tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675174180164753706.post7073388492550335109..comments2024-03-29T02:10:18.710-07:00Comments on Merlin and Rebecca: Castle Hunting: OstrožacRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06444594851304953597noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675174180164753706.post-3825093045331300442018-09-27T01:36:46.839-07:002018-09-27T01:36:46.839-07:00Your (both articles authors) interpretation of all...Your (both articles authors) interpretation of all-things concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina is quite alright.<br />On the opposite side is this "James" person, who is trying to muddy the "Una" (crystal-clear waters) through deception and creation of fallacious picture of Bosnian war and to turn events and consequences on its head by turning victim into the perpetrator and perpetrator into the victim. To do this "James" obviously relies on voicing those belonging to screeching pro-Serbian apologetic and war-crimes-denialist minority, which are, especially among westerners, primarily driven by anti-Muslim sentiments and self-styled "anti-imperialism". This in reality just aligns them with reemergence of "red & brown" populism, that mixes the worse of both of these ideologies - authoritarianism rooted in populism and xenophobia and racism. These days, ironically, they call real progressive left "regressive", and think of themselves as "progressive left". On the issue of Bosnia and Balkan they continue to poison World-Wide-Web with their anti-intellectualism from the fringes of ideological spectrum and intellectual debates, using their obscure pages like "Antiwar", "CounterPunch", and other, by parroting blabber and cacophony produced by charlatans who never set foot on Bosnian soil let alone being able to read in local languages, like all the Reimondos, Chossudovskys, Johnstones. In this post-truth era people like these have new allies and powerful benefactors too - from Dutch racism poster-boy Geert Wilders, to French anti-Semitic dynasty Le Pens, to Putin.<br /><br />Anyone wanting to read more about Bosnia and what happened, but also about these people, my suggestion is to start with following pages:<br />http://balkanwitness.glypx.com/articles-deniers.htm#multiple<br />Here you can find excellently condensed introductory information with lots of links. ICTY is also excellent source of evidences and info. Among scholars and researchers Marko Attila Hoare, historian of Bosnia from middle-ages to present times, with specialization on modern history of the country is a best to start from - here's his response to all the Jameses and Reimondos of the world: http://balkanwitness.glypx.com/hoare.htm<br /><br />Hoare's blog : https://greatersurbiton.wordpress.com/category/bosnia/<br /><br />I hope that my "intervention" won't leave a soured flavor in readers mouth, and that won't taint this wonderful blog and stories about Bosnia and Herzegovina, at least not more than this one made in 2012 by "James".<br /><br />Here's small contribution to remedy above dark notes: those sculptures in Ostrožac castle yard are carved by various authors and left behind there after the annual gatherings of sculptors from all over the region and the world - in 1969 town of Cazin established a permanent Colony of Sculptors „Ostrožac“, an annual manifestation that took place within castle walls every summer.Santahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09532023654857467254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675174180164753706.post-37783037548537519342018-09-25T16:40:36.635-07:002018-09-25T16:40:36.635-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Santahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09532023654857467254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675174180164753706.post-36342222976263354282012-07-29T23:53:15.236-07:002012-07-29T23:53:15.236-07:00Hello James,
This is also very interesting. You s...Hello James,<br />This is also very interesting. You seem to be taking a great deal of interest in our posts! Thanks for reading.<br />I know that our (American) interpretation of things is always going to be very much different from that of the people who were involved in the conflict. I've also been very careful here to say that I don't know what, exactly, happened at Ostrozac. I haven't made any accusations about any of the different sides involved.Merlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08107394248553508646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675174180164753706.post-76717269617311287102012-07-29T13:44:35.591-07:002012-07-29T13:44:35.591-07:00Okay, you seem to be completely ignorant of, or fa...Okay, you seem to be completely ignorant of, or fail to address, that in this region there was an autonomous enclave of Muslims, under popular leader Fikret Abdic (who actually received more votes for president than Alija Izetbegovic before the war, but stepped aside in some kind of deal) - and that he and his followers were essentially allied with the Serbs in the region.<br /> <br />He was opposed to the Sarajevo government and his enclave was attacked, overrun and defeated near the end of the war. These Muslims - 10s of thousands - fled into Croatia and were kept in camps with "chicken coop"-like conditions. Eventually most of them were settled in a different country.<br /><br />Here are some extracts of Justin Raimondo's summary on Fikret Abdic and what happened:<br /><br />http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j072001.html<br /><br />Abdic opposed the radical Islamic fundamentalism of Izetbegovic and proclaimed himself a follower of Western-style capitalism. In Balkan Odyssey, Lord Owen, the British diplomat, described him as "forthright, confident and different from the Sarajevan Muslims. He was in favor of negotiating and compromising with Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement, and scathing about those Muslims who wanted to block any such settlement." As one Abdic supporter succinctly put it: "Alija Izetbegovic is the biggest Muslim fundamentalist. Fikret Abdic is the best economist and smartest man."...<br />Always critical of the uncompromising position of Izetbegovic and his pro-Iranian fundamentalist party, the SDA, Abdic declared the Cazinska Krajina enclave an autonomous republic, and signed a separate peace with both the Serbs and the Croats...<br />The Bosnian Army launched a deadly offensive against Abdic on June 10, 1994, and they were joined by their newfound allies, the Croats...<br />Abdic and tens of thousands of his followers fled into neighboring Croatia, where many were crowded into refugee camps, as the Bosnian army reclaimed the enclave. Thousands were killed in the fighting, and, after the battle, Abdic's remaining supporters – those who did not flee – were subjected to systematic and cruel repression. (Abdic was himself the target of an Iranian-trained assassination squad organized by the Bosnian intelligence agency.)Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16637446222774302599noreply@blogger.com