Celebrations of the fest day of St Blaise (in Croatian, Sveti Vlaho), Dubrovnik patron saint, is celebrated since 972 AD, that is, continuously for 1040 years. This patron relates Dubrovnik and Croatia with Armenia, because St Blais was Armenian saint. The Festival of St Blaise is also the City of Dubrovnik Day. Croatian-Armenian friendship society has been founded in Croatia’s capital Zagreb in 2003. Its current president is Croatian pianist Naira Astaryan of Armenian origin.
Category: History
REFERENDUM AFTER THE FINAL VERDICT FOR CROATIAN GENERALS
The Geneva convention states that: ”Nothing in this Protocol shall be invoked for the purpose of affecting the sovereignty of a State or the responsibility of the Government, by all legitimate means, to maintain or re-establish law and order in the State or to defend the national unity and territorial integrity of the State.”! In stark contrast to these proclamations, the EU punished Croatia by abolishing the Phare programme on only the second day of the liberating military operation “Storm”, calling upon false accounts of excessive shelling of Knin. Following on from this logic, the prosecution of the ICTY indicted the Croatian Generals and fabricated the legal norm of a “joint criminal enterprise” so that it would be able to charge the entire Croatian civil and military leadership. …
Cristophe Dolbeau expert in Croatian- French relations
Mr. Cristophe Dolbeau is distinguished expert in Croatian-French relations, with a deep insight into Croatia’s past and present. He published several books an numerous articles, and some of the articles have been translated into Croatian. his very interesting brochure “France – Croatie, Aperçu des relations entre le XIe et le XIXe siecle”, Lyon 1994. In its fifteen chapters, the brochure contains a wealth of data, some of them of interest also for specialists. His newest book is “Croatie – Sentinelle de l’Occident”, 300 pp.
Georges d'Esclavonie Croatian professor at Sorbonne in Paris and French spiritual writer around 1400
Georgius de Sclavonia or Georges d’Esclavonie wrote his book Le chasteau de viriginte in 1411. With this article we mark 600 years since its appearance in France, at the Beaument Benedictine Abbey in the city of Tours. This Croatian scholar studied at the famous Sorbonne in Paris, where he became professor at the beginning of the 15 century. The Municiapl Library of Tours keeps his texts written in the Croatian Glagolitic Script (see on the left), which he expressly calls Alphabetum Chrawaticum . This texts constitute the earliest known Croatian handwritten manual for children, which he reproduced at Sorbonne in Paris, accompanied with his commentaries in Latin.
VUKOVAR 1991 – 2011 CRIME WITHOUT PUNISHMENT – ZLOEIN BEZ KAZNE
Remember Vukovar!
Esther Gitman and Jadranka Juresko-Kero @ The Harriman Institute on November 3rd 2011
New York premier of the documentary film made by Jadranka Juresko Kero (photo left). This is a story about dr Esther Gitman, a historian of Jewish origins who has written the book “When Courage Prevailed”. Dr Gitman’s message is the film’s main motive. Her message is that the rescue of the Jews in the Independent State of Croatia and the role played by Archbishop Stepinac deserve internationalization so that the whole truth is known about the Croatian people whose courageous representatives were the only ones in Europe during World War II to openly oppose Hitler’s racist laws.
Badinter Committee decided on factual recognition of Croatia on 7 September 1991
Robert Badinter is French lawyer, university professor and politician. Badinter’s arbitration commission, established by the European Community, stated that Croatia and Slovenia acquired their sovereignty on 7 September 1991 , and from that date Croatia and Slovenia are independent and sovereign states.
Gordan Lederer Croatian cameraman and reporter killed during Serbian aggression on Croatia in 1991
A letter from Gordan Lederer’s mother: I hereby announce publicly that my son GORDAN LEDERER was treacherrously murdered on 9th August 1991, by a mercenary gang of Chetniks while holding a camera in his hand, and that, thanks to the Chetnik collaborator, General Raseta, he was denied any chance of survival. Gordan Lederer’s mother, Vlasta Lederer, Ph.D., consultant, spec. anaesthesiology and reanimatology. Published in Vjesnik, Zagreb 14th August 1991. With this article we mark 20 years since the tragic death of our friend Gordan on 10th August 1991. Seventeen Croatian newspaperman and cameraman have been assassinated during the Serbian 1991-1995 aggression on Croatia.
Operation "Storm" 1995 prevented genocide in Bihać area of BiH and liberated occupied parts of Croatia
Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia (MORH – Ministarstvo obrane Republike Hrvatske) provided a short 5min video about the operation “Storm”, and a photogallery. The operation started on 5th August 1995, which is celebrated as the Victory Day and as the Day of Croatian Defenders throughout of Croatia. On the photo Croatian president Tuđman and Croatian defense minister Gojko Šušak on the fortress above the town of Knin just a few days after the start of operation “Storm”.
Croatian merchants from Dubrovnik built the church of St Blaise-St Vlaho in Goa in India in the 16th century
Nicholas Mirkovich in his study “Ragusa and the Portuguese Spice Trade”, Slavonic and Eastern European Review, London, March 1943, wrote the following: “During the absence of Venice the largest part of the oriental trade was taken over by Ragusa, which about 1530-1540 had a virtual monopoly of that trade. For a decade or two there existed a sharp competition between Ragusa and Portugal, which was carried on also in Portugal’s own East Indian empire. The Ragusan (i.e. Dubrovnik) colony Sao Braz (Saint Vlaho) near Goa is one of the strangest and most interesting examples of the economic expansion of that little Republic in the period of the commercial revolution.” Article by Adam S. Eterovich Bracanin, on the left.
Carmen Verlichak Vrljieak: Hrvati u Argentini – Croatians in Argentina
Carmen Verlichak is distiguished Croatian writer living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, born in Madrid, Spain, expert in the history of Croatians in South America. In 2011 her publishing house Krivodol Press seated in Buenos Aires, and named after a small Croatian village of Krivodol from which her predecessors arrive, issued an extremely interesting book Hrvati u Argentina (Croatians in Argentina), in Croatian langauge. It is closely related to her previous very successful edition bearing the same title, but in Castellano: Los croatas de la Argentina. The book is is full of exceptionally interesting life stories of Croatian families, accompanied by several dozens of photos. It is a pleasure to read this book.
Branko Fucic 1920-1999, representative collection of conference papers published about his life and work
Sixty three conference papers from the International Scholarly Seminar on the Life and Work of Academician Branko Fučić (1920-1999) have been published in 2011 in voluminous, representative monograph comprising 844 pp. Branko Fučić was distinguished expert in Croatian Glagolitic Script, in the history of Croatian church art, in particular for the area of Istria, dr. honoris causa in theology, and recipient of Herder’s prize in Vienna. The monograph has been edited by dr. Tomislav Galović of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Zagreb.
Dr. Hrvoje Kacic: The Hague Tribunal omits establishment of the truth
Dr. Hrvoje Kačić, distinguished Croatian expert in maritime law, gave two interviews. In the first one he describes the importance of the decision of the Badinter Comission on 7 September 1991 about factual recognition of Croatia. The second interview concludes that the Hague Tribunal does not meet the goals for which it was established.
The Croatian Academy of America Issued New Volume of the Journal of Croatian Studies
The Croatian Academy of America issued volume 44 of the Journal of Croatian Studies, its annual interdisciplinary review. Contributed articles by Darko Žubrinić: William Feller (1906-1970) – an outstanding Croatian-American mathematician , Vinko Grubišić: The three alphabets used in the printing of Croatian Reformation books in Germany , John Felix Clissa: Migration history of the Italo-Croatians of Molise to Western Australia , Jure Krišto: Brother’s keeper The surveillance of American Croats by FBI during World War II , Stan Granic: Canadian Ethnic Studies (1969-2003) and Polyphony (1977-2000) as sources for the Croatian Ethnological Community
1132 years since the first international recognition of Croatia
The first international recognition of Croatia came in May 21st 879 from Pope John VIII, i.e. in the 9th century, in his two letters to Croatian prince Branimir. He gave his blessings to the prince and the whole Croatian people. Croatians live in Europe near the Adriatic coast since the 7th century.
Dr. Slobodan Lang: "Storm" was humanitarian operation that prevented genocide
Dr. Slobodan Lang, distinguished Croatian scholar and humanist, gave interview for the readers of the CROWN on 25 April 2011 concerning the 1995 operation “Storm”: “… This Court never heared me speaking! It is too strongly afraid of its own shameful history. And that’s why it will be a Court of shame! There will be nothing that will be remembered of it, because it did not start from anything. And that’s why it is a failure. …”
Statement by the Croatian Conference of Bishops on The Hague's Verdict
The formulation “joint criminal enterprise” is an unfounded and grave insult to the Croatian people, and to justice in general. This is also how we feel about the verdict against the Croatian state leadership at that time and the generals who led campaigns to liberate territory during the war. We believe that these judgments could provide dangerous and indirect support for new violence, as well as a source of further injustice in the world.
Jack Baric presents Searching for a Storm
Is the UN complicit in the wartime tragedies of the former Yugoslavia … and is the Croatian general Ante Gotovina indicted for war crimes to justify their failed policies? Robin Harris, London: Gotovina is a scapegoat of the politics and judiciary.
Jack Baric Croatian American filmaker: UN Should Be Trailed!
Jack Baric: “…I wonder who is going to open a court to judge the UN, because in my estimation they were complicit during the war [in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina] in the sense of their inactivity in stopping it…” His film Searching for a Storm deals with Croatian general Ante Gotovina.
Croatian generals are not guilty
The monograph [ PDF ], published in English by the Croatian Cultural Council, contains contributed articles by Milan Vuković, Josip Jurčević, Robin Harris, Mile Bogović, Miroslav Tuđman, Hrvoje Kačić (on the photo), Josip Pečarić etc. From the introducton by Hrvoje Hitrec: “In August, 1995, the Croatian Army liberated large sections of its territory, which had been occupied by the Serbs for many years. This operation is known as Operation Storm (Oluja). In Dalmatia, the most critical part of the operation was headed by Croatian general Ante Gotovina.”