The visits of their compatriots to the local Serbs wouldn't be bothersome if their goal was to enable the local Serbs to nurture their culture and tradition. Unfortunately, in Serbia and FRY many still don't understand that the Danube region Serbs do not need fake support, but the real support which does not contain nationalist politics. Nevertheless, since the local Serb politicians cannot find friendly words for the Croats who are returning [to the Croatian Danube region] not only as officials but also as expelled former neighbors, it is clear that the pilgrims from FRY do not call for reconciliation, but can only cause additional trouble.
So far we haven't seen a welcome offered to an ordinary non-Serb citizen by the official representatives of the local authorities; instead all actions regarding the return of Croats are being criticized, while the visits by Serbs from Serbia are a real holiday [for the local Serbs]. That can be understandable if we take into account nationalist tension, but the International community demands completely different behavior from Croats with the goal of reconciliation between the two nations.
However, as the international forces since the beginning of their mandate have tolerated pilgrimages from Serbia and FRY and as even the former temporary administrator J.P. Klein insisted on soft borders, the Croatian Danube region is still an Eldorado for those whose goal is to agitate Serb population. Because, if one insists on reconciliation, continued links of the local population with Serbia are yet another reason why that reconciliation may never succeed, because those who arrive from comfortable environment, find it easiest to release their nationalist frustration in front of an audience hungry for their words.
And everyone knows well that the Serbs in Croatia opted for a rebellion and aggression according to the orders from Belgrade and that they received necessary assistance in armaments and people from FRY. That's why at the time when it is necessary to work on reconciliation, it is definitely not good that those who did evil before should continue their destructive work.
No one in Croatia intends and can forbid Serbs to rely on their motherland, but if that gives them an excuse to spit on everything Croatian, then we must pause because of such behavior. Because, if Serbs are so intolerant of Croats that they even do not want to take part in Croatian sport competition, but continue to compete within some regional leagues, if they are announcing a cultural happening in which Serb, but not Croat, children will exhibit their drawings, then we must ask a question: who do they intend to reconcile with and who are they going to align with? All that at the time when UNTAES demands from Croats to even establish a "day of national reconciliation".
However, since UNTAES allows organization of dubious manifestation by Serbs from Serbia, it is obvious that the only goal of reconciliation is to additionally humiliate Croat refugees and even prevent them from returning to their homes.
Translated on 10/2/97