http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/croatia/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:45:05 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051222/posts After more than three decades in United States prisons — a term punctuated by a brief escape and recapture — a 62-year-old Croatian independence fighter was returned to his native country on Thursday, having served his time for a 1976 hijacking and a bombing that killed a police officer. The fighter, Zvonko Busic, led a group that planted a bomb at Grand Central Terminal that later exploded, killing a city police officer, Brian J. Murray. Mr. Busic left the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Ind., boarded a plane in Chicago and touched down in Zagreb about 2:20 p.m. on... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051222/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:45:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050854/posts Dinko Sakic arrived at the concentration camp known as the “Auschwitz of the Balkans” riding a white horse, wearing a tailored black uniform with polished black boots and carrying a whip and a submachine gun, survivors remembered. His brazenness continued even after Croatia went down to defeat with Nazi Germany, its ally. He fled to Argentina, where he lived for a half century under his real name, making no attempt to hide. In his last decade of freedom, he gave interviews saying he was proud of what he had done and would gladly do it again...... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050854/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:34:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048971/posts Croatian Terrorist Paroled after 30 Years NEW YORK — A Croatian terrorist has been granted parole after serving 30 years in prison for hijacking a jet and planting a bomb that killed a New York City police officer. Zvonko Busic was the leader of a group that commandeered a TWA flight as it left La- Guardia Airport in 1976 in an attempt to draw attention to Croatia’s struggle for independence from communist Yugoslavia. The five separatists took the plane to Montreal, London and Paris before authorities shot out its tires and persuaded them to surrender. Their claim to have explosives... AP/Buffalo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048971/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:48:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048867/posts Zagreb - Dinko Sakic, a former commander of Croatia's most notorious Nazi-era concentration camp during World War II, has died at age 86, news reports said Monday. Sakic was in charge during May-October 1944 at the Jasenovac camp, where tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews and others died under the Ustasha regime, Croatia's 1941-45 Nazi puppet government. He died late Sunday at a prison hospital in Zagreb, the capital, local media reported. Sakic was extradited to Croatia from Argentina in 1998 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes, the maximum sentence under Croatian law. He was convicted... Topnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048867/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:28:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036526/posts 24 June 2008 Zagreb _ A former US ambassador to Croatia has accused Zagreb of plotting and sanctioning the exodus of Serbs in 1995 to create an "ethnically clean" country. Peter Galbraith told The Hague war crimes trial of three Croatian generals, that the leadership headed by late President Franjo Tudjman used ‘Operation Storm’ to ‘cleanse’ Croatia of Serbs. “Croatian authorities either ordered or allowed a mass destruction of the Serb property in former (Serb-held region of) Krajina to prevent the return of the population. I consider that to have been a thought through policy,” he said, testifying at the... Balkan Insight http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036526/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:21:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019519/posts Banjaluka, 21 May (AKI) – Al-Qaeda and the Muslim fundamentalist Wahabi movement's operatives have been smuggling weapons and explosives into neighbouring Croatia, Bosnian daily Nezavisne novine reported on Wednesday. Quoting Bosnian security sources, the paper said huge quantities of weapons and explosives have been smuggled into the areas of Croatia with sizeable Muslim population in recent months. The weapons were shipped to the Croatian capital Zagreb, nearby Karlovac and the Adriatic port of Split, according to a document from the Bosnian security agency, quoted by the paper. The document said the operation has been masterminded by Bosnian Muslims Vladimir Popilovski,... AKI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019519/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 03:06:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017028/posts What Serbia's election says about the European Union's enlargement A BRITISH tabloid set a high standard for bombast when it once took credit for the re-election of a Tory government with the headline: “It's The Sun Wot Won It”. This week European Union leaders were taking credit for another election upset: the unexpected success of the pro-European coalition led by the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, in the general election on May 11th. The Serbs had “clearly chosen Europe,” said the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner. Jan Marinus Wiersma, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, declared that the election was... economist.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017028/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 20:27:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004518/posts BELGRADE, Serbia-Fourteen former Serb fighters went on trial Thursday on charges that they killed 70 Croat civilians in 1991 after forcing some of them to walk through a minefield. The group includes former Yugoslav army soldiers and paramilitary fighters suspected of "torture, inhuman treatment and killing" of the Croats in a border town in Croatia during the war there. Croatian investigations have discovered dozens of bodies in mass graves in the village of Lovas, the remains of people apparently killed in October and November 1991 when Serbs controlled the area. The Serbian prosecutors charged the Serb fighters with killing 22... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004518/posts#comment Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:15:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004402/posts Prior to the presentation of defense, the last piece of evidence was examined at the trial of generals Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac. It was the statement given to the ICTY by a Croatian soldier. As protected witness he gave an account of how he was covering up the crimes committed during the Medak Pocket Operation. He was burying the mutilated bodies of the Serb civilians and prisoners of war. In his statement he said he thought the first accused Rahim Ademi was responsible, as the latter was in command of the Gospic Military District at the relevant time. The... hrt http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004402/posts#comment Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:56:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003709/posts 17 April 2008 | 12:05 | Source: Tanjug ZAGREB -- Stjepan Mesic has criticized the Croatian parliament’s decision to spend more money on the commemoration for Bleiburg victims than Jasenovac victims. “The fact is, not one Jasenovac victim was to blame for the Bleiburg victims, but a lot of Bleiburg victims were guilty for a lot of victims at Jasenovac,” said the Croatian president, stressing that the excuse that Jasenovac had received money earlier and Bleiburg had not, did not wash. A commemoration for Second World War war crimes in Yugoslavia should be held in Jasenovac because it was the... B92 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003709/posts#comment Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:17:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002836/posts Melbourne's Katarina Zrinski restaurant held a celebration this past weekend to honor World War II Croatian leader Ante Pavelic, whose genocidal policies led to the deaths of 400,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. The restaurant is attached to the local Croatian club. The event honoring the head of the Croatian fascist Ustasha movement and the leader of Nazi-allied Croatia was an "outrageous affront" both to his victims and to any persons of morality and conscience who oppose racism and genocide, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter and Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff said on Wednesday. According to local press reports, a... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002836/posts#comment Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:48:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997812/posts The soldier of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, led by Mladen Kruljac, were surprised by the fact that Bush shook hands will all 50 of them.ZAGREB, CROATIA - As a symbolic sign of support and gratitude, American President George Bush, wanted to spend last part of his visit in Croatia by taking photographs with the Croatian soldiers who are taking part in the ISAF peace mission in Afghanistan. Before taking pictures in front of the American presidential airplane Air Force One, President Bush shook hands with all 50 soldiers who, all together with the Croatian diplomatic delegation, came to Zagreb’s... Javno http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997812/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 09:03:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997379/posts Thousands filled St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb, Croatia today to hear President Bush and their own Prime Minister Sanader speak on the second day of the president’s visit to their country. (Transcript) President Bush: Laura, who has joined me today, and I are proud to stand on the soil of an independent Croatia. (Applause.) Our countries are separated by thousands of miles, but we're united by a deep belief in God and the blessings of liberty He gave us. And today, on the edge of the great Adriatic, we stand together as one free people. (Applause.) After meeting with... WhiteHouse.gov & other sources http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997379/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 00:32:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997214/posts For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryApril 5, 2008 President's Radio Address   President's Radio Address  Audio  En Español       In Focus: NATOTHE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Europe, where I attended the NATO summit and witnessed the hopeful progress of the continent's youngest democracies. The summit was held in Romania, one of the 10 liberated nations that have joined the ranks of NATO since the end of the Cold War. After decades of tyranny and oppression, today Romania is an important member of an international alliance dedicated to liberty, and it is setting a bold example for other... WhiteHouse.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997214/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 17:08:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996995/posts ZAGREB, Croatia: U.S. President George W. Bush was warmly welcomed by the government in Croatia on Friday and he praised the ex-Yugoslav country as a trusted ally. But his opponents used the occasion to protest his foreign policies. Bush came to Zagreb from a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, where Croatia was invited to join the alliance, one of the government's top goals. "We celebrate your invitation to become one of America's closest allies," Bush said in a toast to President Stipe Mesic. "We're so proud of our relationship," Bush said. Croatia's government sees Bush's two-day visit as a clear... International Herald Tribune - Europe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996995/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 01:45:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996506/posts April 3, 1996 Ronald H. Brown, the U.S. secretary of commerce, is killed along with 32 other Americans when their U.S. Air Force plane crashes into a mountain near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Brown was leading a delegation of business executives to the former Yugoslavia to explore business opportunities that might help rebuild the war-torn region. History.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996506/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 04:26:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995289/posts CroatiaÂ’s recognition of Kosovo has more to do with a desire to please Washington than responsible regional politics, writes Marinko ÄŒulić. In less than the two months since Kosovo became independent, Croatia has been flooded with so many wrong conclusions and theses that they have already started to create a false parallel reality. This is not to say that unforgettable political statements have not been made before, especially during TudjmanÂ’s time, when, for example, the thesis of Croatia as the ‘bulwark of ChristianityÂ’ shook the western part of ex-Yugoslavia, and almost the country itself. We thought we had left this... Transnational Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995289/posts#comment Wed, 2 Apr 2008 02:40:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993005/posts March 28th, 2008 Zagreb, March 28 (CP) – Retired Croatian army general Ivan Korade is being looked for by some 300 police special forces as he is believed to be involved in the killing of four people in Croatia’s Zagorje region. Ret. Gen. Ivan Korade, 44, known for his short temper and many incidents over the years has gone missing after bodies of people linked to him in some way had been found in two villages, one of which he has a home in. The first body was found in the late hours of Wednesday in a weekend home and... croatiapress http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993005/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:36:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987840/posts Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary to soon recognise Kosovo: reports Three countries bordering Serbia -- Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary -- could shortly recognise Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, Croatian dailies reported Tuesday. The Zagreb government was expected to recognise Kosovo on Wednesday along with Bulgaria and Hungary, after the breakaway province declared independence from Serbia last month, said the newspaper Jutarnji List. Citing sources close to the government, Vecernji List, Croatia’s largest circulation daily, also reported Zagreb would recognise Kosovo’s independence on the same day as Budapest and Sofia. The decision was likely to be made this week, possibly at a government... http://www.hurriyet.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987840/posts#comment Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:50:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983951/posts The Hague, 11 March (AKI) – Three Croatian generals went on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Tuesday for crimes allegedly committed against Serb civilians in 1995. Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac are the first Croatian officers to be tried for crimes committed in the operation, Storm, in August 1995. More than 350 Serb civilians were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed and up to 250,000 Serbs were deported from the country, prosecutor Alan Tieger told the court. He said he would prove that the three generals were part of a “joint... ADNKI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983951/posts#comment Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:12:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959009/posts 24 January 2008 | 15:19 | Source: Tanjug SARAJEVO -- The Bosnian HDZ has presented Ivo Sanader a proposal whereby Bosnia-Hercegovina would be split into 4 federal units. During yesterday’s one-hour meeting, President of the Bosnian branch of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) Dragan ÄŒović and the Croatian prime minister discussed the Kosovo crisis and its possible bearing on the situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as relations between the Bosnian HDZ and HDZ 1990, reported the Bosnian HDZ public relations department. “Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs should transform Bosnia-Hercegovina into a decentralized, democratic, legal and social state, made up of federal... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959009/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:41:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958277/posts Zagreb /23/01/ 11:51 Abu Hamza, a Syrian-born Islamic fighter who fought in Bosnia during 1992-1995 war, faces deportation and must leave BiH within next 15 days, Croatian media said. The same sources say Hamza, the informal leader of the former mujahideen community in the central Bosnian village of Bocinja, must be handed over to his homeland Syria or deported to Croatia, the country where he stayed before arriving in Bosnia. BiH TV said Bosnian court overturned Hamza's appeal on Tuesday. The appealed the Bosnian authorities' decision not to grant him an asylum. Abu Hamza was also stripped of Bosnian citizenship.... makfax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958277/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:12:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953598/posts Zagreb, 14 Jan. (AKI) – The leader of minority Serbs in Croatia, Milorad Pupovac, said on Monday the formation of the country’s new government was an historic moment in the country's 16 years of independence. Pupovac, who as head of the Independent Serb Democratic Party (SDSS), became deputy vice-premier in prime minister Ivo Sanader’s government on Saturday. He said it was an important achievement in overcoming the traumas of Croatia’s war of secession from the former Yugoslavia in 1991-1995. “It is a historic moment because it is the first time since the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia and the existence... AKI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953598/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:20:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945934/posts Croatian interior minister Ivica Kirin has resigned after being pictured on a boar hunt with a war crimes suspect. "I... offer my apology to all those that might have been harmed," Mr Kirin said in a resignation letter. Croatian newspapers published pictures of him out hunting before Christmas with former police chief Mladen Markac, who is accused of massacring Serbs. ... Mr Markac, 52, is accused with several other former security figures with involvement in a plan to drive ethnic Serbs from the Krajina region in 1995, when he was commander of police special forces. More than 150 Serb civilians... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945934/posts#comment Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:21:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1929071/posts LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - England's Euro 2008 hopes finally disappeared at Wembley on Wednesday when they lost 3-2 to already-qualified Croatia having fought their way back from 2-0 down to briefly taste the draw they needed to go through. The home crowd was stunned after eight minutes when Scott Carson, controversially chosen in goal after making his debut in a friendly only last week, allowed a speculative long-range shot by Niko Kranjcar to skid off past him and into the net, and it looked all over when Ivica Olic doubled the lead six minutes later. England got level with... reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1929071/posts#comment Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:11:54 GMT