The Independent - 29 December 1999
The Independent is a major British daily newspaper whose politics are left of centre. In December 1999 it ran an editorial, which whilst critical of Croatia, stated that it was about time that Croatia was brought in from the cold. Indeed it said that it was "absurd" not to offer Croatia EU membership when Turkey was being offered it. Remarkable stuff for the British press! The Serb lobby was quick off the mark and had a couple of letters published objecting to such ideas. I immediately wrote my own letter to The Independent and to my absolute delight it was published on 29 December 1999 - making it my new year's gift to Croatia!
Sir:
Your correspondent's comments on Croatia (Letter, 16 December) implying that the "Krajina" Serbs were law-abiding taxpayers and that Croatia was not occupied beggar belief.
The Yugoslav Army invaded and annexed one third of Croatia in 1991. Infamously they destroyed Vukovar and bombarded Dubrovnik.
With the Yugoslav Army the "Krajina" Serbs enthusiastically ethnically cleansed hundreds of thousands of Croats, killing up to 20,000 of them.
They shelled Croatian cities from the occupied areas, ethnically cleansed the remaining Croats and even invaded Bosnia to attack the UN safe haven of Bihac.
The Croatian offensives liberated Croatian territory and saved Bihac from a fate similar to that of Srebrenica. The "Krajina" Serb leadership ordered their population to leave.
Considering their horrific crimes it was hardly surprising they complied. Nor did they wish to be around when many of their victims were dug up, over 3000 to date.
Brian Gallagher
London