetom vec i fizickim prisustvom na policama.
3. Turneje Klapa s osmisljenim programom, osim a cappella pjevanja i u kombinaciji s drugim glazbenim formama.
4. Kao primjer, na Americkom kontinentu bi se ta turneja odvijala dva puta na godinu i to samo u elitnim dvoranama. (primjer i matrica takvog kako programa tako i prostora je turneja Klape Sinj i Nenada Bacha u prosincu 2005-te organizirana kroz americke institucije. World Music Institute, The Kennedy Center i Chicago Cultural Center, www.nenadbach.com ili google nas).
5. Sustavna promocija na radiju, TV,tisku, Internetu, plakatima i razglednicama prije i poslije koncerata. Uz svaki novi koncert promovira se i slijedeci.
6. U glavnom opticaju se nalazi 10-tak pouzdanih Klapa, a privatne inicijative svih Klapa se isto tako podrzavaju.
7. 100 mjesta na Jadranu na kojima se u ponoc odrzavaju koncerti od 30tak minuta ili vise po volji Klape, a Klapa je sponzorirana od grada, sela, mjesta, kako bi se popularizirala jedna autohtona kultura. Klapa pod voltom nastupa svaku ponoc, i prodaje svoje i tudje CDe Klapske pjesme, zaradjujuci i promovirajuci.
8. Danas Klape sve zajedno prodaju recimo 10.000 CD na godinu u Hrvatskoj. 10 miliona ljudi koji posjeti Hrvatsku, kad bi imali i prilike i kad bi Klapa bila eksponirana, bi kupili svaki po recimo 2-3 CDa. dakle prodaja se dize od 10.000 na 20-30 miliona. Ti isti CDi idu u svijet kreirajuci dodatnu promociju i publiku. Izvoz, cak i bez postarine. Ova mogucnost je totalno neiskoristena. Normalno, kvaliteta prozivoda bi se trebala kontrolirati i dati prilike najboljima i pokazati drugima sto je moguce kad se stvari odrade kako treba.
9. Izgraditi kuturni turizam, gdje ljudi dolaze na lokalitete snimanj CDa (Crkva Sv. katarine u Novalji, npr), gdje ujutro i /ili poslij podne slusaju snimanje jednog projekta, a u ostala vremena ih se vodi na ribarenje i arheoloske turneje...ili po osobnom interesu.
10. Kreiranje strukture koja ce podrzati Klapske turneje. Od prijevoza do smjestaja i hrane. Autobus. Ugovori s lokalnim motelima..itd
11. Klapska pjesma je Hrvatski DNK za izvoz.

KULTURNI CENTRI PO SVIJETU

Neophodnost kulturnih centara po svijetu, vise nije ni smijesna nego tragicna. Pogledajmo druge nacije oko sebe, na primjer Makedonski Kulturni Centar u New Yorku. Kasnimo dobrih 10 godina iza nacija koje su bilu u istoj razini ili ispod, a da ne govorimo o nacijama koje su razvile svoj kulturni identitet kroz stoljeca. Proucimo Goethe Institut, za pocetak. Mi imamo zlatnu koku, a to je turizam. Sve sto ostvarimo u svijetu kroz, kulturu i sport vraca nam se stostruko. Patriotizam na stranu, razum je dovoljan da i sljepac ovo vidi.

FINANCIRANJE

Problem financiranja kulturne politike, je samo problem distribucije novca. Sredstava ima dovoljno. Politika se najvise bavim upravo tim...distribucijom novca, tako da su problemi financiranja samo izgovor onome tko ne zeli vidjeti prave programe kulture.

CISTA ENERGIJA - VJETROELEKTRANE

Posto vise od 50% elektricne energije dobivamo korz potencijalnu energiju vode, zar ne bi kao turisticka zemlja i jedna od rijetkih oaza u svijetu mogli preostalih 50% obskrbiti s vjetrom i suncem, ne ovisiti o nafti, ne zagadjivati okolis i povesti citav svijet u tom smjeru pozitivnim primjerom. Pogledajte sto radi Adria Wind Power (otok Pag ima prvih 7 vjetroelektrana)

RAZMINIRAVANJE HRVATSKE - BITI JEDNA OD PRVIH ZEMALJA U SVIJETU S CISTOM I SIGURNOM ZEMLJOM.

To je moguce ostvariti do 2009-te. Sad se moramo pripremati na proslavu toga i kreirati takav "buzz" da jednostavno nema povratka o te zadace i datuma. Svijet bi dosao na tu proslavu kako radi podrske tako radi i pozitivnih poticaja da nastave proces razminiravanja u cijelom svijetu. Postanimo luconosa u ostvarivanju svjetskog mira. I ne samo to, prodajmo svijetu svoj "know-how" i vodimo razminiravanje u svijetu kroz nekoliko uspjesnih poduzeca koji ce obavljati humanitaran posao i u isto vrijeme donositi dobit cijeloj Hrvatskoj. Podrzimo svoje izumitelje u toj domeni razminiravanja. Osobno sam upoznat s problematikom kroz Adopt A Minefield.

PROMETNICE
 

Ceste, vodeni kanali, Internet. Fiber to the premises - Preskocimo par stepenica, i kreirajmo mogucnost brzog polaganja kablova i unaprijedjenje tehnologije. Protok kako materijalne tako i intelektualne energije mora biti omogucen, i tada ce se ovaj USPAVANI HRVATSKI DIV probuditi.

Par dodatnih misli:

IMALI SMO MASU PROPUSTENIH PRILIKA.

Jedna velika je bila tada kad je Toni Kukoc igrao za Bullse, a mi nismo bili u stanju osmisljeno organizirati da na svaku utakmicu koju je gledalo 50 miliona ljudi ne izvjesimo svoje parole, zastave i podrsku Toniu, a time i reklamu Hrvatskoj, kroz recimo 20-tak ljudi koji bi bili redovni navijaci. I umjesto reklame u totalu vrijednosti preko 2 miliarde dolara, mi smo se samo veselili dobrim utakmicama. Ja sam o tome tada govorio naglas koliko god sam znao i mogao. Bez rezultata. Isto se danas s manjom publikom, ali sustavnom ponudom, jer je nas tenis napredovao, moze napraviti s profesionalnom tenisom (Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic..itd)


SKROMNOST JE ZADACA SVAKOG VLADARA ILI POZNATE OSOBE

Svi predsjednici, premijeri, popularni pjevaci i sportasi, bi trebali dnevno raditi na svojoj skromnosti. Jer moc korumpira dusu i oduprijeti se tome moze samo dnevnim radom na skromnosti.

Ovo je u jednom dahu,

Nenad Bach, New York 18 veljace 2006

letters@croatianworld.net

www.nenadbach.com
www.croatia.org
www.phonecroatia.com
www.klapasinj.com

http://www.liderpress.hr/Default.aspx?sid=1497

Bevan Calvert

Focus: An Australian Handball Player

Handball as a sports gained greater popularity in Australia following its exposure at the 2000 Olympics Games hosted by Sydney. In June 2004 Australia won the Oceania World Championship Qualification Tournament. This enabled Australia to compete in the World Men’s Handball Championship which was held in January 2005 in Tunisia.

A few months after the 2005 World Championships, one of the Australian handballers logged on at the Croatian Crown website and found a picture of one of the Australian players in a game against Croatia, published on the website. This was subsequently forwarded and shared with the handball clubs, the wider Australian community, and family and friends overseas. [Refer to the page 'Croatia Takes Silver – Second in the World', third photo].

The player is Bevan Calvert, who was 18 years of age at that time of the World Championship. Bevan’s 'publicist', his mother Violi, sent a note of thanks to Nenad Bach, Editor-in-Chief of the website, for the acknowledgement of an Australian player. As part of the Croatian Crown website’s aim to promote world peace through friendship and understanding between people of all cultures, Nenad thought of featuring Bevan on this page.

Bevan was born on April 4 1986 in Sydney and is the younger of two sons of an Australian father [John] and Philippine-born mother [Violi]. Like his older brother Tim, Bevan played soccer from when he was six years of age. Through the years, he took the role of team captain and received trophies for his commitment and achievements in the sport.

When not playing soccer, Bevan was involved in basketball, cricket, tennis and swimming. His exposure to handball came about when the sport became one of the competition sports in high schools. In 2001, the school attended by Bevan won the State Schools Challenge.

In recognition of his achievements in the school and state level in handball, Bevan received the Philippine Community Council – Philippine Air Lines Youth Award in 2002. He was nominated for the award by the North Shore Filipino-Australian Association in Sydney, wherein his mother has been actively involved with.

Following that, Bevan made it to the NSW u18's Team which won the Handball National Championship. Three years later, Bevan was named in the Australian Handball Team. He was part of the Team which went to Beijing in June 2004 for a series of friendly games. Then in November 2004, he was named as part of the Australian Team to compete in the 2005 World Handball Championship which was held in January in Tunisia.

There were 24 countries which qualified to compete in the World Championship. The Australian Team had a tough draw for their pool games - Croatia [defending champion], Spain [won 2005 title], Sweden, Argentina and Japan so was not able to progress in the championship. Nevertheless, they enjoyed the experience and the challenges of the event. On a personal level, Bevan did very well. He was the Australian Team's top scorer [15 goals] and was voted as the team's "Players' Player".

As a student, Bevan was also very involved in various school activities. Aside from representing his school in sports events, he was nominated to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference held in Washington DC and New York in 2002. He was in the Students Council and was elected as Vice-Captain in his senior year. He also participated in a school stage play which showcased his 'unknown' singing and dancing skills. At his high school graduation, Bevan received a gold medal, Faculty Awards, and was named as Senior Sportsman of the Year.

Bevan is currently undertaking a Bachelor in Information Technology at Macquarie University in Sydney, as well as doing part time work.

Bevan continues to be involved in the handball club competition in Sydney. He enjoys both the competitive edge of the sport and the camaraderie amongst players. He credits a number of ‘handball mentors’ for their continued support. He shares a dream with his fellow handballers to represent Australia in the Olympics in the future.

In the meantime, they have their sights on winning the upcoming Oceania Qualifying Tournament to be held in Sydney in May 2006 so they can compete in the World Championship to be held in January 2007 in Germany. It is also Bevan’s wish that one day he would have the opportunity to play handball professionally in Europe. As he is only turning 20 years of age in April this year, he has many years ahead of him to explore and fulfil this dream.
 

contact Violi Calvert:violicalvert@optusnet.com.au

Bevan on his high school graduation, shown with older brother Tim

Calvert family

Bevan’s 'publicist', his mother Violi, sent a note of thanks to Nenad Bach, Editor-in-Chief of the website, for their acknowledgement of an Australian player.  From this, a friendship between Croatians and Australians albeit through cyberspace was forged.

Diversity in unity

Merlin International Theater celebrates EU accession with a series of mini festivals
 

written by Anita Brkanic

Cultural exchange plays a vital role in getting to know our fellow nations. Aiming to build up a sense of community in the countries awaiting EU accession in 2004, Merlin International Theater in Budapest will attempt to introduce the cultural life as well as the long-established and new values of the 9 nations that enter the Union together with Hungary in May this year. Entitled “BeugrĂł,” the festival promotes international co-operation and friendship through theater, dance, music performances, literary readings, and gastronomy. The aspiration is to give a portrayal of all newly joining countries with the assistance of regional cultural institutes. Apart from that, the purpose of the program series is to boost the realization of the international partnership proclaimed by the Community. Therefore, the festival does not only wish to satisfy the curiosity of Hungarian audiences, but aims at developing a long-term exchange of ideas between the countries presented. The event series are expected to start in January 2004 and will last until May1, 2004, with a large-scale party planned for April 30 and May 1, 2004 with the purpose of celebrating EU accession. Performances will be presented in their original native language with English subtitles, while other programs will be simultaneously translated to English.
At a press conference held on December 9, 2004 Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky pointed out that “knowing a culture of a country helps understanding its people,” adding that Merlin will be the perfect host for these cultural events. As Jurgen Koppen, Head of the European Union Delegation to Hungary, put it, “In Europe we have diversity in unity.”
Some future events planned by the Merlin International Theater include producing brochures, CDs, and videos about all the participants and their productions, as well as developing an interactive website for the event series. “This is another step to bring the new EU reality to citizens of Hungary and the citizens of other countries of Europe,” said Koppen.

Schedule dates for the presentation of the countries: mini-festivals organized on weekends
· 15-18 January Czech Republic
· 29 January -1 February Slovakia
· 12-15 February Slovenia
· 26-29 February Poland
· 11-14 March Estonia
· 25-28. March Latvia
· 1-4 April Lithuania
· 15-18 April Malta- Cyprus

http://www.budapestweek.com/newsites/performance/performance20.html
 

Iranian Women Directors News Conference in Croatia

ISNA - Tehran
Service: Culture - Cinema

Tehran, Mar.18 (ISNA)-A News conference with the participation of Iranian women directors, Pouran Derakhshandeh, Ferial Behzad and Aniseh Shah Hosseini was held in Zagreb's U.N Human Rights office by "Yasminka Petre", through the cooperation of Iran and Croatia's Friendship Association.


"In Iran, women work side by side of men, which documentary and film producing can be named as one of these shared activities," said Yasminka Petre. "Iranian films are not unfamiliar to Croatians. Croatians have watched Iranian films for many years. Croatia has complete cooperation with all artists in Iran," he said.

"Zagreb is well known for making children films and cartoons, but can we expect Iran and Croatia to cooperate in making children films?" said Petre while addressing Iranian film makers in this news conference.

Pouran Derakhshandeh while responding to Petre's question said that not only in Iran but all over the world, the most films were made for children. "It is best to merge Croatian experience on children films with the love to produce children films' in Iran and to extent our cooperation. Iran's T.V will support this plan too," she said. Ferial Behzad said it would be better that films produced in Iran were made to be broadcasted by Croatian T.V.

http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-687561&Lang=E

Korijeni

List domovinske i iseljene Hrvatske

MARIO PERESTEGI USA TOUR

USA TOUR
Washington D.C., March 25th
Williamsburg, March 28th
New York, March 29th
Boston, March 31st
Chicago, April 2nd

Born in Zagreb in 1971, MARIO PERESTEGI studied organ under Professor
Andrija Galun and church music at the Institute for Church Music in
Zagreb with Professor Andjelko Klobucar. He then completed a Master's
Degree in organ performance at the Music Academy in Ljubljana,
Slovenia, in the class of Professor Hubert Bergant. Later, he
perfected his interpretation of French organ music under the tutelage
of the famous Parisian organist Marie-Claire Alain. Since 1996 he has
been an Assistant Professor at the Zagreb University, where he
teaches Aesthetics of Music and Organ Literature and at the Music
Academy in Ljubljana he lectures on organ literature.
Mr. Perestigi's concerts contain works for organ that were composed
during the Baroque period, as well as contemporary 20th century
works. His special interest lies in new compositions by modern
Croatian composers. In addition to more than 200 solo concerts, he
regularly performs as a chamber musician, giving concerts with
singers, trumpeters and violinists. He has performed many times as a
soloist with orchestras performing the works of Handel, Haydn, Bossi
and Poulenc. Perestigi is a frequent guest of music festivals such as
the Po Organ Evenings, Split Summer Festival, Evening at St. Donat,
and Rab Evenings. Beyond Croatia, he often performs throughout
Europe: Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and
Latvia. And in 2005, Mr.Perestigi toured Austrialia giving concerts
at Sydney Cathedral, Melbourne Cathedral and Canberra Concert Hall.

Organ Recital

March 25th, 2006 at 6:30 p.m.

Saint Patrick's Church
619 Tenth St. NW
Washington D.C. 20001

CONCERT PROGRAM

J. Bajamonti (1744-1800) Sonata for organ
Allegro – Adagio -
Allegro

J. S. Bach (1685-1750) Concert in G-major
BWV 592
Allegro – Adagio –
Allegro

C. Franck (1822-1890) Choral in a-minor

F. Peters (1903-1986) Herr Jesus hat ein
Gärtchen
(Choral I, II, III,
IV variation, Finale)

Anonimus (Klanjec, 17th cen.) Sonata for organ
Allegro – Andante –
Allegro

A. Klobuc;ar (1931*) «The Song of
Creatures of St. Francis»
Moon and Stars / Fire

Franjo Dugan (1874-1948) Toccata in g-minor


USA TOUR
Washington D.C., March 25th
Williamsburg, March 28th
New York, March 29th
Boston, March 31st
Chicago, April 2nd
 

New Croatian Films @ Silver Lake Film Festival in Hollywood

Dear Friends:

For the first time Croatian cinema, will be presented as a curated
program and part of another festival. All films will be screened at
the Arc Light theatres during the Silver Lake Film Festival in
Hollywood. Please check www.silverlakefilmfestival.org  for more details.
Tickets go on sale Monday March 20.

NEW CROATIAN FILM PROGRAM

Curator: Ziggy Mrkich

Presented by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia &
The Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia, Los Angeles

We are pleased to present New Croatian Film at the Silver Lake Film
Festival, a selection of six recent award-winning films (all with
English subtitles) by filmmakers of various generations, styles and
motivations. Deeply rooted in its national literature, Croatian films
are an integral part of the Central European style and artistic
expression, in which life, and primarily family life, is portrayed
realistically without sugar-coating, sky-high budgets, and forced
action.


WHAT IVA RECORDED ON OCTOBER 21, 2003/Sto je Iva Snimila 21, Listopada
2003 (US Premiere)
Fri., March 24, 9:30 pm
(Croatia, 2005, 92mins.)
Director: Tomislav Radic; Screenwrwiters: Ognjen Svilicic, Tomislav
Radic

Proclaimed by the Croatian Film Critics Association as the Best Croatian
Film of 2005, a teenaged girl receives a digital video camera for her
14th birthday and decides to film her birthday party, while her
stepfather is using the party as an opportunity to negotiate with a
possible new business partner. Events begin to spin wildly out of
control, as her family and guest begin drinking and arguing, while the
camera complacently records their antics.


SORRY FOR KUNG FU/ Oprosti za King Fu (Los Angeles Premiere)
Sun., March 26, 9:30 pm
(Croatia, 2004, 71mins.)
Director: Ognjen Svilicic; Screenwriter: Ognjen Svilicic; Producer:
Vesna Mort

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival, this
comedy examines the cultural divide: Returning to Croatia after a long
absence in Germany unmarried and pregnant Mirjana must face her
traditional family and the rumors surrounding her circumstances.
Circumstances get very complicated when Mirjana gives a birth to a boy
with Asian features.


WHAT IS A MAN WITHOUT A MOUSTACHE?/Sto je Muskarac bez Brkova
(U.S. Premiere)
Wed., March 29, 8:15 pm
(Croatia, 2005, 109 mins.)
Director: Hrvoje Hribar; Screenwriters: Renato Baretic, Hrvoje Hribar;
Producers: Hrvoje Hribar, Mirko Galic

An international hit and winner of the Audience Award at the 2005 Zagreb
Film Festival. A romantic comedy about a young widow, an aging
immigrant who has returned home from Germany, and a priest from a
bankrupt parish with whom she falls in love, all of whom are struggling
to come to terms with the post-war environment, complete with its
prejudices and illusions.

LONG DARK NIGHT/Duga Mracna Noc
Sun., March 26, 1:30 pm, reception to follow with Goran Visnjic
(Croatia, 2004, 195 mins.)
Director/Screenwriter: Antun Vrdoljak Producers: Antun Vrdoljak, Goran
Visnjic, Jadran Film, Mirko Gali

Croatia's official submission for the 2005 Academy Awards for Best
Foreign-Language Film, LONG DARK NIGHT is an emotional portrait of an
entire country caught in the devastation of WWII, and the consequences
brought onto one small village of Croatians of German ethnic background
during the 1940's – 1950's. Iva (Goran Visnjic), a college student
devoted to his family and friends, finds himself forced to fight with
the communist partisans when war erupts and his best friend, Mata, ends
up fighting on the opposite side with the Nazi-allied Ustasha. The path
of these two former friends –
both troubled by their respective choices – mirrors the complex and
difficult transformation of Croatia during that time.


A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT/Ta Divna Splitska Noc
Mon., March 27, 7:45 pm
(Croatia, 2004, 100mins.)
Director/Screenwriter: Arsen-Anton Ostojic; Producer: Jozo Patljak

Croatia's official submission for the 2006 Academy Awards for Best
Foreign-Language Film. It's New Year's Eve on the narrow cobblestoned
streets of the ancient port town of Split on Croatia's Adriatic Coast
and everyone's up for a celebration. Stylishly shot in black and white
and constructed around three very human stories, Ostojic's debut feature
follows a smalltime drug dealer involved with a war widow and her son, a
young female junkie in crisis mode and a depressed American sailor, and
a teenage couple. Shot entirely in the hauntingly beautiful Ghetto of
Split, these three love stories unfold, and each character will have
irreversibly changed hir or her life by the stroke of midnight.


WITNESSES/Svjedoci
Thu., March 30, 5:45 pm
(Croatia, 2003, 90mins.)
Director/Screenwriter: Vinko Bresan; Producer: Ivan Maloca

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Medfilm Festival Roma, Peace
and Ecumenical Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival and many other
prices at the festivals around the world. In a small Croatian town
defending itself against the Serb army, this story unfolds from a
number of different view points.
A grieving wife and mother mourns the death of her husband, while her
young son murders a Serbian man in his home. The woman's other son
suffers from a war wound, while his girlfriend conducts an
investigation into the Serbian man's death. Bresan's political drama
explores ethnic hatred and moral ambiguity against the backdrop of war.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ziggy Mrkich
Dubrovnik International Film Festival
www.DUBROVNIKfilmfestival.com
May 31, - June 4, 2006
Croatia