I recall nights in my birthplace Solin, spent awake behind darkened windows, when we were shaking and fearfully peeking outside wondering whether Chetniks, stationed in the Italian barracks, would come and slaughter us, the way they did in Gate in Poljice, where they slaughtered innocent children, women and elderly. Even then the horror of that act most of all affected those who could not comprehend that settlers murdered those who had received them, endangered and expelled by the Ottoman Turks, in their hospitable homeland.
But the Communist authorities in the former Yugoslavia, with their center in Belgrade, with the assistance of the Serb police, military and propaganda advantage managed for almost fifty years to malign, both within the former Yugoslavia and abroad, Croats because of Ustashe crimes in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a creation of the occupier, and denounce the whole Croat nation as genocidal, while at the same time hiding Serb-Chetnik crimes committed in the very heart of Croatia during WWII. And this other lot, that now only seeks Croat crimes from the Homeland War, is repeating the practice from the Communist Yugoslavia.
We are witnesses of the daily inflation of the number of indictments of Croats, participants in the Homeland War. The trials of individuals accused of committing crimes in the defense and liberation of the Homeland are increasingly numerous. Almost all the media emphasize trials under headlines such as "crimes in Gospic", "crimes in Lora", "crimes in Pakracka Poljana", "crimes in Sibenik", etc. thereby demonstrating that in the defensive war only defenders committed crimes. I wonder, could it be that even now Croats are condemned to be unable to enjoy freedom, because they are always burdened by various types of accusations and pressures? Is that a way to learn how to appreciate freedom?
But, if any crimes of Serb-occupiers and conquerors of Croatia are investigated and tried, that is done very discretely to make sure the Serb minority is not offended. The Serb minority even now, led by Milorad Pupovac and Milan Djukic and other Serb political leaders in Croatia, is again claiming persecution in Croatia, so that they can continue to use perfidious means to persecute the Croat majority. And precisely truth brings me to the thought that, just like Chetnik crimes in WWII were hidden in the former Yugoslavia, the Serb crimes in this war will be again hidden and with time forgotten, even though they started the war in Croatia and exterminated Croats for almost five years, and destroyed everything Croat and Catholic in the territory they occupied so that they could joint that territory, ethnically cleansed, to the mother Serbia. Their crimes are increasingly frequently forgiven, as if that is the condition for the Croatian entry into the European community of nations. Consequently those who fill in the cracks of their vengeful activities are resurfacing again, so that it is not surprising that Stipe Suvar as a participant in the persecution of Croats during the Communist rule is again showing up, but in a new role as the president of the Socialist Worker's Party and editor-in-chief of the magazine of some sort of Croat left who claims in his magazine that "in war crimes in Sisak 107 individuals were killed, while another 600 are considered to be missing". Then, he maliciously concludes: "the goal of crimes was ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Sisak. Due to mass hysteria, about a third of Serbs left Sisak". That "leftist" has never mentioned Croat victims because, for him, they do not exist! Not only did he not want an independent and democratic Croatia but he is now trying to prove with all his might that independent Croatia was created by crime. Naturally, he is immediately joined by Milorad Pupovac who says that "worse crimes were committed in Sisak than in Lora!". Then, in a synchronized attack, there is also Milan Djukic who claims that several thousands of Serbs were killed in Banovina, while the "defender" of Pakrac and "fighter" for human rights Dzakula talks about Croat crimes against Serbs, so it seems there is no end to trials of Croat defenders. To make sure we avoid the fate experienced in the former Yugoslavia and repeat history, it is necessary to shed light on events with will for the truth, because "just like evil includes lies, good includes the truth". It is necessary to say that Serb settlers in Croatia, whenever Croats wanted to renew their independent state, following instructions of the expansionist policy that started in mid-nineteenth century in the small princely state of Serbia with infamous Garasanin's Nacertanije [foreign policy manual], and continued to come from Belgrade until today, rose to an armed rebellion in Croatia. When in 1941, with the assistance of occupiers the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was established, they founded in Knin (Croat royal city!) Chetnik formations led by priest Momcilo Djujic, and assisted by the Italian occupier spread death and destruction all over Croatia. Serb-Chetniks did the same in 1991, again in Knin, this time led by Milan Martic and Milan Babic when the democratic independent Croatia was established, but now with generous assistance from the pro-Serb Yugoslav People's Army and Belgrade. Those two armed Serb rebellions resulted in the most tragic consequences in Croatia, both for Croats and Serb settlers, as if the goal was to implement the infamous ultimatum to the Croat people, published in 1904 in the midst of Zagreb, in the Serb magazine Srbobran: "To extermination, yours and ours!" I wonder, was there any other settled people, in the history of humanity, which found shelter and protection in hospitable and always open country like Croatia, to and made such a criminal threat to the host nation? (...)