Topic: Zagreb Diary 
** Written 12:46 AM  Jul 16, 1992 by wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org in gn:yugo.antiwar **

Zagreb Diary
14/15-07-1992

Dobar Dan,

It is not that simple to write every day, not that there is happening nothing but just because of the fact that I have a lot to do beside writing a diary. Especially getting up the bulletin board and organising contacts with all other networks costs me a lot of time. I never did that before, I am an user not a sysop. But I think it is coming together and with Joel around to help me training the other people, I think it will work. At least our telephone bills will go down a lot now we only have to mail to Austria and can compress our mail, so it is send in minutes.

Lot's of work was also the last preparations for the workcamps in the refugeescamps which will start this weekend. Somehow those things always have to happen at the last moment. Yesterday morning we still didn't have our camps full, but after some emergency calls around Europe and pressing some volunteer organisations the applications started to get in during the evening and today. Of course we still can use a lot more people to help, but the minimum amount is now reached for the first camp. They coming from all over Europe, Dutch, Austrians, Italians, Spanish and even from outside the continent. My only worry is now who is going to pay for it. but that comes later, more important is that people show their solidarity by coming. It is clear that all the cost we are making in the camps have to be paid, as I wrote before, no town has yet received any financial support from outside (neither from Croatian government) for their costs involved in hosting the refugees.

I am happy since my people here in Croatia were starting to become angry on me saying that I saw those people in my fantasy and that they weren't there in reality. An normal reaction since so many things has been promised Croatia, which never happened, and the feeling is strongly that they (Croats) have to do everything themselves. Not only me but a whole group of Croatian volunteers is busy to make this first camps to a success, running from toy factory to humanitarian aid organisation in the hope to get materials which we can use in the camps. Next week we also are going to organise a special open air concert to support the workcamps. Everybody is walking on the top of their nerves to make it work. It simply have to be a success. So many children are depending on it. Children who have nothing to do all day than hanging around the tents of their mothers. 

After six weeks that I wrote about my hometown who had contacts with Valjevo the article I wrote about it finally was published in the provincial newspaper, it was lost between some papers somewhere. In the mean time the Towncouncil already has broken their contacts with Valjevo, following up the UN resolutions, I think that is a pity, they should hold their lines open. But more positive was that they really consider to follow up my idea to open sister city relation ships with towns in Eastern Slavonia and BiH. As I  know them it will take ages but at least the start is there.

Again Dubrovnik was under shelling from Serbians and Montenegrinian positions as so nice are stating on HTV. I don't know if they adopt that resolution in Brazil on the UNCED conference (as I wrote about some weeks back) about putting Dubrovnik on that special list, but when they did it didn't help a bit, but who has thought different.

In Eastern Slavonia the "peace" making process continues. The Osijek region and Baranja region will be free of weapons soon, UNPROFOR has demand the paramilitary forces in that region (the forces from the so-called Autonomous Region of Baranja) to hand over their weapons to them as be demanded also from Beograd. They have three days to follow up that demand we see what will happen. As soon as that is done we will get probably the permission from UNPROFOR to visit Baranja and even Vukovar. 

From Sarajevo the news came that again people shoot at ambulances and humanitarian aid planes. UNPROFOR for the first time shoot a snipper, they say it was the same one who shoot yesterday a Canadian UNPROFOR soldier. Soon John from London hopes to talk his way into one of the airplanes taking of from Zagreb airport, he used yesterday to get friends with some UNPROFOR soldiers and found out that every step here can take a long long time. In any case he has already organised that the telefax machine we received from the Germans can go with one of the planes to the Center of antiwar activities in Sarajevo (the Center from Nada).

Anyway the fighting in BiH is heavy, the town of Mostar, Goradze, Suica, Jajce and many more were under shelling and heavy shooting. You have to imagine that also in those town their are a lot of displaced people from the neighbouring villages. Often they are the ones who are firstly wounded or killed since they don't know the ways the the shelters.

But maybe the talks in London which starts today with representatives from BiH government (in the name of the Muslims), SDS (Serbian Democratic Party for the Serbian population) and from HerceBosna (the self proclaimed state of Croats in BiH) will reach another cease-fire. Let's hope that Lord Carringthon (how do you write that name) will have some good results. The situation is bagging for it. How much longer can this madhouse go on.

As you see Eric is in Beograd working his fingers of his hands and getting the news from their on the net. Facing more technical problems with getting through to the outside world than we. But still last night was one of those isolated nights, for 3 hours I have been trying to dail out of the country. It was good, but also a little depressing to read Eric's messages. The students protests broke becuase of the holidays. That really hurt me. There is for me for some reason no holiday when you are trying to stop a war. It looked like that they were so close to important chnage. Hopefully the other protests in Beograd continues.

 With Sarajevo and Beograd on the net the discussion about the future of EX-YU really can start. That would improve the importance of this conference (YUGO.ANTIWAR) a lot. Let's hope that Eric is capable to train some people to continue his work when he leaves Beograd tomorrow. We discussed that last week when Neven from sweden was here. This conference should go towards a positive direction in how to continue when all of the shooting is over. And hopefully to learn about it. Come on all you peace activists abroad join in and keep on the protests against the weapon industries which supply these countries.

I received today some faxes from home, from friends in Sittard and they didn't write much but it came just in time. I really needed some support from backhome. Also they are doing there best to help us and get publicity for what really happens behind the frontlines. Sometimes you can feel so far away from your normal world. That is this is my normal world nowerdays. I am planning to hang in for some time here. But still ......

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,

Wam:-)


 End of text from gn:yugo.antiwar **