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"Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Wes vs. Slobo
FW: NYC COUNCIL VOTE POSTPONED
IMF and Sanader
That's F***ing Beautiful!
Lost Opportunities
Who runs Bosnia?
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 11:40:59 -0500
Subject: Wes vs. Slobo
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/international/europe/14BOSN.html?th
Tommorow, Milosevic's gets a chance to cross-examine general Clark, a
man that bombed his country. Given that Milosevic often ranted how
the only true war crimes committed in the wars for Yugoslav
succession were those of NATO bombing Serbia in 1999, for which
general Clark holds command responsibility, a session between
Milosevic and Clark may be a very interesting one. At least, that
should prove the fairness of The Hague tribunal to the recalcitrant
opponents. I do not recollect Goering had been able to cross-examine
Eisenhower.
Unfortunately, general Clark, one of Democratic presidential
contenders, will give his testimony behind the close doors and
flanked by two US government lawyers, making sure that most tasty
details do not reach us mere mortals.
ivo---------------------------------------------------------
Ivo Skoric
19 Baxter Street
Rutland VT 05701
802.775.7257
ivo@balkansnet.org
balkansnet.org
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 22:15:48 -0500
Subject: FW: NYC COUNCIL VOTE POSTPONED
The capture of Saddam Hussein ended up as bad for our civil
liberties! Vote on the NYC bill of rights of immigrants resolution
was postponed today - because of the Saddam capture. So that noble
supporters of the Bill wouldn't get misunderstood by skinheads,
xenophobes, and isolationists....
ivo
NYC COUNCIL VOTE POSTPONED
The NYC Council postponed its vote on NYC's Bill of Rights Resolution
-- Resolution 909 -- until January 21, 2004.
In the morning, the Governmental Operations Committee, chaired by
Bill Perkins, voted the resolution out of committee by a much larger
margin than expected, 7-2. In the afternoon Speaker Gifford Miller
publicly affirmed his strong support for the resolution and made a
commitment to bring the resolution to a vote at the Council's first
meeting of 2004.
The reason given for the postponement was the breaking news regarding
the capture of Saddam Hussein. Several strong supporters of the
resolution expressed concerned that a vote for the resolution would
be misunderstood or misrepresented, or both.
We will be in touch regarding next steps to ensure passage of the
resolution in January.
Donna Lieberman
Executive Director
New York Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad St.
NY 10004
212-344-3005
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:49:26 -0500
Subject: IMF and Sanader
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-croatia-
cabinet.html
In yesterdays article (Reuters / New York Times) about the change of
government in Croatia, Ivo Sanader is generally given a passing mark,
by being called a "pragmatic technocrat" (which in the West is not an
insult, like it use to be in the communist former Yugoslavia, where
people in the 1970's even got jail-time for being labeled
"technocrats"), albeit cautiously because Sanader is HDZ, and HDZ is
Tudjman's party, and Tudjman - "the hardline nationalist" - was never
considered a good guy by the NYT.
More interesting is to read the article "between the lines" to see
what worries does the liberal capitalist West still really have
regarding Croatia.
1) The HDZ brought Croatia "to international isolation because of its
defiance of the West and poor human rights" -> while I am not
particularly fond of Tudjman's HDZ, I don't see how the NYT got to
that conclusion, because a) Croatia was never under international
isolation after 1991 - there was criticism, threats, etc. - but never
isolation, b) Tudjman never defied the West - he did moves that
angered the West a bit, but he always bowed to pressure when needed,
c) while human rights record of Tudjman's Croatia was not exemplary,
it is hard to - reading the comprehensive Human Rights Watch reports -
label it POOR (particularly in light of other regional countries
whose h.r. record was judged by HRW comparatively worse to
Croatia's).
2) >>Political analyst Davor Gjenero said Sanader had secured his
cabinet a peaceful start until the 2004 budget is passed in late
March. ``Only after that, and after getting the EU's opinion on our
candidacy, shall we see his administration's true face.''
An editorial in Novi List daily said the cabinet lacked ``big names.
It is therefore hard to know what to expect.''<< This is trying to
find reasons why Sanader would fail. A country of 4.5 million does
not have many big names, so it is reasonable to expect that its
administration would fall on the backs of less renowned
personalities. Gjenero is right - but then, that truth holds for any
government anywhere in the world.
3) >>Local media has suggested the new government will receive four
new indictments from the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The
Hague in January.
Cooperation with the tribunal is key to Croatia's EU candidacy and
anything short of handing over the suspects will put Sanader on a
collision course with Brussels.<< That's the perennial Damocle's
sword over any government of Croatia. The warning is out: Sanader
will have a choice between appeasing the domestic right wing
constituency by hiding war crimes suspects, or appeasing the
Eurocrats by sending the suspects to The Hague. Any Croatian prime
minister would have the same choice. Conventional wisdom is that
Sanader, because he is HDZ, will protect the war crimes suspects from
The Hague. That's where his opponents wait for him to break. But we
should not rush to judgement so soon - because he is HDZ, Sanader
may, on the other hand, paradoxally, have easier time sending them to
The Hague... He may build his right wing credentials elsewhere -
civil rights activists in Croatia better be on lookout for where that
is going to be!
4) >>Finance Minister Ivan Suker, a former tax expert, will have to
balance election promises of higher pensions and benefits with
announced tax cuts.
Suker told state television this week the cabinet will most probably
vote at its first session to cut value added tax to 20 percent from
22 percent -- a move seen as potentially risky by the International
Monetary Fund. <<
Ah, the sweetest part was saved for the end of the article. Why would
a bastion of laissez-faire capitalism, like IMF, find it potentially
risky for a small country to cut its atrociously hight sales tax?
22%! No governor of any American state would survive passing a 22%
value added tax in his legislature. People would put him in the
mental institution under close observation. Croatia's and
international economists widely agree that 22% VAT hampers Croatia's
economy, turns away investors, slows down economic growth, increases
unemployment - in general the tax should have been cut from 22% to
12%, yet the new government would do it just to 20%, and even that
move is seen "potentially risky" by the IMF. The IMF should be in
favor of cutting the tax if it is interested in healthy growth of
Croatian economy. Sadly, the IMF is only interested in Croatia's
ability to re-pay its foreign debt and interest - and those payments
are largely financed by the outrageously high VAT. IMF is afraid that
if the VAT is reduced, Croatia may default on the debt payments.
Which may hold true in any case - given the size of the debt (big)
and the size of the economy (small). That has nothing to do with VAT.
It has everything to do with the lack of Marshall Plan for the
Balkans. Countries devastated by wars, sanctions, and bad governance,
simply cannot be expected to function well on loans. That was
understood in 1945, but it seems that the West and IMF refuse to
understand that now. Countries that helped precipitate the fall of
former Yugoslavia and encouraged independence movements in its
constitutive parts, are under moral obligation now to make this part
of the world economically and politically stable. Pushing those
emerging democracies in debt severally times larger than the size of
their economies will not bring peace and stability to Europe.
ivo
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:49:23 -0500
Subject: That's F***ing Beautiful!
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/24/nyregion/24BRUC.html?th
Arrest the living, pardon the dead! What the story of comedian Lenny
Bruce really reveals is that a man could be arrested solely for his
speech in the land of the constitutional first amendement protecting
that free speech as late as 1964. At that time the US vigorously
protested similar arrests in the Soviet Bloc. It was shameful that he
was arrested, and it is shameful that he did not win the pardon while
alive. Interestingly, he could not get work following his jail time
and his life ended miserably in two years after that - just as lives
of many Eastern European dissidents did, once they were declared
outlaws. Now, a Republican Governer pardons Lenny with a lifetime
delay, only to shore up his first amendement credentials in face of
his shameful support to the Patriot Act which denies the first
amendement rights to the living.
ivo
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
To: ed Agro <edagro@verizon.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2003 10:13:29 -0500
Zvezdan Jovanovic, man accused of killing Djindjic, now faces trial
in Belgrade. Of course, he accuses authorities of mounting a
political process against him. A former policeman and torturer
himself, now he blames the police for beating the plea out of him,
and refuses to enter the plea in the court. This all, indeed, comes
politically on the eve of elections in which bad guys are supposed to
win (Seselj's nationalists).
40 lawyers, defending Jovanovic et alia on trial for killing prime
minister Djindjic, walked out of the courtroom in protest over the 3-
panel judge handling of the case. Added to that is the UN legal
observer's statement noting "the apparent meddling" of politics in
the proceedings: "The chief judge is acting both as a judge and a
prosecutor."
Inevitably, the trial is tainted before it even begun. The only
question now is - was it intentional to be this way?
ivo
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Chaos Erupts at Serb Assassination Trial
APO 24/12/2003 13:13
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The
information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written
authority of the Associated Press.
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press Writer
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- The trial of the accused
assassins of Serbia's prime minister descended into turmoil
Wednesday when the alleged triggerman refused to enter a plea and
defense attorneys walked out of the courtroom in protest.
Zvezdan Jovanovic, former commander of an elite Serbian police
unit who is charged with firing the fatal sniper shot that killed
Zoran Djindjic on March 12, said he was framed by pro-Western
authorities.
"I have been exposed to tremendous pressure by these authorities,"
said Jovanovic, 38. "I have been proclaimed guilty even before the
trial had started."
Authorities initially said Jovanovic confessed to the slaying. But
his defense attorneys claim he was pressured during the police
interrogation and was not told that everything he said could be used
against him in court.
"I don't trust this court and the judiciary of this country," said
Jovanovic, whose police unit fought in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.
Wednesday's courtroom proceedings were cut short when 40 defense
lawyers representing the 36 suspects in Djindjic's killing walked
out, claiming the three-judge panel was biased and incapable of
handling the case.
If they do not return Thursday, the court would have to appoint
lawyers for the policemen and alleged gangsters charged with
Djindjic's killing.
That would jeopardize the fairness of the trial, which is
considered a crucial test of the independence of Serbia's
judiciary in the wake of President Slobodan Milosevic's ouster in
2000.
Milosevic was ousted by Djindjic's coalition and extradited to the
U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, to face charges
stemming from the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The trial began three days ago in a high-security courtroom in
Belgrade. A U.N. court observer said the trial has many flaws,
including "the apparent meddling" of politics in the proceedings.
"The chief judge is acting both as a judge and a prosecutor," said
Aleksandar Cvejic, legal adviser for the U.N. commissioner for human
rights. "That is unacceptable."
Jovanovic's lawyer, Nenad Vukasovic, said authorities were using
the trial to boost their chances in Serbia's key parliamentary
elections Sunday. Ultranationalists, who are allies of Milosevic, are
predicted to win, according to pre-election polls.
Djindjic was killed in a sniper attack in front of his government
headquarters in Belgrade. The indictment says Jovanovic fired two
shots from a window in a building close to government headquarters,
one killing Djindjic and the other seriously injuring his bodyguard,
Milan Veruovic.
The suspects are charged with killing Djindjic in order to
overthrow his pro-Western government and replace it with Milosevic
allies.
Thirteen men are charged with direct involvement in the attack
while the remaining 23 are alleged members of their criminal group
and face other charges.
Twenty-two suspects are appearing in court, while 14 remain at
large and are being tried in absentia.
The fugitives include the alleged mastermind of the assassination
and the chief suspect, Milorad Lukovic, who commanded the elite
Red Berets during the Balkan wars.
Jovanovic was Lukovic's deputy in the special police unit.
During Milosevic's war crimes trial, Lukovic was accused by
Bosnian Muslim witnesses of torturing them in a Serb-run
concentration camp.
----End Forwarded Message(s)----
------- End of forwarded message -------------------------------------
Ivo Skoric
19 Baxter Street
Rutland VT 05701
802.775.7257
ivo@balkansnet.org
balkansnet.org
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 11:33:09 -0500
Subject: Lost Opportunities
Milorad Pupovac - quoted by BBC here - the vice-president of SDSS,
the leading Serb minority party in Croatia - as one of the founders
of the Society for Yugoslav Democratic Initiative in 1988, was always
a part of Zagreb's left-leaning academic circle, which naturally
supported Racan, and viewed HDZ with suspicion a New York Democrat
would reserve for George W.
So, how could it possibly be that Racan missed the opportunity to get
the support of SDSS in this elections? SDSS just sought what Croatian
law had promised to them, and what the international community asks
from Croatia as one of the preconditions to be accepted to talks
about getting into EU: return of Serb refugees.
It remains puzzling why Racan could not deliver. Sanader,
nevertheless, jumped on the opportunity, showing surprising
statesmanship and political astuteness. Improbably, the new HDZ-led
cabinet will help Serbs who fled Croatia during the 1991-1995 war to
regain possession of their properties by the end of 2004.
Bold promise. Sanader - the supposed right winger - will do the
Croatia's left wing bidding: something that Racan was promising for
years to do, but somehow always found a reason to fail, Sanader said
he would do AND in just one year. Visa regime is not a big issue -
Racan's government did that already - Sanader just needs to continue
the policy.
But if Sanader-Pupovac agreement helps return of Serb refugees to
Krajina - without a major insurgency on the right in Croatia -
Croatia may be one big step closer to the EU membership, which may
secure Sanader's ticket to re-election, since good relationship with
EU seems to be the major vote winner in Croatia, judging by the
polls. Meaning, that Racan, by missing this opportunity, might have
lost not just the current elections, but also the future ones.
Of course, Sanader may still fail. But it is very refreshing to see a
politician in the "Western Balkans" willing to take his chances.
ivo
__________________________
BBC News
Croatian Serbs win minority rights
The main ethnic Serb political party in Croatia has agreed to back
the nationalist-led government in return for concessions on minority
rights.
Under the deal, the new HDZ-led cabinet will help Serbs who fled
Croatia during the 1991-1995 war to regain possession of their
properties by the end of 2004.
The Serb party, SDSS, said it would also push for Croatia to scrap
visa regime with Serbia-Montenegro.
Croatia is under pressure to improve its minority rights to join the
EU.
The deal comes as the HDZ - Croatian Democratic Union - prepares to
take office next week, after winning elections in November.
The HDZ, which secured 66 of the 152 seats in parliament when it
defeated the centre-left coalition, will depend on outside support to
rule.
The SDSS - Autonomous Democratic Serbian Party - has three deputies
in the parliament.
Political inclusion
"For us, it's a good start that HDZ has agreed to work on resolving
our main problems," SDSS vice-president Milorad Pupovac told
reporters.
"We will see how they put it into practice," Mr Pupovac added.
He stressed that the main issues in the agreement were restoring the
property rights of ethnic Serbs and also full political inclusion of
the Serb community as guaranteed by Croatia's law on minority rights.
The SDSS said it would not formally join the HDZ-led cabinet, but
would support it in parliament.
HDZ's leader Ivo Sanader says he will ask parliament to vote on the
deal on Monday.
EU ambition
Analysts say the deal means that the Serb party no longer views the
HDZ - which led Croatia to independence in 1991 and later into
international isolation with its nationalist policies - as a threat.
Mr Sanader says he has reformed and moderated the party.
He says his government's priorities will be raising living standards,
resolving unsettled issues with neighbours and acquiring European
Union membership.
Earlier this month, the EU urged the new Croatian Government to co-
operate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia.
The EU also called on Zagreb and fulfil its promises on minority
rights and the return of nearly 300,000 Serb refugees. Story from BBC
NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/3336257.stm
Published: 2003/12/20 04:36:20 GMT
© BBC MMIII
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ivo Skoric
19 Baxter Street
Rutland VT 05701
802.775.7257
ivo@balkansnet.org
balkansnet.org
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From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 11:33:07 -0500
Subject: Who runs Bosnia?
Sarajevo's newspaper Oslobodjenje (Liberation) published an article
on December 20, 2003, about the visit of Bosnian minister of foreign
affairs to Israel.
Despite objections by the chief of State (which in Bosnian case means
the 3-headed presidency), Mladen Ivanic, Bosnian foreign minister,
proceded with his unauthorized visit to Israel, leaving an open
question about the chain of command within the Bosnian government.
Sulejman Tihic, a Bosnian Muslim constituent member of the
presidency, and the representative of the SDA party, objected to
Ivanic's visit on grounds that Ivanic, a Croat, and HDZ member,
decided to meet only Israelis, refusing to meet Yaser Arafat.
Tihic, probably rightfully, believes that such a visit will sour
relations between Bosnia and Arab Muslim countries that helped Bosnia
with money, arms, and, even, fighters, during the war 1992-1995.
However, another member of presidency, Borislav Paravac, a Serb,
agrees with Ivanic's visit to Israel, and with his decision not to
meet with Arafat. And the Croat member of the presidency, Covic,
keeps silent on the issue.
This sad story underlines the sorry state of affairs in Dayton
Bosnia. The reality is that the glorified peace agreement does not
amount to more than a supervised cease fire between Bosnia's
constituent peoples, whose political representatives continue to
represent only their ethnic agendas with no regard to the national
interest of the country as a whole.
One country, two entities, three peoples - and three separate
militaries, three separate electrical power grids, three separate
foreign policies, a total of 16 squabbling governments - and millions
of displaced, dispossessed, deprivileged people at their mercy.
Sometimes it seems that only people devoted to preserving the country
of Bosnia are foreigners. That's why office of the high
representative cannot be abandoned...
ivo
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