Topic: Zagreb Diary 
** Written 12:54 AM  Aug  4, 1992 by wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org in gn:yugo.antiwar **

Zagreb Diary
02-08-1992

Dobar Dan,

Today was the day of the elections. So I went in the morning with Vesna J. to her voting office and we came to the conclusion that all that fuss about getting yes or no Croatian state membership was something which build up some tension, but ended with a big laugh. Everybody who has an identity card and was somehow registrated in an area could vote, Vesna didn't had to show her nice 5X2 cm big voting permit, see received some days ago. Immediately when see show her ID and they found her name on the list she got her three forms (Whit, Pink and Blue).

What a system, one form for the presidential election, one form for half the seats by direct representation, one form for the other half of seats for the electoral units election. 

The nice voting cabins, I am used to in the Netherlands weren't there, so rather than at home, you saw couples sitting on a table still discussing what to vote, something which is absolute impossible in the Netherlands in the voting place. An other difference was that it was even so early in the morning nicely full at the voting office.

The voting form were to small the contain all the names of the candidates of all the list, so only the major candidate per party was mentioned. The full list hang in the corridor. On that list, I have to admit, I saw something what was hard to understand that that is excepted here, without any big reaction against it. Beside the name and living place of the candidates also their nationality was mentioned (Croat, Serb, Hungarian, Albanian, etc.). On all the list, I think all in all over 700 names, there were only a few (maybe something between 10-15 names) from whom the nationality was unknown (either not given or not willing to give). One remarkable thing what Vesna J. noticed was that some people we know were mentioned on that list as Croats, but may have got now the Croatian State membership, but are of Serbian nationality. 

I am writing this diary today a day later, since of course I want to give you some of the results of this big day. At 4 o'clock this night (2 to 3 Aug.) the first trusteable results of the election came on television, no surprises, it seems that about 75% went to vote and by this time around 80% of the votes, both from within Croatia as well as from abroad has been counted. The results were announced during the 12 press conference of the state comminsion responsible for the elections. During this press conference is was also stated that NO incident was reported in any of the districts, but that there were a lot of complains about breaking the election silence (no propaganda) on Saturday and Sunday (1 and 2 Aug.), who, where and what will be made public later this week. For the rest there were some problems in the beginning with the telephone (fax) lines to receive the results from the votings abroad, but later in the evening those results rolled in by fax.

Roughly it can be said that HDZ is the big winner, thanks to the voting system, in which they nearly won all the electoral seats (only HSLS was able to win in a few electoral units (on this moment only the state figures are published, we have to wait a few day before the vote per unit and per city will be open for publication)). It means that the have app. 80 of the 120 seats and Tudjman is again or still president.

Some figure at 4 o'clock, Presidential Tudjman 56%, Budisa (HSLS) 21 %, HNS (Savka's party) around 7 % and there was were we all were waiting for Paraga only 5 %. As said HDZ won nearly all the electoral units and for the party list the major parties had the following results: HDZ 43 %, HSLS 18,5 %, HNS 6,8 %, HSP 6,5 % and SDP (old communist party, now party for democratic changes) 5,5 %, the rest of the parties got all less and none of them will probably get a seat in parliament.

When I saw the result I immediately had to think about what Philippe, a volunteer from France said; "Croatia fascistic ?, in France Le Pen has got over 15 %" and other similar parties around Europe are also doing well in there countries. The big difference of course is that most of the nationalist and/or neo-fascist parties in the rest Europe has no private militia. But let's hope that is over here soon as well.

After voting we rushed to the station to catch Andre from Denmark and Joel going to this Peace camp in Serbia, but we missed the train by 5 minutes. The nice tape I made during the morning I will give to Toni, who is going to Ecotopia, later this week. Hope that they receive this Diary in Bulgaria and that they know I am with them in Ecotopia in spirit. (Toni just phoned, telling that he was as so many people totally over tired and needed to go on holidays, rather than to Ecotopia. So I have to find somebody else who bring my tape).

But at this moment I am more engaged in our own work camps here in Croatia. Today the last of the three pilot camps started and it looks that we not only made it in the number of volunteers (this camp has over 25 foreign volunteers and we had to say to at least 30 people more that there was no place), but we, thanks to the volunteers who collected funds for the camps back hope and some donations which came in from Austria and Italy seem to be able to even pay all the basic costs (food, transport and lodging of the volunteers). So we have a lot worries less, thanks  all of you who helped us.

It is a strong group this which arrived this weekend, experienced and very motivated people. The main motivation was beside helping the children for us very surprising but hopeful for the future. People came because they are totally frustrated by the way their government (from the different West European states) are helping the countries here. At least 75 % of the people said that, what made me (and I saw also Nina and Vesna J.) very warm from the inside. The average is also higher then the last camp, more and more experienced and working people are offering their holidays to come here.

We know we have a lot of work in front of us, but we made the first move and it seems to become a success. We have done our best to scare them off, by the bad stories about the situation in Gasinci, now and during the last weeks, but they still like to go their. Of course the situation in Slavonski Brod, heavy shelling again, worries us (about 35 km from the refugee camp), but at this moment we can consider Eastern Slavonia as absolute safe.

At least for foreigners, the strange thing is that we have problems finding Croatian volunteers for that area. Some of the students of the school for Social Work really like to go, but get no permission from their parents. Another problem is one of the co-leaders, a psychologists, who really like to go their and spend all her time working with the children, but her family advice here not to go or rather plea her not to go. For those who follow this stories for a longer time it is clear, she has a Serbian lastname (in fact her family is from Serbian nationality, after living for many generation in Croatia). And the stories, especially among Serbians in Zagreb about what happened with Serbian houses in Eastern Slavonia are indeed numerous. 

Even when you may say that you know Serbians who live in Osijek or in that there a still whole Serbian village in that area, where nothing happened, the fair is hard to push away. This woman really like to go, but worries about her parents, which will be scared like hell all those two weeks when she is there. To Istria wouldn't be a problem, but to Eastern Slavonia.....

I hope she will go along and trust the group so much that she can convince here parents not to worry, but....

It is a long entry today, sorry, but there happened a lot. New is the fact that more and more older people, parents of my friends are getting suddenly an heart attack or brain bleeding, not one, but a lot. In the hospital this type of patient is growing with the day. It looks a lot that the tension which has been so high during the last year is calming down a bit and the effects from all that stress comes out. 

It is a story told often before, people who live under a lot of stress, function well, but when the stress become less, like during a holiday or so, they break. It could also clarify the masse tiredness of everybody. The heat of the summer together with this giant tension in the last winter takes you energy away. They maybe don't look tired, but there brains are, like the masse burned out social workers. Please allow me to go on holidays is the thing you hear a lot.

The results of a year or longer intensive psychological war, especially in Zagreb, where the destruction part of the war was not felt (only by those who went on the front), but the majority has been sitting for months in the shelters, without one bomb ever fall. That is so different from e.g. Vinkovci, Vukovar, Karlovac, Dubrovnik or Osijek and still Slavonski Brod and the many cities and village which I have forgotten to write down, as well as the nearly the whole of BiH. There people know why they are in the shelters, they can hear and feel the bombs and grenades. Not the ones in Zagreb, they were more afraid of a phantom, Migs over the city, but nothing happened. This has a totally other effect on the human mind.

Also for that matter the people in Slovenia, after their, still horrible, ten days war it was over, they could be sure it didn't come back, at least not in the same way. Not that that made their situation any easier, but that tension of not knowing what will happen tomorrow (will they drop a bomb or not) was at least a little less. Please don't understand me wrong in Ljubljana or elsewhere.......

What to say more........

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,

Wam:-)



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