Police investigating attack on Serb car

I wonder why Serbians travel to Croatia when cars with Serbian registration plates are constantly attacked. The other day we had a hand grenade put into a car with BG plates.

Here I am in Romania with BG plates and everyone is friendly and wants to talk. Why go to Croatia when Romania has so much more to offer at much better prices? The Black Sea resorts are wonderful. The water is as warm as the air temperature. The cities have a lot to offer and they even have a Serbian food chain. Get respect in Romania or get attacked in Croatia. It's your choice.

Zoran I've been to both Romania and Croatia and with all due respect if you have to ask why people go to Croatia, obviously you have not been.

Yes Romanians are on the whole more friendly and interested, but Serbs also discover that many Croats are also very interested how life is in Serbia. At first people might be a bit guarded and profess some superficial, dutiful love of country but then the honesty flows. For many Serbs and Croats there is something cathartic about these connections, however, brief.

Now I'm not one to play down these unacceptible attacks on Serbs visiting Croatia, far from it. But the chances of being attacked are pretty low.

Also you must not underestimate the comfort in being able to speak and understand the language of the country you are in with ease. And of course there are sentimental reasons for many as well, some people did their army service in Croatia, once upon a time had good friends there, always wondered what life would be like living by the sea in Jugoslavija and so on...

Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia.

For sure these cases seem more frequent but then so do stories about foreigners being attacked in Belgrade and I would not advise foreigners to stay away either.

bganon,
Please go to Croatia with your Otpor friends, and take Cedo Jovanovic with you, and make sure you are driving with BG plates. And be sure to go to a bar when we beat them once again in waterpolo, and Boze Pravde is played in the middle of Zagreb, and see how much the locals love you guys. Your comment about foreigners being attacked in Belgrade is a joke. Belgrade is totaly safe for all, including for croats and albanians, despite them treating us like animals. Serbia is the most tolerant society, by far, in the Balkans, and our multicultural character and welcoming nature is second to none.

‘…trying to confirm the motive behind the attack.’

I should have thought the motive for the attack was blatantly obvious, though all police must go through the usual motions.

Most Croats would not attack Serbian cars. But those who do seem to forget that, unlike some other former regions of Yugoslavia, Serbia is still the most multi-national of them all. Many Serbian citizens are of Croatian origin and might be visiting relatives in Croatia, or simply there to appreciate their origins.

Furthermore, I have noticed that Serbia, and especially Belgrade, is full of cars with Croatian registration plates. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have never heard of any of them being attacked, ever.

Lately, there seems to be a resurgence of anti-Serb actions and propaganda, and I suspect this is indicative of a crisis among the attackers rather than the Serbs themselves.

What are they frightened of?

Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia. (bganon, 17 August 2010 15:11) Then again that part of Croatia did not have to face Serbs murderous rampage onslaught and ethnic cleansing destruction of their homes and heritage. For the Belgrade inspired Grater Serbia that duped a good part of the Serb minority of Croatia fell hook line and sinker for Belgrades Serbia evil plans. It is not as a lot of Serbs claim Istria is better because Italians live their. The Italians are only 6% of the population of Istria. Imagine if Serbia and Serbs did not wage a war of aggression ,murder ,ethnic cleansing on their unarmed neighbours what a different place ex Yugo would be today.

CROATIA is much better than romania.is the best country in ex.yugo.in romania most of the people cant speak english and the country still the same garbage that was 20 years ago.

Zoran, you're absolutely right!

bganon, I'm not sure when and where you've been in Romania but every place I've been to is simply wonderful. Starting from Timisoara to Bucharest to Constanta (Mamaia) and Brasov. All very cosmopolitan and you can get top class accommodation for very affordable prices.

Yes, I have been to Croatia (Dubrovnik in 1989) but why would I go there now? I hear they don't like people speaking ekavski and based on the constant attacks on Serbians, I'd rather stay well away. Even you admit the same. However, I have used the Croatian motorway recently to get to Banja Luka and when I did it in 2001 (with BG plates) we did get asked whether we were allowed to. Not very nice to hear.

"Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia."
-------------------

Bgannon, If it's so safe then why not? Why wouldn't you take small children?

Dragan, you are abosolutely correct. How many times have we heard how buses carrying Serbian basketball players and supporters were attacked in Croatia. How safe does that sound. Does this happen in Belgrade?

Bgannon, some people were attacked at a soccer match in Belgrade and one person not at a game but really that's about it. You cannot possibly copare it to buses being attacked by an angry mob simply because they are carrying Serbs. You are really stretching to say that the two could be even remotely similar. One is purely a racial thing while the other is soccer violence or just a random act of stupidity.

So pleae do explain to us why you would not take children or your girlfriend to Croatia. You seem to think it's as safe for Serbs there as it is for Croatians in Serbia.
Actually it should be the other way around taking into account the genocide committed against the Serbs in WW2 and more recently in Operation Storm.

Attacking Serbian women is what Croats like to do. And for all who bring up the war - well the 22-year-old woman would have been only 3 years old when the war started and 7 when it ended - so how was she at fault?

That's just the Serb and women hating Lenard excusing attacks on Serbian women - even if they were small when the war happened or I'm sure he would excuse the attacks on Serbian women/girls who were born even after the war.

Some days ago, a similar incident occured in Split:

A hand grenade was placed in a car with a Belgrade number plate.

The message is in both cases the same:

"Krajina Serbs, if you return, you will be killed, bodily injured, or your property will be destroyed."

Besides safety unemployment is an important issue for returning Krajina Serbs:

Something really effective must be done against the discrimination Serbs are facing if they look for a job
in Croatia.

As citizen of an EU-member state I have to say:
Croatia shouldn´t be allowed to join the EU before such anti-discrimination measures have entered into force and before it is fully proven that such measures are really effective.

How come there's no news of the ethnic Greek in Albania who was killed for speaking Greek a few days ago. I think that should have been a "Regional News" story, as it is reminiscent of the Albanians killing those who spoke Serbian (or what they thought was Serbian) in Kosovo - like the Bulgarian UN worker who was murdered for speaking Bulgarian in 1999.

On the one hand you have people who have no experience other than what they read in the media and on the other people who have first hand experience in war time post war time Croatia.

Personally speaking I'd always rather listen to somebody with local knowledge rather than media reports.

That principle for me is applied in all cases.

But Lenard you like to pretend that anti Serb feeling in Croatia only appeared after 1990. Absolutely ridiculous, but I suppose its easy to forget World War Two right? Its much less important than the 'homeland' war!

bganon,
Please go to Croatia with your Otpor friends, and take Cedo Jovanovic with you, and make sure you are driving with BG plates. And be sure to go to a bar when we beat them once again in waterpolo, and Boze Pravde is played in the middle of Zagreb, and see how much the locals love you guys. Your comment about foreigners being attacked in Belgrade is a joke. Belgrade is totaly safe for all, including for croats and albanians, despite them treating us like animals. Serbia is the most tolerant society, by far, in the Balkans, and our multicultural character and welcoming nature is second to none.

Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia. (bganon, 17 August 2010 15:11) Then again that part of Croatia did not have to face Serbs murderous rampage onslaught and ethnic cleansing destruction of their homes and heritage. For the Belgrade inspired Grater Serbia that duped a good part of the Serb minority of Croatia fell hook line and sinker for Belgrades Serbia evil plans. It is not as a lot of Serbs claim Istria is better because Italians live their. The Italians are only 6% of the population of Istria. Imagine if Serbia and Serbs did not wage a war of aggression ,murder ,ethnic cleansing on their unarmed neighbours what a different place ex Yugo would be today.

I wonder why Serbians travel to Croatia when cars with Serbian registration plates are constantly attacked. The other day we had a hand grenade put into a car with BG plates.

Here I am in Romania with BG plates and everyone is friendly and wants to talk. Why go to Croatia when Romania has so much more to offer at much better prices? The Black Sea resorts are wonderful. The water is as warm as the air temperature. The cities have a lot to offer and they even have a Serbian food chain. Get respect in Romania or get attacked in Croatia. It's your choice.

CROATIA is much better than romania.is the best country in ex.yugo.in romania most of the people cant speak english and the country still the same garbage that was 20 years ago.

Zoran, you're absolutely right!

bganon, I'm not sure when and where you've been in Romania but every place I've been to is simply wonderful. Starting from Timisoara to Bucharest to Constanta (Mamaia) and Brasov. All very cosmopolitan and you can get top class accommodation for very affordable prices.

Yes, I have been to Croatia (Dubrovnik in 1989) but why would I go there now? I hear they don't like people speaking ekavski and based on the constant attacks on Serbians, I'd rather stay well away. Even you admit the same. However, I have used the Croatian motorway recently to get to Banja Luka and when I did it in 2001 (with BG plates) we did get asked whether we were allowed to. Not very nice to hear.

‘…trying to confirm the motive behind the attack.’

I should have thought the motive for the attack was blatantly obvious, though all police must go through the usual motions.

Most Croats would not attack Serbian cars. But those who do seem to forget that, unlike some other former regions of Yugoslavia, Serbia is still the most multi-national of them all. Many Serbian citizens are of Croatian origin and might be visiting relatives in Croatia, or simply there to appreciate their origins.

Furthermore, I have noticed that Serbia, and especially Belgrade, is full of cars with Croatian registration plates. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have never heard of any of them being attacked, ever.

Lately, there seems to be a resurgence of anti-Serb actions and propaganda, and I suspect this is indicative of a crisis among the attackers rather than the Serbs themselves.

What are they frightened of?

Zoran I've been to both Romania and Croatia and with all due respect if you have to ask why people go to Croatia, obviously you have not been.

Yes Romanians are on the whole more friendly and interested, but Serbs also discover that many Croats are also very interested how life is in Serbia. At first people might be a bit guarded and profess some superficial, dutiful love of country but then the honesty flows. For many Serbs and Croats there is something cathartic about these connections, however, brief.

Now I'm not one to play down these unacceptible attacks on Serbs visiting Croatia, far from it. But the chances of being attacked are pretty low.

Also you must not underestimate the comfort in being able to speak and understand the language of the country you are in with ease. And of course there are sentimental reasons for many as well, some people did their army service in Croatia, once upon a time had good friends there, always wondered what life would be like living by the sea in Jugoslavija and so on...

Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia.

For sure these cases seem more frequent but then so do stories about foreigners being attacked in Belgrade and I would not advise foreigners to stay away either.

"Personally speaking I would not take small children / girlfriend to anywhere other than Istria, just in case. But if travelling in a group or on my own would not have a problem travelling throughout Croatia."
-------------------

Bgannon, If it's so safe then why not? Why wouldn't you take small children?

Dragan, you are abosolutely correct. How many times have we heard how buses carrying Serbian basketball players and supporters were attacked in Croatia. How safe does that sound. Does this happen in Belgrade?

Bgannon, some people were attacked at a soccer match in Belgrade and one person not at a game but really that's about it. You cannot possibly copare it to buses being attacked by an angry mob simply because they are carrying Serbs. You are really stretching to say that the two could be even remotely similar. One is purely a racial thing while the other is soccer violence or just a random act of stupidity.

So pleae do explain to us why you would not take children or your girlfriend to Croatia. You seem to think it's as safe for Serbs there as it is for Croatians in Serbia.
Actually it should be the other way around taking into account the genocide committed against the Serbs in WW2 and more recently in Operation Storm.

Some days ago, a similar incident occured in Split:

A hand grenade was placed in a car with a Belgrade number plate.

The message is in both cases the same:

"Krajina Serbs, if you return, you will be killed, bodily injured, or your property will be destroyed."

Besides safety unemployment is an important issue for returning Krajina Serbs:

Something really effective must be done against the discrimination Serbs are facing if they look for a job
in Croatia.

As citizen of an EU-member state I have to say:
Croatia shouldn´t be allowed to join the EU before such anti-discrimination measures have entered into force and before it is fully proven that such measures are really effective.

Attacking Serbian women is what Croats like to do. And for all who bring up the war - well the 22-year-old woman would have been only 3 years old when the war started and 7 when it ended - so how was she at fault?

That's just the Serb and women hating Lenard excusing attacks on Serbian women - even if they were small when the war happened or I'm sure he would excuse the attacks on Serbian women/girls who were born even after the war.

How come there's no news of the ethnic Greek in Albania who was killed for speaking Greek a few days ago. I think that should have been a "Regional News" story, as it is reminiscent of the Albanians killing those who spoke Serbian (or what they thought was Serbian) in Kosovo - like the Bulgarian UN worker who was murdered for speaking Bulgarian in 1999.

On the one hand you have people who have no experience other than what they read in the media and on the other people who have first hand experience in war time post war time Croatia.

Personally speaking I'd always rather listen to somebody with local knowledge rather than media reports.

That principle for me is applied in all cases.

But Lenard you like to pretend that anti Serb feeling in Croatia only appeared after 1990. Absolutely ridiculous, but I suppose its easy to forget World War Two right? Its much less important than the 'homeland' war!