The BBC have denied their referred to “mostly soldiers” being the victims of
the Vukovar hospital massacre. Their story has been changed to omit it.
Unfortuantely for them, their original story is still on their website; they
missed it. Here it is, with “mostly soldiers”and the comment about Serbs
being the majority.
Save this; the BBC may delete the story after I contact them
Brian
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SERVICES Daily E-mailNews TickerNews for PDAFeedbackHelpLow GraphicsSunday,
18 November, 2001, 01:40 GMT Croat town marks its fall
People were ordered out by the Yugoslav army
By the BBC’s Alix Kroeger in Vukovar
The Croatian town of Vukovar is marking the 10th anniversary of its fall to
the Yugoslav national army.
A candlelit vigil took place on Saturday night at Vukovar’s hospital from
where hundreds of patients, mostly soldiers, were taken away and killed in
November, 1991.
The town is now equally divided between Croats and Serbs, but the Croat Mayor
has said there is no place for Serbs at the commemoration.
When Vukovar fell to the Yugoslav national army it was a severe blow to
Croatia’s efforts to establish an independent state.
The town had a majority Serb population. Its location on Croatia’s eastern
border made it a critical part of any plans to create a greater Serbia.
Executions and expulsions
Vukovar held out for three months under siege, before falling in November,
1991.
While hundreds of hospital patients, mostly soldiers, were executed, the rest
of the remaining inhabitants were forced to march to the next
Croat-controlled town.
The town council has organised a programme of commemorations for Sunday, but
the Mayor, Vladimir Stengl, has said Vukovar’s Serbs have no place at the
ceremonies.
The European security organisation, the OSCE, says the security situation in
Vukovar has improved and there are fewer attacks against returning refugees.
But unemployment is high and government assistance for returns will stop at
the end of this year.
The Croatian Government has recently reactivated dormant lists of hundreds of
people wanted for alleged war crimes.
The OSCE says the lists are an extra deterrent to Serbs wanting to return,
who could face arrest at the border, or any time afterwards.
See also:
10 Feb 01 | Europe
Call for arrests over Vukovar massacre 29 Jun 01 | From Our Own Correspondent
Viewpoint: The West did not do enough Internet links:
OSCE
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Brian Gallagher
Sunday, 18 November, 2001, Croat town marks its fall
By the BBC’s Alix Kroeger in Vukovar
The Croatian town of Vukovar is marking the 10th anniversary of its fall to
the Yugoslav national army.
A candlelit vigil took place on Saturday night at Vukovar’s hospital from
where hundreds of patients, mostly soldiers, were taken away and killed in
November, 1991.
The town is now equally divided between Croats and Serbs, but the Croat Mayor
has said there is no place for Serbs at the commemoration.
When Vukovar fell to the Yugoslav national army it was a severe blow to
Croatia’s efforts to establish an independent state.
The town had a majority Serb population. Its location on Croatia’s eastern
border made it a critical part of any plans to create a greater Serbia.
Executions and expulsions
Vukovar held out for three months under siege, before falling in November,
1991.
While hundreds of hospital patients, mostly soldiers, were executed, the rest
of the remaining inhabitants were forced to march to the next
Croat-controlled town.
The town council has organised a programme of commemorations for Sunday, but
the Mayor, Vladimir Stengl, has said Vukovar’s Serbs have no place at the
ceremonies.
The European security organisation, the OSCE, says the security situation in
Vukovar has improved and there are fewer attacks against returning refugees.
But unemployment is high and government assistance for returns will stop at
the end of this year. The Croatian Government has recently reactivated
dormant lists of hundreds of people wanted for alleged war crimes. The OSCE
says the lists are an extra deterrent to Serbs wanting to return, who could
face arrest at the border, or any time afterwards.
<A
HREF=”http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1164000/1164407.stm
“>Call for arrests over Vukovar massacre</A>
<A
HREF=”http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/from_our_own_correspondent/newsid
_1413000/1413764.stm”>Viewpoint: The West did not do enough</A>
Brian Gallagher
distributed by CROWN (Croatian World Net) – CroworldNet@aol.com
