The following letter originally appeared in the Washington Times, along with others by Hilda Foley and Alan Nemaric.

 

CONFLICT IN THE BALKANS

The Washington Times - 18.06.04

 

Helle Dale claims that Croatian troops forced tens of thousands of Serbian civilians out of Croatia ("Balkan ghosts", Op-Ed, Wednesday). This claim - also made by the International Criminal Tribunal - is untrue. The Croatian Serb leadership publicly admitted that it ordered and coerced its people to leave Croatia ahead of the Croatian offensives. The U.S.-backed Croatian actions recovered Serbian-occupied territory that had been conquered on the back of ethnic cleansing. The U.S.-Croatian actions also saved Bosnia, saving untold thousands of lives.

Mrs. Dale should take a closer look at the tribunal she says should be supported. One of the top Serbian officials involved in the occupation of Croatia, Savo Strbac, far from being investigated, is a top associate of the U.N. prosecutors. He is helping them prosecute the very Croatian generals who, with vital American support, stopped Slobodan Milosevic in his tracks. They will not get a fair trial.

The United Nations will smear the United States for helping the Croats stop Mr. Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic - a "crime" in the eyes of many at the United Nations who were happy to indulge the Serbian rampage across Croatia and Bosnia.

 

Brian Gallagher, London