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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 09:32:55 -0700 (PDT)
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From: Ivo Skoric 
Subject: UNPROFOR DUTIES ABROAD
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There are three interesting appearances connected to the recent

Croatian offensive that I forgot to mention in my previous post:



1

Ejup Ganic, second in command to Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo,

had a traffic accident on the road Sarajevo-Mostar (well that

road was not really known for its safety even before the war)

just a few hours before the Croatian offensive begun. He was

immediately hospitalized in Split, Croatia. Ganic was long

suspected by many Croats of being a 'traitor'. In the beginning

of the war Ganic supported the idea (which however Izetbegovic

and Silajdzic found repulsive) of giving in to Serbs (like

forming confederation with Serbs instead of with Croats, and

fighting with Serbs against Croats, instead of with Croats

against Serbs). He never publicly advocated attacking Croats, and

he never openly cooperated with the Karadzic's Serbs. But about

two years ago in an interview he said in oblique terms how

Muslims are actually Serbs that accepted Islam and how it would

be natural to stop that internecine war. Serbs didn't buy it.

Izetbegovic overheard it (he kind of reminds me of Ronald Reagan

slowly dozing of on all those high-level diplomatic meetings).

Tudjman nevertheless fastidiously kept notes.



2

The Krajina felt in Croatian hands so quickly and helplessly

because the brave and invincible Serbian Army performed a full

scale 50,000 people vanishing act on Saturday. Now, Milan Martic,

their commander calls for re-conquest, Of course this is

unrealistic given that they have not been able to defend it with

the same force they now want to use to attack it. Soldiers,

civilians, their extended families - all 200,000 people that run

away in this largest example of 'ethnic cleansing' in the Balkan

war yet, were not 'bused' or 'trucked' away at the gunpoint - as

this was usual practice applied on cleansed population in Zepa,

Srebrenica and less recent places. Serb refugees from Krajina run

away lured by the Bosnian Serb Radio aired paranoia hours before

Croatian army marched in towns and villages that they held. They

run in their own cars, or, for that matter, in cars they stole

from their Croatian neighbors who decided to stay in town. On

their way they were pelted with rocks and manure and not with

mortar shells and grenades. Which is definitely a new and

obviously highly effective way of ethnic cleansing. The downside

is that you let the enemy healthy able-bodied male population

escape the mandatory ritual slaughter. Croatian offensive made

Bosnian Serb Army 50,000 men stronger. Now the BSA has the same

manpower as the Bosnian government army. So, if the BSA crushes

Sarajevo because of that, the international community should be

aware of a sacrifice they made Croatian Army make for a

presentable p.r.



3

Internet community can rejoice that this was the first war in

history with a dedicated Web page. The war was fully televised,

as we are already used to with contemporary warfare. But since

Croatian TV (which crew entered every city with Croatian Army)

can't be see as extensively as for example CNN, they opted for

Internet. Croatian TV created a Web page (few days before the

offensive) which it updated hourly with still pictures - images

of recaptured townships, Serb refugees, celebrating Croatian

forces, maps tracking Croatian army advances, visits of officials

(like the U.S. ambassador Peter Galbraith who visited Krajina the

day after it's recaptured), damage of Serbian shelling (like a

kid without a leg in Bihac), damage (of course, lesser) of

Croatian shelling. The page is still there. It has tons of .jpg

images. It is certainly partisan to Croats (well, it's done by

Croatian state-run TV), but it is not annoyingly and overtly

propagandist. To download some fresh pieces of war go to:

http://www.hrt.com.hr/

(downsides: it is s-l-o-w. Croatia's pipe to Internet is 68kbps.

Also, displaying of images is not done thru interlaced giffing)

For impatient there is a mirror page served from a U.S. server:

http://www.math.utah.edu/~milicic/hrt.html



------------------------------------------------------



Inspired with the unenviable role of UN protection force in

former Yugoslavia, and curious about how do the feel (being hated

by all sides whom they are not able to protect from each other),

I deliberately decided to put myself in a role of a sarcastic

observer in one of relatively benign (at least from a Bosnian

perspective) recent NewYorkean conflicts.



On Saturday, August 12, a moderate number of gay community

activists marched from Astor Place to Cherry Tavern on 6th street

just of Avenue A, shouting on their way: "Whose streets? Our

Streets!" which curiously sounded like "Whose streets? Aus-

schwitz." They assembled on the opposite side of the street

facing Cherry Tavern, which was guarded by three officers and

barricaded by blue barricades. Few grinning teens looked

disinterested through the iron-fenced Tavern's windows. Police

used the Benny's Buritto's outdoors dining area as a 'safe

heaven' between the gay community demonstrations and the counter-

demonstrations staged by The skinheads on pedestrian crossing on

the West side of Avenue A on 6 th street.



Two skinheads seen drinking beer in Cherry Tavern beaten a gay

man on that corner. They returned to Cherry Tavern for another

beer after beating. Cherry Tavern later cooperated with the

police investigation and two perpetrators were arrested. Tavern's

bouncer claims that those two were not a part of the regular

crowd that frequents the place.



But gays were not pleased with that outcome. So, a gay-community

intelligence gathering team was dispatched to Cherry Tavern one

evening. At one point they took their cameras out and started

taking pictures of a bunch of beer-soaked skinhead kids playing

pool. That pissed skins off, which brought more violence to

already heated conflict.



The gay community crowd demonstrations featured usual posters and

slogans with some of them more event-specific (talking about

"hairism"). Occasionally, a lone cry would pierce the air:

"Nazis". Speaker (a guy who got beaten in the photographing

incident) took an extensive approach to 'skinheads plague',

mentioning the killing of Ethiopian student in Portland, Oregon

and the similar incident with a Hispanic in Queens, linking both

those accidents committed by skinheads in a plausible accusation

that all skinheads are intrinsically evil. Skinheads community

crowd, from their side of the barrier, featuring no posters,

responded with just one 'slogan': "Bullshit." I spotted two most

vocal skinheads earlier when they were monitoring the gay group

advance to their 'territory.'



The entire event lasted about twenty, twenty-five minutes. Police

force was abundant and grumpy, obviously displeased with having

to protect people whom they would rather see stab each other.

"Gays" then retreated to their safe grounds  in the West Village,

while skinheads did a round around the block and back to the

Tavern. Bouncer was pacing nervously in front of the Tavern

asking everybody who looked suspicious (almost anybody with

traces of hair on his head) for ID. Two white-shirted police

officers were discussing the safety issues of the event in the

middle of 6 th street. One of them was bragging about how he

defused some situation, kind of didn't you see stuff. A group of

German tourists walked by the Tavern, lively discussing "die zwei

gegendemosntrazionen." They had fun. Patch of alternative

journalists with pocket cameras left following the gay group.



All except one: a lady managing editor of The Outlaw Biker. She

stayed around the tavern (she was also that defused situation

that I mentioned earlier). And I hanged out with her for a while.

Mostly because I was too lazy to go all the way to West Village.

Tavern's bouncer wore The Outlaw Biker T-shirt, and he was giving

instruction to her whom to interview. Not all skinheads have

shaved heads, and just a very few of them follow the rigid dress

code. Not all of them were white - there are Hispanics, Blacks

and Asians among a majority of white kids(well, this is New York,

it would be hard to expect any group to manage to be racially

"pure"). In the matter of fact - the way how they look they are

not much different than the about 60% of those gay rights

demonstrants who just left. You can't tell Bosnian of Serbian

either. Awgh, peacekeeping is so messy.



The equivalent of the UN sponsored economic sanctions - a boycott

- which gay community threw on Cherry Tavern, apparently just

made the Tavern cater even more to the skinheads crowd in hope of

revenue. Bouncer made a point of being very friendly to every

skinheads kid that passed by. This certifies the prevalent

importance of economy in any type of situation.



I was allowed in the Tavern but not long enough to scout the male

bathroom (which just has to have some interesting drawings or

reading matter - it is given for such a place). Well, I'll give

it a more closer look the next time when dust settles a little,

and a cease fire takes an effect. Anyway, the insides are not

particularly different than at any other cheap-beer place in this

neighborhood or anywhere else: a pool table, a bar, few

inexpensive chairs and tables, a juke-box with plenty of loud and

fast alternative rock (Social Distortion was on while I was in).

The only thing I recorded as unique to the place is a picture in

the corner near the gentlemen's bathroom, featuring a rather

large amount of money, called, appropriately, "Money." 



The Outlaw Biker editor, blaming the incident on outsiders and

picturing the gay community people as such (outsiders, swears

that most of the skinheads kids live in the neighborhood. My

experience (I lived on St Marks place for 3 years not seeing them

around, plus I have few skinheads friends who live in Brooklyn)

and observation (one of the skinheads from the Tavern

demonstrations took the same train uptown that I took; he got off

on 51 st street, probably taking E or F to Queens) tells a

different story.



My conclusion?

Gay community obviously over-reacted. To a counter-productive

effect probably. Skinheads are a social phenomenon: here we have

a group of people that generally expect to be hated. They feed on

hatred. Because it justifies their somewhat misjudged narrow view

of the world. Some sort of reconciliatory educative non-violent

conflict resolution project would be recommended. Well, it

definitely may work better than shouting "Nazis" and "Bullshit"

over a row of policemen who shout "Move on."



A large cockroach emerged on the street in front of the Tavern

and amusingly frightened four properly pierced skinhead girls

(who did not have shaven heads, though). Everybody was shouting

"kill it, kill it." So one of the skinhead guys finished the

roach. This roach - the last thing in his life he knew was the

sole of a doc martens boot - became thus the next victim of

skinhead violence. One of the girls joked that the Animal Rights

movement will be now the next to come demonstrating against the

Cherry Tavern.



I expect that this article contains a bias towards skinheads

(since I was not briefed by any participant of the gay

demonstrations). But, also I expect to be taken as partisan and

hated by both sides. Which is anyway a fate that awaits any

observer.



ivo

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