ZAP / ARK
GAJEVA 55
10 000 ZAGREB
CROATIA
zap_zg@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/3707/
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... today 's day was so good. A small expedition of five of us went on
our
bikes to Kamenica - a village 15 km from Kraljevo, towards the Goc mountain.
Atmosphere was very relaxed. We foulled around and without any hurry
advanced in the direction of our destination. Green forest, awakened nature
and a beautifull day, made us almost completely forget our situation, and
that because of increasing number of "accidental" mistakes of smart missiles
and even brighter NATO pilots we are potential targets just like any other
participant in traffic. We even made some jokes on that account.
A day spent in nature, in playing table tennis, with ball, dogs, listening
to music, eating some food and in a good mood brought energy back into
my
ruined body which is beeing trapped between 4 walls and in front of the
computer for the last couple of days. But it was inevitable to mention
the
damn bombing. Somebody asked:"what did they hit last night?" and then we
started talking about Cacak and catastrophy which has stroken that city.
The
peace and innocence of newborn forest around us was destroyed in a moment.
We went back to the city very fast, as almost the whole way is downhill.
We
will definitevly repeat this trip. Maybe even tommorow. I even managed
to
get some sun ten, and i am glad because of that...
***************************************
Subject: Fw: McDonalds'
Date: Wed, 5 May 1999
We are horror-stricken by the magnitude of insanity that is revealing over
our country. While the planet sleeps, the felons are rubbing their hands
satisfied with their misdeeds. As we are a nation that is faithful to
justice, we believe that the ones responsible will get their punishment.
To this world here, on the west, one can say all sorts of different things,
they will accept it. Their capacity of general philanthropic activities
has
been used up in relationships with animals who have an exalted place in
their lives. They are persistently trying to humanize them - convinced
that
this the aim of animal evolution, and at the same time animalising
themselves, better to say demising themselves from the true human
values.
Maybe they never had it at all - how would they otherwise despoil half
of
our planet during the past centuries. Almost all countries joined in our
collective aggressor were colonial. Genocide was often, maybe even
regularly, their means of conquest. We all know that the wolf only
changes
its fur but not his nature. Here there are today with the same dark passions
in the old never abandoned mission. As world has progressed in the meantime,
the methods should have been adjusted, but the essence has unavoidably
stayed the same: killing, terror, the denial to the right of freedom for
others. Where the corruption is not working, there are killing
means to
re-educate. The law of force as an inviolable means on the international
plan, is today openly and without shame announcing itself as a general
method of the next millennium.
Why has Belgrade restored the demolished McDonalds', as we find out ? Is
that the expression of our not yet healed weakness towards the west, the
same west who is bombarding us and demolishing without a trace of bad
conscience?
Is that the indicator of our immaturity, lack of self-confidence? Are we
still doubting about who we are and how much we are worth in a moment when
we are giving the whole world a lecture about the most exalted human
behavior? Has someone sold his own dignity for a handful of dollars,
allowing even at this moment, our till now greatest enemy, to feed
us with
his cheap burgers. Seems that the McDonald brothers' are enthusiastic
with
the burgers and similar specialties while traveling in the Balkans, and
equipped with an enterprising spirit, have developed an unimagined
successful business through that idea. How successful? Very indeed, because
it's image is indecisive even to those who are at the moment the
most
glorious representatives of the human kind.
Citizens of Belgrade, why do you support America's economy, while you don't
know whether you will live to see the next day after the flying over of
her
bombers at night above your homes? It seems that the generosity of our
people sometimes is incomprehensible. The world is not that friendly
and
filled with understanding and love as much we see it or imagine it to be
because we wish for it. Pure interest, above all of material kind,
is
rouling as the solely means of communication in the West. However, a certain
amount of it seems necessary for survival. Pure liberality as if was
anachron, so one needs to be careful in its revealing, especially towards
an
enemy. We are a strange nation for lots of people, but let us not be
imprudent and let the next generations carry our ancestry on their backs
because of some of our characteristics. Just the same as we are now facing
the weaknesses of the legacy form our ancestors.
Our wish to unselfishly help those who are in trouble, hasn't always
returned to us in the shape of an award, but almost as a punishment. Isn't
it time to start to control this urge, after we weigh it in case of a
concrete move according to the concrete implications in the present, and
the
near and far future. Let not be lightly wasteful with generosity, humanity
and similar human qualities. Let's learn first and always to think what
will
enable us and our children with a safer and happier future. It is not
egoistic to think about oneself first, rather an imperative of a common
sense. Maybe the world criminals do not tolerate us and punish us
for our
heart and soul by which leads us. I believe that we can better equip
ourselves with caution, than they will connect with their heart and
spirituality. A long evolution is necessary for that.
Into the 21st century without McDonalds - what a victory that will be!
Vesna
***************************************
The evening of Friday, April 9, 1999
At this moment, as I am sitting on my balcony, my street seems incredibly
quiet. It is a bit before 8.00 pm and I guess, most of the people are in
their houses watching the news. As the private TV stations developed and
their evening editions of the news became more and more interesting and
worth watching, every day between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, in our house 4
half-an-hour broadcasts are watched. It is really good and important to
see
that finally, the news programmes are not just showing what happened and
who
said what, but also giving their own opinions and comments. In general,
I am
very happy with the development of both electronic and written media in
Macedonia.
While I am writing this, the noise of the military aircraft doesnít stop.
Every time I hear them, I cannot help thinking whether this aircraft is
about to bomb something in Yugoslavia. I have a lot of friends in all parts
of Yugoslavia and of course I am worried. But what I feel even more than
the
fear is the anger. Anger towards the NATO troops and the hypocrisy of the
European Union and the ěInternational Communityî. I cannot stand the
hypocrisy on the faces of those who decide whether and how severe my friends
in Yugoslavia will be bombed or decide upon the destiny of the Kosovo
refugees. As I watch the news and I get angry, every other moment I need
to
get up, walk around the room or spend a moment on the balcony. Fortunately,
I quit smoking a year ago.
It is an interesting coincidence that I found myself reading an excellent
book about Sarajevo, by the Bosnian journalist Hamza Bakshicc. The book
is
called ěSarajeva vishe nemaî (Sarajevo doesnít exist anymore) and in a
form
of a diary describes the events from 1992-1995. The other coincidence is
that I found this book in the flat of my friend in Belgrade that I have
just
recently visited, just before the NATO ejaculation started. I go trough
the
pages and I cannot help spotting the similarities in the hypocritical
behavior of the International Community (The International Lords of War)
in
the case of Bosnia and now in the case of Kosovo. I also spot the similar
fear in the air, the panic and the feeling of despair between the people
here, the unbearable heaviness of being in the Balkans.
As I have already written in some other occasions, I still believe the
war
is coming to Macedonia. But, at this moment, what concerns me even more
is
the situation with the refugees. The refugees that had to leave their homes
and their lives behind and forced to ěomnia mea mecum portoî are once again
being used in the dirty games. That is really sick. As sick as the
statements of the different world politicians and responsible for refugees.
They are saying ěthe refugees need to stay in the region because it will
be
easier for them to return homeî. Only a stupid person or somebody completely
ignorant about the situation in the Balkans can say this. I am only
concerned that such people are deciding upon our destiny. Just think about
the statement of one of the ěworriedî about the refugees who accused the
Macedonian government for not building tennis and football playgrounds
in
the refugees camps. Hey, I, who live in this country for 23 years have
never
had a tennis nor football playground nearby. GET REAL!!!
But I would like to write a bit more about the statements that the refugees
should stay in the region in order to be easier for them to return home.
It
is NOT the distance that prevents the refugees to come home, but the
situation in their home countries and towns! Sorry guys (and girls) but
I do
not buy this. Do not try to hide the unwillingness of your countries (all
of
them MUCH wealthier than Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro TOGETHER) to
house refugees by giving such statements. Nobody here believes in this!
In 1992, we had refugees from Bosnia in our house. They were Bosnjaks (the
official Bosnian name for people previously labeled as Bosnian Muslims)
and
they fled from a town which is now in Republika Srpska where it is very
difficult to be even now, unless you are a Bosnian Serb. This family left
for Sweden which we all know, is quite far from Bosnia (the term ědistanceî
becomes a very interesting one. Politicians fly hundreds of miles every
day,
just to go somewhere and talk about ědistancesî). The daughter returned
last
year to Sarajevo and settled there after 6 years spent in Sweden. Her
parents didnít. They do not want to go to Sarajevo, they want to go to
the
town where they used to live before. But, they are afraid to do so because
of their names. The geographical distance between Bosnia and Sweden is
the
same for both the daughter and the parents, and as shown IT IS NOT THE
REASON why the parents do not return to Bosnia. Should I say more?
And there is more to this. Macedonia is a very poor country and our economy
was already dead and unable to satisfy the needs of the people already
living here. How can one expect that Macedonia will be able to cover the
needs of all these refugees? The one-time support in money, blankets and
food, so much praised by the International Community is just offending
me.
Why offending? Because I, as a citizen of this world, am expected to believe
that that will solve the problems. Well, I am not so stupid. These refugees
need to eat, drink, sleep, wash and go to toilet several times a day. And
what about the health care? What about some activities to help them overcome
the situation they were put in? Macedonia will never be able to provide
this.AND, even more important is the ethnic affiliation of the refugees.
It
is true that a number of 100.000-200.000 (mostly Albanian) Kosovo refugees
in a country of 2 million inhabitants makes a big difference. The
Macedonians are scared as the ethnic tensions have being growing for a
long
time now and this is just like oil on fire. People are scared, but the
state
and the International Community again, are failing to organise activities
to
promote tolerance and understanding and speak openly about this.
I went yesterday to visit my Albanian friends. There have housed a refugee
family from Kosovo. In the part where my friends live, a lot of refugees
from Kosovo have been accepted by families of Macedonian Albanians. My
friend was telling me that the Macedonians in her building were scared.
I
can argue a lot whether and how much this fear is justified, but in any
case, the important thing is that THERE IS FEAR!!! And it is high time
that
somebody understands that this is something on which a lot of work needs
to
be done. Of course, if we want to decrease it.
The refugees in my friendsí house are afraid and feel lost. My friends
are
also upset. Upset because they do not receive any financial support for
the
additional costs they have now for food, water and electricity. But, what
is
beven more present is the fear about their relatives that remained in
Kosovo. For a lot of them, they do not have any information, they do not
know whether they are alive and where they are, in which country.
Still, we tried yesterday to discuss other things; my anemia and the spinach
that I was eating in vain, my friendsí baby and his eating habits, as well
as, my ability to get lost everywhere. We try to discuss other things,
but
all the time, all of us feel that we are working only with 30% of the brain
capacity. The remaining 70% is occupied with the war.
BUT, I do not give up. I do not let the war take the 30% still living the
ěnormal lifeî. Every day I spend a lot of time sitting and reading (or
writing) on my balcony, enjoying the smell of the spring which is as
beautiful as usual. I enjoy watching the Dutch tulips in my garden, the
fruit trees my father is so worried about and the birds. The birds whose
song helps me to ignore a bit the noise of the planes. I was longing so
much
for the spring in Macedonia while I was living in the rainy Amsterdam.
And I
do not give it away, now that I have it.
I was writing to some friends that all the NGO work lost its meaning to
me
now and it had been one raison d'être to me before. From Amsterdam,
all the
NGO support groups (Indonesia, Bosnia, Nicaragua...), all that made so
much
sense and I was so inspired by their work... But, I was in Amsterdam then.
Now, when I am in the war zone, all these efforts seem ridiculous and in
vain. In vain, because I receive every day loads of emails accusing the
war
and the bombing. I receive them just before I hear the news reporting the
new bombings, the new killings and the new refugee crises. So, how can
I
believe that all these NGO efforts make any sense? That is why I decided
to
have a new mission; to make people smile. Instead of forwarding the emails
about NATO, Miloshevicc, Solana and Kosovo, I decided to forward funny
and
funky emails, jokes and poems. I also decided to use all my positive energy
when I speak with people behind the counters, in the shops and on the
streets. I decided to smile. And I notice that my ěmissionî is successful.
A
lot of people have wrote to me saying how thankful they were about the
laugh. And I notice that people react positively when I smile, so I will
continue my mission, no matter how silly and naive it may seem to some
people. The ěpositive energyî way, as I learned from my friends from Bosnia,
is one of the individual ways to resist the war. So, I am promoting it.
HannaH
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I am sending you the latest document from our still active NGO group. Please
distribute it as much as possible.
We are getting used to wait for the air raids at night. So one may say
that
night life in Belgrade is wild, noisy and you never know what may hit you.
Sincerelly
Miljenko
LETTER TO ALBANIAN FRIENDS FROM NONGOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Dear friends,
We are writing to you in these difficult moments of our shared suffering.
Convoys of Albanians and other citizens of Kosovo, among whom many of you,
were forced to leave their homes. The killings and expulsions, homes
destroyed and burnt, bridges, roads and industrial buildings demolished
-
paint a somber and painful picture of Kosovo,
Serbia and Montenegro, as in indicating that life together is no longer
possible. We, however, believe that it is necessary and possible.
The better future of citizens of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, of Serbs
and
Albanians, as citizens of one state or closest neighbors, will not arrive
by
itself, or over night. But it is something we can and must work on together,
as we have many times in the past, not so long ago. We know that it will
now
be very difficult, and sometimes very
painful. The example of the German-French postwar reconciliation and
cooperation could serve as a model and stimulus.
In the sake of future life together, the pain of crime has to be revealed
so
that it is, with forgiveness,remembered. This tragedy, yours and ours,
personal and collective, is a result of a long series of erroneous policies
of the most radical forces among us and in the international community.
The
continuation of these policies will take both Serbs
and Albanians into abyss. Also, the road of collective guilt is a road
of
frustration, continuation of hatred and endless vengeance. That is why
this
road has to be abandoned.
Our first step of distancing from hatred, ethnic conflict and bloody
retaliations is a public expression of our deepest compassion and sincere
condemnation of everything that you and your fellow citizens are
experiencing. As citizens of Serbia, we today suffer destruction and
casualties as a result of NATO bombing, armed conflict in Kosovo
and long lasting economic and social tumbles under the burden of the
dictatorship's deadly policies.
Ethnic cleansing, NATO bombing and armed conflict should stop because they
are not contributing to the solution of the Kosovo crisis but are only
making it deepen. There should be no more casualties. All refugees should
be
allowed to return safely to their homes and live in the manner appropriate
for free and proud people.
We are convinced that together, we will find strength and courage to step
on
the road of peace, democracy, respect of human rights, mutual reconciliation
and respect. Dialogue, political negotiations and peace process have no
alternative. For all of us, it is the only way out of the war conflict.
It
is the safest way to secure the return of
refugees to their homes, to renew normal life and activities and find a
solution to the status of Kosovo.
In order to make this happen, we have to join our efforts to end the war
conflict, revitalize the peace process and reconstruct, economically and
democratically, the development of Kosovo, Serbia and the entire Balkan
region. We are convinced that by joining forces we can contribute to the
reaching of a just and rational political solution to the status of Kosovo
and build confidence and cooperation between Serbs and Albanians.
Association of Citizens for Democracy, Social Justice and Support to Trade
Unions
United Branch Trade Unions NEZAVISNOST
European Movement in Serbia
Civic Initiatives
Forum for Ethnic Relations
Center for Transition to Democracy-ToD
Center for Democracy and Free Elections
Distrikt 0230 (Kikinda)
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Women in Black
Belgrade Center for Human Rights
Students Union of Serbia
VIN-Weekly Video News
Group 484
Yu Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Foundation for Peace and Crisis Management
Urban Inn (Novi Pazar)
Belgrade Circle
Union for Truth about Antifascist Resistance
Sombor's Peace Group (Sombor)
Society for Peace and Tolerance (Backa Palanka)
Alternative Academic Educational Network
In Belgrade, April 30, 1999
***************************************
YUGOSLAV NGOs
Belgrade, April 26, 1999
STATEMENT ON POSSIBLE INTERNET BAN
We, the representatives of the Yugoslav civil society, coming together
to
protest NATO bombing and ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia now have to deal
with other problem that could uncouple us from the world and practically
forbid our free expression and dissent. One threat is coming from Yugoslav
government agencies and the controlled
domestic INTERNET providers. For them it is important to shut up all
independent voices for which reason they banned the radio B92 and put under
control other independent media. For NATO it appears important to cut off
all dissenting people and groups from Yugoslavia in order to maintain the
image of Yugoslav society as if it
is totally controlled by Milosevic regime and made only of extreme
nationalists who deserve punishment by bombs.
For us who are long time activists of human rights, minority rights, union
rights, free press rights, women rights, peace and democracy activists,
it
is vital to maintain Internet connection to the world in order to get
information and communicate with people about our situation. We are using
INTERNET with respect to the netiquette and urge all Yugoslav users to
avoid
hostile and insulting vocabulary. We also pledge to all our international
contact people to exercise their influence on INTERNET public opinion to
avoid aggressive language and hatespeech in correspondences to people
in
Yugoslavia.
PLEASE HELP US TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THE WORLD!
***************************************
Dear friends,
Info about Zaginflatch is available on request.
Basically, with this newsletter we want to inform the international
community (this is you) on how antiauthoritarians in Yugoslavia and
ex-Yugoslavia feel in these moments. Also, as people who have experienced
air raids and general alerts, we want to support our friends in Yugoslavia
who are experiencing this today. We don't want to prejudice any political
solutions to Kosovo and other ex-yu problems, we just want to help our
friends, and support them in this way. All opinions published in
Zaginflatch will be just personal ones. There is no joint platform.
Zaginflatch will bring you hardly any news in the way mainstream media
does
it. For this kind of info we suggest you try cnn, bbc or some other
services. They are available to you anyway.. This is meant to come from
inside... Also, if you're into alternative news sources, we suggest you
try
at www.b92.net ...
Zagreb Anarchist Movement (ZAP)
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