CROWN – Croatian World Network

The State news agency Hina said the county court in Osijek, eastern Croatia, ruled that the six had arrested, tortured and expelled non-Serbs and confiscated their property in the eastern Baranja region during the 1991-95 war. They were members of the Serb militia, which rebelled against Zagreb’s independence from Yugoslavia, the agency said. They have already spent 18 months in custody and have two weeks to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court, it added. Croatia’s reformist rulers, who ousted nationalists from power in 2000, have vowed to investigate all war crimes committed by both Serbs and Croats during the war and bring those involved to trial. The six Serbs were the first to be sentenced since the reformers came to power. Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!

Look at these reports from RFE/HIC. As is clear, the EU are pressing ahead with the West Balkans federation project, using rhetoric such as “privileged relationship”. We have a mention of Croat “suspicion”. This is cobblers. Zagreb are 100% aware of what is going on. This “suspicion” is to pretend they are resisting regional ideas, when in fact they have enthusiastically accepted them. Will Zagreb refuse to take part in this latest development? Of course not. We move ever deeper into the Balkan quagmire. Brian EU CALLS FOR ‘PRIVILEGED RELATIONSHIP’ WITH THE BALKANS The EU Commission said in a report on its Balkan stabilization and association agreements issued in Brussels on 4 April that it wants to launch a new “Zagreb process” of cooperation with Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia, dpa reported. The study called for “enhanced arrangements for a political dialogue” in the wake of the November 2000 summit in Zagreb. It added that “such meetings would give a clear signal of the special and inclusive nature of the privileged relationship” between the EU and the Southeast European states and also help to promote “regional cooperation” between the five countries in the region. But Croats in particular are deeply suspicious of what they regard as attempts by Brussels to force them into a “new Yugoslavia” or to place them on the same political level as Serbia. PM EC: REGIONAL CO-OPERATION ABOVE ALL Bruxelles, April 5 (FPB) – The EC reported yesterday that the European Union intends to strengthen political dialogue and regional co-operation with five countries included in the Stabilisation and Association Process (Croatia, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania) by holding regular meetings at the ministerial level with political leaders in the region. In its first report for the year on the SAP, the EC proposes the establishment of a new political forum. Within the framework of the forum, conceived as a continuation of the successful (!) summit held in Zagreb in November 2000, political leaders from countries participating in the Process and their European colleagues would discuss key issues of common interest. Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!

Postovani g. Bach, primijetili smo u veleposlanstvu uznemirenost dijela Americkih Hrvata u e-mrezi koju Vi administrirate oko povlacenja s duznosti generalnog konzula Republike Hrvatske u Chicagu, g. Domagoja sole. Molimo Vas da posaljete u mrezu informaciju iz privitka. S postovanjem, Alan Vojvodic Drugi tajnik Veleposlanstvo Republike Hrvatske u SAD press@croatiaemb.org Postovani, djelatnici veleposlanstva primijetili su uznemirenost dijela Americkih Hrvata oko povlacenja s duznosti generalnog konzula Republike Hrvatske u Chicagu, g. Domagoja Sole. S tim u vezi zelimo obavijestiti zainteresirane da je rijec o redovnom povlacenju s diplomatske duznosti, koje se u hrvatskoj diplomaciji, kao i svugdje u svijetu, obicno dogadja nakon isteka mandata od cetiri godine i odnosi se na sve diplomate i osoblje svih diplomatsko-konzularnih predstavnistava. Tako se, primjerice, u ovom trenutku s duznosti povlaci i generalni konzul Republike Hrvatske u Los Angelesu, dr. Miso Munivrana. Po isteku cetverogodisnjeg mandata, diplomati se rasporedjuju na duznost u Ministarstvo vanjskih poslova u Zagrebu ili se, ukoliko su bili ugovorni diplomati, vracaju u maticne drzavne institucije ili kompanije. Nakon odredjenog razdoblja, obicno dvije godine, ponovo imaju prilike kao diplomati predstavljati Republiku Hrvatsku i izvan zemlje. I g. Sola i g. Munivrana svojim su znanjem, vjestinama i radom ucinili mnogo dobra za Republiku Hrvatsku i adekvatno je predstavljali u svojim sredinama. Stoga je razumljiva paznja koju Americki Hrvati iskazuju ovim hrvatskim diplomatima koji su svojim djelovanjem zasigurno ostavili trag i u zajednici Americkih Hrvata. zelimo, medjutim, istaknuti da je g. Soli i dr. Munivrani mandat trajao dulje od uobicajenog trajanja diplomatskih mandata. G. Sola duznost generalnog konzula u SAD (u Chicagu i, prije toga, u Clevelandu) obnasao je punih sedam godina, a dr. Munivrana duznost konzula u Los Angeleseu obnasao je cetiri godine i sedam mjeseci, Prema tome, ne moze biti govora ni o kakvom politickom obracunu s hrvatskim diplomatima ili mrznji za sve istinsko hrvatsko ili pak primjeni kriterija podobnosti, sto se moglo cuti vezano uz ova redovna povlacenja. Uvjereni smo, stoga, da su hrvatski diplomati koji su preuzeli duznosti g. Sole i dr. Munivrane to ucinili na najbolji moguci nacin te da ce pritom naici na podrsku i razumijevanje i Americkih Hrvata. Stojimo na raspolaganju za sve daljnje upite. S postovanjem, Alan Vojvodic Drugi tajnik Veleposlanstvo Republike Hrvatske u SAD Distributed by www.CroatianWorld.net. This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!