Jandrokovic: Bleiburg Tragedy a Crime Committed Out of Revenge, Due to Ideology
ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Saturday that defeated Croatian soldiers and civilians were killed at Bleiburg and along the Way of the Cross without a trial, contrary to international conventions, as victims of a crime committed our of revenge and due to ideology.
Jandrokovic and the prime minister's envoy, War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, laid a wreath on behalf of the parliament and government at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the 75th anniversary of the Bleiburg tragedy, paying tribute to civilians and soldiers of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia, killed in the aftermath of World War II by Yugoslav Partisans at Bleiburg, Austria, and during subsequent death marches back to then Yugoslavia.
A wreath was also laid by a delegation of the Bleiburg Guard of Honour, led by its president Vice Vukojevic.
Prayers for the victims were said by the Croatian military ordinary, Msgr. Jure Bogdan, and the imam of the Zagreb Mosque, Mersad Krestic.
"This is a crime which must be spoken about so that our young generations know what happened not only during World War II but also in its aftermath," said Jandrokovic.
A crime of the Yugoslav communist regime
Jandrokovic went on to say that the Bleiburg crime was a crime by the Yugoslav communist regime that had been kept secret for 45 years, which, he believes, proves that those who ordered and committed it had a guilty conscience and feared the truth while the survivors were afraid to speak up for fear or revenge.
Asked to comment on President Zoran Milanovic's statement that one should stop holding commemorations at Bleiburg and hold them instead at locations where more massive crimes were committed during death marches back to Yugoslavia, Jandrokovic said that the Bleiburg commemoration was held under the auspices of the Croatian parliament and that it should stay that way.
He said that commemorations were held at Bleiburg because people were killed there without a trial, tortured in the most cruel ways and thrown into pits. Also, their families do not know where and how they were killed and where they were buried, he said, adding that people killed at Macelj and Tezno were commemorated as well but that many mass graves were yet to be exhumed in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We reject those who use Bleiburg to revive Ustasha regime
Jandrokovic said that they rejected those who wished to use the anniversary for political ends or revive the Ustasha regime.
"We reject that. That is not good. We must show respect here for the victims and condemn the crimes of the communist regime."
Vukojevic: Anyone wishing to relocate Bleiburg event talks nonsense
The president of the Bleiburg Guard of Honour, Vice Vukojevic, told reporters that masses for the Bleiburg and Way of the Cross victims would be held in 189 Croatian Catholic parishes around the world.
Thanking the parliament for sponsoring the event, he said that "there is no other Bleiburg than Bleiburg", and that anyone wishing to relocate the Bleiburg commemoration is talking nonsense.
Plitvice Lakes Filled With Rare Guests: Croatians
May 16, 2020 — Plitvice Lakes National Park bet deep discounts would lure local tourists and help jumpstart its summer season. The gambit paid off. Croatians flooded the tourist magnet as soon as it opened.
About 5,000 guests visited Plitvice since the park opened on Monday, creating epidemiologically-sound lines. The initial weekend back sold out quickly, a 15,000-guest tally for the first week of life under the new coronavirus regime which limits visitors. Tickets for next weekend are about to sell out as well.
Call it a confluence of life in the coronavirus era: a full stop on international travel, study and work from home rules combined with low prices and isolation fatigue to create an unexpected boom in thousands of locals, many who never visited the park before.
The number of visitors falls short of normal traffic but exceeded expectations. By mid-May, Plitvice is on its way to its annual haul of over 1 million guests.
Croatia’s epidemiological measures prevent the sardine-like experience which became a hallmark of visiting Plitvice. It can only allow in 600 people an hour across two entrances.
The park’s employees report the dearth of human visitors over the last two months allowed other, hairier guests to arrive. Security footage reportedly showed wild animals descending into Plitvice during the shutdown.
The park is reportedly filled with Croatians from all around the country, especially families with children. It’s a rare departure from the mass tourism era, as most accommodations still shake off the cobwebs of a months-long closure.
Croatians haven’t made up a majority of guests at Plitvice Lakes in decades. The tour guides chattering away in foreign tongues to zombified self-stick operators are replaced by the chatter of Croatian kids ogling at the turquoise waters and fish.
One guest, Goran, told Jutarnji List he was visiting for the first time with his wife Slavica and children Eva and Marta. Their trip to the national park was sparked by a “combination of price, the fact that there are no foreign guests, no crowds and nice weather,” he said. The family even went for the full vacation experience and rented a house in Slunj.
Cardinal Puljic: All Victims Deserve Respect, Reconciliation Should be Built on Truth
ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - Cardinal Vinko Puljic said at a mass for the Bleiburg victims in Sarajevo on Saturday that reconciliation could be built only on the truth and called for equal respect for every war victim, while thousands of people in the city centre honoured the victims of fascism in WWII.
The Archbishop of Sarajevo celebrated the service in the Heart of Jesus Cathedral as part of a commemoration organised by the Bleiburg Guard of Honour under the auspices of the Croatian parliament.
Puljic greeted everyone who joined in the prayer "for so many victims of violence."
He also greeted the bishop of Klagenfurt, noting that this year's commemoration could not be held at Bleiburg field in Austria because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Today we remember all those killed in concentration camps, valleys, mountains and fields, from Bleiburg via Dravograd and Maribor, Ogulin and Gospic, Jazovka and the Macelj woods, Jasenovac and Glina, Kozara and Podgradac, Krizevci and Bjelovar to Srijemska Mitrovica, Sarajevo, Foca and Zenica," the cardinal said, calling for building a climate of reconciliation and restoring trust on the truth, however bitter it might be, and for ceasing with double standards when it comes to victims.
He said a mass for all victims of hate stirred special feelings and that this was why he accepted to celebrate this year's mass for the Bleiburg victims who, he added, were entitled to respect as any human being.
By showing victims their due respect and remembrance, we also show "respect for the price of the freedom we are living today," Puljic said.
The cardinal recalled the words of Pope John Paul II that the fate of peace depends most on the solidarity of the heart which, after spilt blood and hatred, entails the courage to forgive.
He also recalled that in 1995 all Croatian bishops honoured all innocent WWII victims because the right to life and dignity of every human person is protected by God.
"We owe every innocent victim equal respect. There can be no difference in that," Puljic said, adding that he was deeply distressed by the fact that the graves of those who died on death marches from Austria to Yugoslavia in 1945 and later had still not been found.
He said that those who did not want the truth stood behind the evil they defended because no crime could be defended and because crime could not be cured with crime.
The cardinal thanked genuine researchers and those looking for historical truth by gathering facts, saying it was the best way to stop manipulation.
Besides Puljic and several priests, the service was attended by only 20 persons, including Croatian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sabolic.
The mass was held in a very tense atmosphere due to disputes between those who see it as a sign of respect for the dead and those who claim it actually rehabilitates the 1941-45 Nazi-styled Independent State of Croatia and the Ustasha regime.
Sarajevo was under a sort of siege today the police prevented pedestrians from coming near the cathedral and traffic in nearby streets since early morning.
During mass, a group of people came to the police fence around the cathedral to voice their dissatisfaction, carrying banners, one of which said "Fascists are not victims", and shouting "No pasaran".
Antifascists sing Partisan songs to commemorate victims of Ustasha regime
A mass rally was held outside the government and parliament buildings, organised by the SABNOR antifascist fighters' alliance. Despite the ban on gathering due to COVID-19, at least 2,000 people of all ages came.
Singing Partisan songs, they commemorated the victims of the Ustasha regime in Sarajevo during WWII, reading out their names and marching to the city centre and a monument to the Partisans who liberated the city in 1945.
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec and several diplomats laid wreaths and flowers at another monument to the Sarajevo victims of fascism and at the Jewish cemetery.
Our presence here today is a sign of respect which we feel for the victims and of our understanding for the pain their families feel, Kavalec said.
Lovrinovic, Sincic Sign Coalition Agreement for Parliamentary Election
ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - Let's Change Croatia leader Ivan Lovrinovic, and Human Shield leader Ivan Vilibor Sinicic signed on Saturday an agreement to form a coalition for the coming parliamentary election, inviting everyone from centre-left to centre-right to join them for key changes in Croatia.
At a press conference, Lovrinovic invited all political parties, associations, and individuals to unite with the intention to run in the election and take over political power, so that key programme aims for the revitalisation of the economy, state, and society could be implemented.
He explained that, as a result of a bad election system, "which was invented on purpose by two parties so that they could stay in power until the end of days", 200,000 votes were "thrown away", going to the HDZ and the SDP. That is why, he announced, his coalition's first move would be changing the election law.
Sincic said that this election was so sudden because the second half of the year, already after June 15, when government's measures would be relaxed, would bring the start of Croatia's collapse, everything we saw in the big crisis from 2008 to 2015, even worse.
He pointed out that Croatia needed a judicial reform, as well as public administration reform, and local government reform, a reformed pension system, as the present one is unsustainable, and a new health care system, because the present one is collapsing.
Brodosplit Launches ‘Ultramarine’, Signaling Switch to Specialized Vessels
May 16, 2020 — Brodosplit launched the polar expedition ship “Ultramarine”, a €106 million symbol of Croatian shipbuilding’s switch to sophisticated specialized vessels. The new niche within the industry is becoming the country’s largest export, according to government officials.
“All those who think Croatia does not need shipbuilding, this is the real counter to their argument,” Economics Minister Darko Horvat said at the launch.
The “Ultramarine” was the third ship funded by a state guarantee, a new means of keeping Croatia’s shipping industry afloat after the collapse of the Uljanik shipyard in Pula.
American company Quark Expeditions contracted the Split-based shipyard to build the vessel in 2018, with work starting last year.
“Brodosplit proves that shipbuilding in Croatia can be profitable,” Minister Horvat said. “On this ship, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development has earned interest, the local community and the state budget has benefited, as well as other public services.”
Andrea Mutak, member of the Angels Association which cares for children with physical disabilities and developmental difficulties, served as the ship’s godmother.
The “Ultramarine”, 128 meters long and 21,5 meters wide, can hold up to 200 travelers and 140 crew members. Work is on schedule so far. Brodosplit expects the vessel completede and delivered by the end of the year.
The luxury cruise ship follows the Scenic Eclipse, another polar cruiser which the Uljanik shipyard completed last year.
Croatia’s Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided the loan for the “Ultramarine” in 2018, with the Croatian government providing state funds as collateral.
The financing model is a variant of the state-backed assistance that kept Croatia’s shipyards operating until new European Rules limiting government backing left the industry on the verge of bankruptcy.
Now, the government finances individual projects instead of shipyards.
Brodosplit benefited from the model as it danced with insolvency. The shipyard received €150 million in guarantees, used to finance two vessels and paid back in full.
Quark Expeditions will add the “Ultramarine” to its fleet of specially equipped boats and icebreakers, which travel to remote locations not accessible by ordinary cruise ships.
The luxury vessel’s first voyage follows the footsteps of the Endurance crew’s Antarctic expedition, Ernest Shackleton’s tragic final trip.
Brodosplit remains one of the few shipyards left standing from the Adriatic’s once-dominant shipbuilding industry. It operates at a fraction of its intended capacity, while many of its former competitors along the Dalmatian coast slow down or shutter. Eighty percent of its work is now for foreign firms.
Croatia Ranks in World Top 10 for Footballers Playing Abroad
May 16, 2020 - While Brazil is the largest exporter of footballers, Croatia ranks in ninth place, according to the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) based in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Namely, 24 Sata reports that in its 55th monthly report, the CIES Football Observatory analyzed the contribution of footballers by country. They analyzed the origins of 55,865 footballers who played during the 2019 calendar year in 132 first or second leagues from 93 countries covering all continents.
Thus, the biggest exporter of footballers is Brazil. As many as 1,535 Brazilian footballers played abroad last year. In second place is France, which has 948 footballers outside the country. Argentina holds third place with 913 footballers.
Argentina is followed by England (554), Spain (525), Serbia (514), Germany (473) and Colombia (457).
Croatia comes in ninth place with 430 footballers who played abroad last year, and Uruguay is in the top 10 (358).
Let's add that four African countries are in the top 20. Nigeria is in 11th place (365 footballers), Ghana is in 14th place (283), Senegal is in 18th place (191), and Ivory Coast is in 20th place (178).
Brazil is also the most represented country among the players from the 132 leagues studied. Last year, as many as 2,742 Brazilians played football - 1,207 in the first two classes of Brazilian football, and 1,535 abroad.
Just one other country had more than 2,000 footballers in 132 leagues analyzed - Argentina. Namely, in 2019, Argentina was represented by 2,330 players. In third place is the French (1,740), and in the top five are Colombia (1,536) and Spain (1,349).
In terms of the total number of footballers who play in the First HNL and other countries in the world, Croatia is in 13th place with 993 footballers.
Top 10 countries by the number of footballers playing abroad:
1. Brazil - 1,535
2. France - 948
3. Argentina - 913
4. England 554
5. Spain 525
6. Serbia 514
7. Germany 473
8. Colombia 457
9. CROATIA 430
10. Uruguay 358
Top 10 countries by the number of players:
1. Brazil - 2,742
2. Argentina - 2,330
3. France - 1,740
4. Colombia - 1,536
5. Spain - 1,349
6. Serbia - 1,337
7. England - 1,228
8. Germany - 1,096
9. Japan - 1,047
10. Netherlands - 1,039
11. Russia - 1,029
12. Uruguay - 1,014
13. CROATIA - 993
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatian Government: Money to Help Workers in May Will be Paid
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of May, 2020, the Croatian Government's aid measures for the month of March were paid out by April the 15th, 2020. Now, given the fact that the 15th of May has passed, and the money has not yet been paid to everyone who is entitled to assistance of 4,000 kuna per worker, 24sata checked the information issued by the Croatian Government and whether or not it is true that there will be no money.
Rejecting such claims and obviously wishing to put an end to rumours of that sort, the Croatian Government has stated that the money is also secured for payments in May, and that it will be paid out in June.
''There is about 700 million kuna left to be paid out and it will be paid out week. Unlike the first round, checks are being done through the Pension Insurance Institute and through the Tax Administration, so it takes a bit longer.
We check the number of employees in each company that asked for help. Those who didn't receive the full amount for all of their workers also don't need to worry, although this is a small number of cases because it may happen that in one company, it might not be checked whether all of the workers are actually employed there.
The money is released in portions, and as soon as the rest of the situation is checked, the money arrives. We need to carry out these checks to avoid any irregularities. The money is there and will be provided for both April and May in the budget and business owners don't need to worry about it,'' stated the Ministry of Labour.
About 570,000 workers are expected to receive aid from the economic measures passed by the Croatian Government in April. About 1.6 billion kuna has already been paid out, with the aforementioned 700 million kuna still remaining to be paid.
The same source told 24sata that money has also been secured for liquidity loans, and that applications are being processed. The calling of the elections and the dissolving of the Croatian Parliament will not affect the flow of the Croatian Government's aid, the source added.
To briefly recall, these government measures have been planned until early June, and after that they are due to stop, but the possibility is open for some to continue.
Make sure to follow our politics page for more on the Croatian Government.
Croatian, Slovenian Interior Ministers Confirm Excellent Cooperation
ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - The Croatian and Slovenian ministers of the interior, Davor Bozinovic and Ales Hojs respectively, held a meeting in Ormoz, Slovenia, on Saturday, at which they confirmed the excellent cooperation between the two countries' police forces.
One of the topics of the meeting was the coronavirus pandemic, and Bozinovic said that the two countries' ministries of the interior had dealt quickly with all issues posing a problem for their citizens and business sector on a daily basis.
"We were the first in Europe to enable convoys, the transport of goods by truck... before the European Commission made such a recommendation. There was practically no suspension of transport," said Bozinovic.
He described the two countries' cooperation as excellent, recalling that they had reopened their borders and that since Friday evening, 2,000 Slovenian nationals had entered Croatia.
Minister Hojs said that his Croatian counterpart had informed him that border procedures were mostly due to estimates by Croatian epidemiologists that the entry of foreign nationals, including those from Slovenia, requires continued control of locations where they are staying, which is why a control regime has been introduced, with Croatian police taking the addresses and phone numbers of persons entering the country.
As for illegal migrations, they did not stop entirely during the coronavirus pandemic, even though they have decreased significantly, said Bozinovic, adding that Croatia had prevented illegal migrations on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
"We expect possible new movements of migrants following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and greater mobility, primarily between Croatia and Slovenia, for the time being," Bozinovic said, with Hojs noting that Bozinovic had confirmed that the return of migrants from the Slovenian to the Croatian side of the border was not problematic.
"All illegal migrants who do not want asylum in Slovenia will be returned to Croatia without any problem," said Hojs.
Another topic of the meeting was Croatia's accession to the Schengen area of passport-free travel, with Bozinovic saying that it was not only in Croatia's interest but also in the interest of Slovenia and the rest of the EU.
"The current situation, too, proves that all security problems, including health problems related to the epidemic, are transnational. Neither viruses nor any other thing, from terrorism to illegal migrations, know borders and the only way to efficiently fight them is cooperation," said Bozinovic.
Slovenia's position on the matter is that all technical requirements have to be met for accession to the Schengen area to be possible, Hojs said, adding that technical requirements had been met for the most part.
"The latest proposal, made by the next EU chair Germany, goes in that direction and Slovenia is interested in the Schengen border moving to the Croatian-Serbian border within a reasonable period of time. I have told Minister (Bozinovic) that if Slovenia finds that the Schengen control of the future external border is not performed as expected, we will be prepared to reintroduce border controls at any moment," said Hojs.
Croatia, from Corona Comms Kings to North Korea: Can We Have a Tourism Viber Account?
May 16, 2020 - For a country so heavily dependent on tourism, communication from the Kings of Accidental Tourism is beyond sublime, a far cry from the outstanding communication from Vili Beros and team. What went wrong, and can we have a Koronavirus tourism Viber account?
Do you remember King Vili and Queen Alemka?
The very public and accessible faces of the crisis management team which has spearheaded the health response to the coronavirus crisis in Croatia. New Health Minister Vili Beros only came into the job on January 28, 2020, but he immediately brought in a sense of calm, order... and communication.
They did such a good job that they won the thanks and admiration of the nation. Here they are, number 1 and 2 in the last poll by Index.hr on the top 20 positive and top 20 negative people in Croatia. Number 2 Most Positive is not a position many ministers have held since polling began.
It wasn't just the health measures, however, it was the communication. It was beyond outstanding. I was full of admiration, gratitude and stress-free sleep. I knew that Vili was taking care of me while I slept, and I knew that he would explain everything he was doing, what I needed to do, and why, to get us all through this.
It actually felt for those giddy few weeks that I was living in a real country.
We got a dedicated Koronavirus website, which was full of incredible data, info and updates. It even had a section in English, something that many local tourists boards here cannot manage. The site was updated at 14:00 every day, to coincide with the daily press conference where Vili, Alemka and the team updated us live on television and took journalists' questions.
There was a Koronavirus Viber account you could subscribe to to get the latest updates - over 400,000 did in the first 24 hours. Since its inception, the Viber updates have been regular, updated and informative. There was even an Android app called Andrija just for corona.
And all this within the Mighty Kingdom of Uhljebistan. A Minister seemingly working for the people and not for himself. A surprising and refreshing change. Could this be one more step on the road to Croatia 2.0 and ridding the country of a far more difficult malevolent virus - Uhljebistan itself?
Sadly, those halcyon days look to be over.
Croatia's focus in the corona story shifted from health, health, health to health, health, economy (understandably). But now there is a third factor which will quite probably play the biggest role of all - politics. It is election season, baby, and reelection is more important of all in the Mighty State of Uhljebistan.
Tourism is now the focus - and how to 'save the season'. King Vili has passed over the stage to Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli, whose ingenious corona-era slogan - Croatia Breathes Tourism - perhaps gives you an indication on where this story is heading.
The arguments about having a tourist season, who should come, and what level of measures should be taken are all part of very complex discussion. That is not the focus of this article. The focus of this article is how Croatia has gone from one of the global leaders in terms of corona communication thanks to Vili, Alemka and co, to the communication skills that would not be out of place in Pyongyang.
I am getting a ton of emails at the moment with questions like this:
I’m trying to find out if my holiday in June will be going ahead. It’s hard to find anything out from the airlines and the Croatian tourist board.
We are due to go Dubrovnik on June 17th for a week. I’m just wondering if you have any news?
Thank you
But frustrated and desperate emails from the people who were trying to save the season - foreign tourists - kept flooding the TCN inbox, as we were the only source trying to give daily updates from the info we could find after much research.
And then - at least I thought - a breakthrough of common sense. State Secretary of Tourism Tonci Glavina has always been one on the most communicative members of the government. Bilingual in language and mindset after studying in California, I posted the message above on his wall earlier this week. He was, as expected, responsive, and I agreed to send the questions to help the ministry do its job.
I sent 14 questions the same day, mostly generated by TCN readers, to both the Ministry of Tourism, press department and the office of the State Secretary (who had asked me to send them), as well as the press department of the Ministry of the Interior.
After three days, I had received no reply from anyone. I emailed the tourism ministry again, then called both the press department (whose job it is to talk to the press) and the office of the State Secretary. Silence. I then called Tonci's mobile and got a message that he would call me back.
Which he did. And we chatted for 40 minutes, off the record, so I am not at liberty to divulge the contents of that chat.
But I still have no answers the following day. And nobody else does either. Personally I am embarrassed on behalf of the public officials who continue to take salaries for such incompetence as so many are losing their livelihoods, but I have a simple suggestion which would solve all this information chaos in one go, while giving Croatia a great chance to promote special offers AND gather data on tourists via their data.
It is a simple idea. One which King Vili has been using for weeks.
Can we have a Viber account similar to the Koronavirus.hr, but focused jus ton tourism and travel updates. Daily border updates, flight info, update in measures, offer of the day, fun fact about Croatian tourism. A mixture of information to allow people to understand what is happening and to entice them to spend their cash?
How hard would that be? Am sure King Vili would share knowledge how he did it. He is a team player after all, working for the people.
TCN would be more than happy to work with the ministry if required.
HUP Trade Sector Calls for Lifting Ban on Sunday Trading
ZAGREB, May 16, 2020 - The Croatian Employers Association (HUP) Trade Sector has said that the ban on Sunday trading currently in force is not an appropriate measure to fight the coronavirus epidemic, calling on the competent ministries to allow shops to work on Sundays and holidays without the disinfection break now in force.
In a letter sent on Saturday to the ministries of economy and the interior the sector said that the ban on Sunday trading, which caused more customers to shop on other days in the week, notably Monday, Saturday and Friday, did not apply to other sectors such as personal services or the restaurant business and was therefore potentially unconstitutional.
Shop opening hours can and should be regulated exclusively by the Commerce Act and not by civil protection bodies such as the coronavirus crisis management team and the public health institute, the trade sector says in the letter.
It also notes that the ban on Sunday and holiday trading will lead to lay-offs due to the reduced number of working hours.
As for the disinfection break, it said that it causes negative reactions among customers because of queuing before and after the break, the sector says.
The national union of workers in the trade sector earlier welcomed the decision by the COVID-19 crisis response team to ban shopping on Sundays and holidays and asked the government to send to parliament amendments to the Commerce Act under fast-track procedure so they could be adopted before parliamentary elections.
As for lay-offs, the union said that the ban on Sunday trading would not make 15,000 people in the trade sector redundant but that rather there was a shortage of at least that many workers if they worked in line with the relevant regulations and collective agreements.
The union also noted that it was not in favour of a complete ban on Sunday trading but rather allowing the trade sector to choose a certain number of Sundays to work.
