The horrendous Miro Bajramovic's confession about the crimes which were allegedly committed by the Croatian soldiers during the war has raised a lot of attention in the public recently; it has also produced an impression that everything had been done with the knowledge of the Croatian authorities. Does the confession discredit official policy of the Republic of Croatia?
Case Bajramovic can in no way discredit official Croatian policy, above all because of the prompt reaction of all relevant state bodies, police, state prosecutor's office, and courts. Had the reaction been different, one could talk like that. Nonetheless, the Croatian authorities have reacted quickly, competently and according to the law; thus, they responded to the publication of the information whose veracity should be checked in the regular investigative and judicial process.
While I absolutely condemn every crime, even those committed in a defensive war, if there were any, I think that it is necessary to point out signs that some political circles and newspapers close to them are trying to criminalize both the defensive war and the volunteers in general. Their goal is probably to force a confrontation between the Croatian state and Croatian volunteers. Because of that, I think that it is necessary to establish the facts, go through a trial and sentence those for whom it turns out that they had committed crimes in the Patriotic war. It is necessary to clearly distinguish between the honorable volunteers and criminals. All wars have their share of dishonorable people which we could refer to as "dogs of war". Unfortunately, Croatia wasn't spared of them. Nevertheless, it is absolutely clear that such behavior was an exception and cannot bring to question the character of the Croatian Patriotic war and all those young man, volunteers, members of Croatian Army and police, without whom we wouldn't have a state today. We should remember that a third of the Croatian territory was occupied. Croatian state wouldn't have survived without those young men.
Case Pakracka Poljana has been known for a while; it is well known that an investigation had been started, then halted. Did the state want to hide something by halting the investigation?
As far as I know at that time it was impossible to conduct an investigation because of the situation in the field.
Bajramovic accuses the leadership, he probably refers to president Tudman, of ordering the executions of Serbs. Can you respond to such a serious accusation, especially since it follows Paraga's suit in the Hague against president Tudman and minister [of defense] Susak?
Certain individuals are trying to discredit everything that has been achieved because of individual crimes; they want to indirectly accuse Croatian leadership of starting the war. Former minister of internal affairs Boljkovac has stated that the war was not necessary. All these statements are a part of arsenal of recognizable long term tendencies to produce different political relations in Croatia, relations in which president Tudman and HDZ would be "removed" from the scene by all means and in any way. Since 1990 president Tudman has sought a peaceful solution for the crisis; later when Croatia became a victim of an aggression he emphasized the importance of moral and ethical principles in military operations. His invitation to Serb population before the operation "Storm" [to remain in Croatia] is one in the string of arguments. It is clear that the goal of the accusations that Croatian leadership and president Tudman gave orders for crimes is to discredit Croatian state by discrediting its leadership.
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Is this case going to affect Croatia's standing on the international scene?
This case has received a lot of publicity in the world media. Croatian authorities gave the best possible response by arresting Bajramovic and three others. Croatian state has acted flawlessly in this case.
Bajramovic's testimony follows the recent accusations against president Tudman and minister [of defense] Susak which Dobroslav Paraga has sent to the Hague tribunal, and the accusations by Ivan Zvonimir Cicak. State prosecutor has started criminal proceedings against them. However, some believe that that was a mistake, because by doing so Croatia demonstrates that it is not a democratic country and that it persecutes political opponents. Your comment?
There is no doubt that Paraga's and Cicak's accusations are directed against the Croatian state. Although it is hard to say so, some of their recent actions can only be characterized as grand treason. The state prosecutor's office acted according to the law and its authority. If Paraga and Cicak are convinced that their accusations are true, they shouldn't avoid the judicial process since it provides them with a chance to prove that they are right.
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