POREC, Sept 22 (Hina) - Bishops of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) on Friday called on political subjects not to take steps which would jeopardise the state, be contrary to guaranteed values, and have a ring of belittling the
sacrifices made in the Homeland War. In a message for the public issued after a plenary session held in the northern Adriatic town of Porec September 19-21, the HBK said that what encouraged them to send the message were current events, which they said showed signs of polarisation and aggravation in attitudes. The HBK said their message advocated avoiding disorder, alleviating tension, and security and stability in the Croatia.
POREC, Sept 22 (Hina) - Bishops of the Croatian Bishops' Conference
(HBK) on Friday called on political subjects not to take steps which
would jeopardise the state, be contrary to guaranteed values, and
have a ring of belittling the sacrifices made in the Homeland War.
In a message for the public issued after a plenary session held in
the northern Adriatic town of Porec September 19-21, the HBK said
that what encouraged them to send the message were current events,
which they said showed signs of polarisation and aggravation in
attitudes.
The HBK said their message advocated avoiding disorder,
alleviating tension, and security and stability in the
Croatia.#L#
"The independent Croatian state, from its beginnings, was under
attack of enemies who tried to destroy it, not only by political,
but military means as well. Thanks to brave Homeland War soldiers
and the Croatian political leadership, they failed to do so. If our
Homeland is still not capable of recognising the values and
rewarding those most deserving for the establishment of the
Croatian state, it must not show that it does not appreciate their
sacrifices", read the message.
"Acts which are contrary to the international rules of war are no
credit to any nation, including the Croatian. Such acts should be
prosecuted in regular court procedures and condemned in public",
the bishops said.
They expect in passing judgement on events which took place in last
decade's Homeland War, consideration must be given the historical
context, the injustice the Croatian people was exposed to, and the
fact that hundreds of thousands of Croatians were refugees and
displaced persons for many years.
"In the assessments of certain acts, one must consider what took
place before and what came after, what is the cause and what the
consequence. Harm is being done also when 'the book of crimes'
committed in the war is being thumbed through in accordance with
certain political needs and orders, and when such criteria are
applied in selecting who is to be prosecuted and how. This will make
even those who unselfishly fought for us and defended us from the
aggressor fear the sword of revenge is hanging above them", the
message read.
"Nobody has the right to proclaim anyone as guilty, and certainly
not as a war criminal, before a fair trial. Likewise, nobody has the
right to use any form of force to prevent legitimate judicial state
bodies from conducting a fair trial," the message read.
The bishops regret that such a demonstration of force was used in
last week's apprehension of suspects, which the HBK says is
inappropriate for a democratic society. The impression is that such
activities aim more at intimidating people and diverting their
attention from ongoing social and economic problems, the HBK adds.
The Croatian bishops also called on political subjects and heads of
Homeland War associations to refrain from radically politicising
Croatia's war of independence from the former Yugoslav federation,
and that all issues, particularly political ones, be solved in a
democratic fashion, via legitimate party representatives at the
Croatian national parliament.
(hina) it jn