The 10th anniversary of the Operation was recently held in Knin

The 10th anniversary of the Operation was recently held in Knin, the former capital of the Serb

enclave. It attracted Neo-Nazis and regular folks who derided their president as a ‘gypsy’ when he

urged tolerance for minorities, and cheered instead for the twin ‘Antes’- Ante Gotovina, the former

general now wanted by the Hague, and Ante Pavelic, his WWII Nazi predecessor (on him see here).

I posted a blog with the original Neo-Nazi article here . That website also speaks of the hardships

faced by Roma in post-war Croatia, which would be at the head of the pack among West Balkan EU aspiring

nations, were it not for Gotovina’s having gone AWOL. Until he resurfaces (if ever), the Croats – who

are basically considered the most ‘civilized’ of the West Balkanians after Slovenia – can continue to

take pride in their magnificent achievement. At which point they will take more pride in ‘Ante,’ and

angrily denounce the West for stripping them of their hero. As is happening elsewhere in the Balkans,

the influence of radical parties will grow.

For better or for worse, the Balkans cannot possibly be assimilated by the EU, unless you change

everything in the collective consciousness that makes it a unique region.

Through instruments like the Hague, the West hopes to shame the Balkanians into accepting their values

(which have long degenerated into hollow rhetoric anyway). It’s not working and it never will.