Category: Letters to the Editors

  Would you call us in the U.S. “nationalists” when waving “Old Glory” info@ap.org Dear Editors:Re: “Croatian PM Warns of Opponents’ Ploys” by Snjezana Vukic, Nov. 7. 03Time and again we see…

  Lecture, that shouldn’t be Here is the address of the University of South Carolina Spartanburg. (USCS) The lecture is on Jan 22, 2004. I have sent a letter to their faculty…

  No light at the end of this tunnel, George  editor@sunpub.com  Editor(Letters)The Toronto SunRe Eric Margolis:” No light at the end of this tunnel, George”, Nov. 2, 03 (P. Viereck-metapolitics)? Dear Editor.Thanks…

  U.S. State Dept. answer ICTY-Gen GotovinaToday I received the following letter from the U.S. State Dept. answeringmy recent letter regarding the General Gotovina indictment and the U.S.Administration’s offer of millions for…

  “UN Court/Croatia”, NY TimesHilda M. FoleyLetters to EditorSept. 29, 2003To: letters@nytimes.com Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 Subject: UN Court/CroatiaDear Editor:Your article “UN Court, Croatia at Odds over Runaway General”, 9/25 ,quotes…

To the Editor:I note with trepidation Mr. Steinfels comment that the “Vatican’sprecipitous recognition” of Croatia may have “helped spark the Balkanconflict.”The Vatican extended recognition to Croatia well after the war hadbegun. By the time recognition occurred, Serb forces had alreadymassacred thousands of civilians, ethnically cleansed tens of thousandsmore, destroyed the city of Vukovar and laid siege to Dubrovnik.A look at the history books shows that recognition by the Vatican andthe EU states of both Croatia and Slovenia led to the almost immediatecessation of large scale military operations in Croatia in January 1992.Very truly yours,John Peter KraljicDear all,Josip Remnar sent around a NYT article by Peter Steinfels about the Popenot getting the Nobel Prize. In it, Steinfels repeated the fallacy thatthe Vatican may have misstepped politically through its “precipitousrecognition of Croatia” . I sent the following letter in response.regardsSanja**************Dear Editor,Why does Peter Steinfels continue to promote the tired old cant that”precipitous recognition of Croatia” caused the wars in formerYugoslavia? (“A Nobel Opportunity Missed”, Oct. 11)In order to be a precipitating cause, an event has to happen first, doesit not? However, Serbian forces had invaded Slovenia, shelled Dubrovnikand other Croatian cities, pounded Vukovar into dust, killed over 20,000non-Serbs and “ethnically cleansed” a further 250,000 from their homesin Croatia months before Croatia was officially recognized as anindependent state.Further, Serbian forces had already dug in around Sarajevo and othercities in Bosnia and were conducting their own smaller-scale campaignsof ethnic cleansing there months before Croatia was recognized.So tell me again how Croatian recognition “precipitated” a war that hadbegun months earlier?Sincerely,Sanja Carolina

To Leave or not to Leave ? Letters to the Editor The Washington Post 1150 15th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20071 Dear Editor, With debate in this country now raging about the scope and duration of the current US military mission in Iraq, it is prescient to examine our recent role in Bosnia (“Troops May Leave Bosnia In ’04, Commander Says” World News,Oct 11). Thomas Ricks notes that the US military commander for Europe, Marine Gen. James Jones, recently stated that “we’re seeing in Bosnia a real potential for ending the military mission there and transitioning to…(a solely civilian presence)”. But, with the Pentagon now declaring de-facto “success” in Bosnia, one must wonder what about future benchmarks for success in Iraq. After eight years in Bosnia post Dayton, while there is no longer war, there is also no permanent foundation for peace and stability. The major cause is that Bosnia is still a divided country today, ruled like a military “pro-consul” by the Office of the High Representative. The Bosnian Serbs, via their “Republika Serpska – RS” mini-state, tightly control 49% of the entire country (even though they made up only 31% of the population before the war started). According to the UN, the RS continues to harbor the top two most-wanted war criminals, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic and continues to discourage minority refugee returns. The RS still maintains it’s own, independent army, beyond the control of the central government. Adding to this unstable environment is rife corruption and an approximately 40% unemployment rate. Given these factors, it is hard to imagine how the Pentagon can now declare success and pull out. If these benchmarks are any guide, this does not bode well for the future of Iraq. Sincerely yours, Anthony Margan

We Won the War (op-ed) “It is high time for the “all sides equally guilty” refrain, the lie so dear to the heart of the West and the ICTY, to be finally thrown into history’s trash bin where it belongs.” This letter is also being faxed to Secretary of State Colin Powell, NSA Condoleezza Rice, Senators Biden, Lugar, Leahy, Boxer, Feinstein, McCain, Kerry, Feingold and Representatives Cox and Radanovich. Please send letters to your own Senators and Congressmen as well as Pres.Bush and Sec. Powell. President George W. Bush Oct. 16, 2003 The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Bush: It is appalling to read that the U.S. Administration has offered 5 million for the information and/or capture of Croatia’s General Gotovina, who is indicted by the ICTY for “command responsibility”. If command responsibility is the criteria for indictments of armed forces officers, then American officers should be equally open to indictments when their troops, without their command or knowledge commit war crimes. Such indictments are of course wrong and the fear of them is precisely the reason why this Administration refuses to sign on to the International War Crimes Court. Commanders should not be made responsible for their individual soldiers’ or troops’ war crimes. Nevertheless, your Administration demands the extradition of Croatia’s General Gotovina, while at the same time badgering Croatia to wave any U.S. forces’ culpability in commitment of war crimes. It is an outrageous double standard – made even more grievous by offering money for the capture of an honorable general, innocent of the crimes he is charged with, and equating him with the likes of Osana bin Laden, Hussein and the Serb war criminals and mass murderers general Mladic and Karadzic. It would behoove the Administration to remember that it was Croatia and General Gotovina’s leadership during the liberation of Serb-held Croatian territory that also led to the defeat of the Bosnian Serbs in a large part of Bosnia, even though the West assumed that Bosnia was a lost cause. That defeat forced Serbia’s Milosevic to come to the peace negotiations in Dayton which finally ended four years of war. It took Croatia to stop a war that none of the Western Powers were willing to stop. It is high time for the “all sides equally guilty” refrain, the lie so dear to the heart of the West and the ICTY, to be finally thrown into history’s trash bin where it belongs. Sincerely, Hilda M. Foley American Croatian Association 13272 Orange Knoll Santa Ana, CA 92705-2258

Hypocrites at The Hague To: letters@nytimes.com Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 Subject: UN Court/Croatia Dear Editor: Your article “UN Court, Croatia at Odds over Runaway General”, 9/25 , quotes an incorrect indictment of Croatia’s General Gotovina by stating ” indicted for killings and widespread destruction during and after Zagreb’s final offensive against rebel Serbs in Aug. 1995″. The General’s indictment is for “command responsibility” while he never ordered civilian killings that occurred during some revenge-taking by Croats, who were not necessarily even part of the army. “Widespread destruction” is also very questionable! General Gotovina is an honorable and highly regarded officer, who is being made a scapegoat by hypocrites at The Hague ICTY in pursuit of an innocent person in order to “equalize” the guilt among Croats and Serbs, which was all along the West’s policy in that war. If such “command responsibility” is made a factor in wars, then every American officer must be indicted for the destruction of Iraqi property and the killing of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Sincerely, Hilda M. Foley National Federation of Croatian Americans 13272 Orange Knoll Santa Ana, Ca, 92705

A Personal Appeal from Congressman Kucinich From: info@kucinich.us Dear Friend, I’m going to be blunt. My presidential campaign needs your help more than ever. There are only a few days left in this fundraising quarter (ending Sept. 30) and I need your support. If you saw last night’s nationally-televised debate, you know that I am speaking out for you…and for your issues. I spoke out for bringing the troops home from Iraq, and against the President’s request for $87 billion more. I was alone in discussing how the Iraq occupation hurts our economy. I was alone in advocating a withdrawal from NAFTA and the WTO in favor of bilateral trade pacts that protect workers’ rights and the environment. I spoke clearly about taking our healthcare system out of the hands of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies — and establishing nonprofit national health insurance, Enhanced Medicare for All. I alone called for returning the Social Security retirement age to 65. Our wealthy nation can afford healthcare and retirement security. But we have to rescind the tax breaks for the wealthy, and as I pointed out in last night’s debate, the wealthiest 1% in our country will get a majority of the Bush tax cut. To keep bringing these issues to the American people our campaign needs an infusion of funds. Please donate at https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php Your contribution today will be doubled through federal matching funds arriving in a few months. I know many of you have donated as much as you can, and I thank you. But please reach out to three other people who share our values — by forwarding this email to them. If you watched last night’s debate, you saw me call for a 15% cut in Pentagon spending and an end to tax breaks for the wealthy in order to fund childcare and education and job creation. I spoke of my efforts to end the death penalty and to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace. These issues reflect our unique and progressive grassroots campaign that you have helped build. To expand our insurgent campaign, please donate: https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php Sincerely, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich http://www.kucinich.us

Letter to EU Commission and reply I am sending you once more the letter I wrote to the President of the EU Commission, Mr. Prodi, so you can compare it with the answer I received today. Their letter is below mine. Hilda Foley The majority of the Croatian population approves of Croatia’s entering into the EU and we find the conditions which you mentioned in order to be accepted inconsistent with the ones’ other countries were required to meet. You mention for example “the return of refugees”. As you must realize, Croatia has only recently come out of a brutal war of aggression by Serbia, in which these Croatian Serb refugees were the ones who rebelled against Croatia and with the help of the Yugoslav/Serb army killed some twelve thousand and “ethnically cleansed” several hundred thousand Croatians in their own country, destroying and plundering their homes and properties. No other country in the world has been forced to forgive and forget so soon what has been done to it. May I remind you that the Czech Republic, which is accepted into the EU, has not allowed its Sudeten German refugees to return or compensate them for their material losses even after more than fifty years. This was not a requirement by the EU for the Czech Republic. Therefore, is it not obvious that the EU stand in regard to Croatia and the refugee situation is quite unfair and inconsistent. Furthermore, one has to realize that it was first the Croatians who were driven out by the Serbs (1991-1995), years before in 1995 Croatia liberated its Krajina territory and the Serbs left on the orders of their own leadership. Consequently, the returning long-time Croatian refugees must have preference for housing. Since Serbs destroyed most of Croatians’ homes, out of necessity Croatians have been settling in some of the Serb ones’. Croatia after the ravages of war simply does not have the money to build homes for all the refugees, Croatian or Serb. This problem should be understood by the EU and not held against Croatia. The other great inconsistency is the requirement for Croatia to open its borders without visa requirement to Serbia/Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. If the EU wishes open borders between nations, why has Slovenia, next in line for EU membership admittance, been allowed to seal its borders with Croatia while Croatia must open its borders to its recent aggressor Serbia? Certainly the EU leadership must know about the huge criminal element in Serbia, Bosnia and Albania, with drugs, white slavery and people smuggling among other criminal activities in addition of providing easy access to terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists. Just why would then the EU require Croatia to freely open its borders to be inundated with such undesirables? Croatia does not want them or need them any more than any other European country. Obviously, such an EU demand of Croatia is totally unfair and detrimental. Last but not least, Slovenia was part of former Yugoslavia and will be accepted into the EU, on what grounds is Croatia less eligible? Slovenia was never in history a state, while Croatia was one of the oldest European kingdoms centuries ago. Croatia was never part of the Balkans as the border was between Croatia and Serbia. It divided the Western culture and Christianity from the Eastern Orthodox, Byzantine and Muslim culture and religion. Croatia only became part of the Balkans when, without the privilege of a vote, it was united with Serbia and Slovenia into Yugoslavia in 1918. Croatians are simply not Balkan people, they are Central and Mediterranean Europeans, historically and culturally. Excellency, please consider these facts and do not let the EU push Croatia into these Balkan associations to which it does not belong any more than does Slovenia and which goes against the wishes of the Croatian people. Very truly yours, Hilda Marija Foley American Croatian Association 13272 Orange Knoll Santa Ana, Ca. 92705 USA Here is the answer: EUROPEAN COMMISSION Aug. 5, 2003 External Relations Directorate General Directorate Western Balkans The Director Dear Ms. Foley, Thank you for your letter of July 22 2003 addressed to the President of the European Commission, Mr. Romano Prodi. Mr. Prodi’s cabinet has asked me to reply on his behalf. I appreciate your close interest in EU-Croatian relation in general and, more specifically, in President Prodi’s recent speech in the Croatian Parliament. However, some of your remarks cannot be deducted from this speech or need to be clarified. First of all, regarding your rethoric question whether Croatia is less eligible for EU membership than slovenia, I limit myself to recalling the following dates: Slovenia applied for EU membership in June 1996. The Commission Opinion was issued in 1997 and Slovenia started negotiations in March 1998. These negotiations were concluded in December 2003 and, following the ratification of the accession treaty, Slovenia will join the EU in May 2004. Croatia applied for EU membership in February 2003 and the Commission is now in the process of examining this application in order to prepare its opinion. The criteria for accession are the same for these two countries as well as for all countries applying for membership. Membership requires that the candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for the protection of minorities; the existence of a functioning market economy, as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union; and the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aim of political, economic and monatery union. As you can see from these conditions, there is simplyno place for ethnic discrimination within the European Union. It is therefore consistent that the European Union, within its Stabilisation and Association Process, insists on refugee return, be it in Croatia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina or in Serbia and Montenegro, be the refugees of Croatian, Serb or of any other origin. Within its CARDS programme, the European Commission has been providing significant financial assistance for housing reconstruction in Croatia in order to facilitate refugee return. Finally, the European Commission has not required Croatia to open its borders without visa requirements to Serbia and Montenegro. However, it welcomes and promotes all initiatives leading to increased co-operation and exchanges, including business exchanges, between these two countries. The fight against organized crime which you mention is also a prime example of a problem that can only be tackled if all the countries of the region co-operate. Moreover, regional co-operation is of course an excellent training ground for membership in the European Union: after all the EU itself is an example of very advanced regional co-operation and integration. Yours sincerely, signed: Reinhard PRIEBE

Letter to European Commission and answer  Mr. Romano ProdiPresident European Commission July 22, 2003Rue de la Loi 200B1049 Bruxelles, BelgiqueExcellency:As Croatians in the Diaspora we follow closely the political and economicdevelopments in…

Matter of our choice To:radzind@hrw.orgCC:hrwatcheu@skynet.be, hrwnyc@hrw.org, hrwdc@hrw.org, hrwla@hrw.org, hrwsf@hrw.org, hrwuk@hrw.org, hrwgva@hrw.orgDear Ms. Radzin,I appreciate your answer to my letter related to HRW reporting on human rights in Croatia. Let me say a…

  Propaganda and the deceit of historyFrom: zhrepic@phys.ksu.edu  To: hrwatcheu@skynet.be CC: hrwnyc@hrw.org, hrwdc@hrw.org, hrwla@hrw.org, hrwsf@hrw.org, hrwuk@hrw.org, hrwgva@hrw.orgDear Ms. Leicht, In addition to my earlier letter related to your report on Human rights…

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF CROATIAN AMERICANSNFCAhdq@aol.com For Immediate Release Contact: Erik Milman202-331-2830NFCA CALLS ON HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH TO WITHDRAW REPORT ONCROATIA   Washington, D.C. (September 9, 2003). The National Federation of Croatian Americans…

  Language codes used in MEDLINE – HOW TO CHANGE IT ?Dear Dr. Petri,The language codes or abbreviations used in MEDLINE/PubMed correspond to those developed by the U.S. Library of Congress. The…

  Fair Play in the Balkans ?Ask Toronto Croats to call the National Post editorial board andask them to run the enclosed letter to the editor from Luka Misetic.Here is the editorial…

  Glenny article “Croatia’s dance with the EU” on BBC   To: newsonline@bbc.co.ukCc: talkingpoint@bbc.co.ukDate: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 Subject: Glenny article “Croatia’s dance with the EU Dear Editor: Misha Glenny has written…

“Terms of engagement”( Toronto Sun, July 27, 2003) Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 22:25:45 +0200 Toronto Sun  Dear Editor I’d like to congratulate Mr. Eric Margolis for his important, albeit disturbing piece,…

  Letter to the Guardian Editor in Chief Letters@guardian.co.uk Dear Editor:I find it ironic that someone like Julie Pascal feels she has the right to talk about racism in Croatia. I pity…