Fw: Searching for a Storm interview (in English)
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CroRadio.net
Feb 28, 2009, 5:43:00 PM2/28/09
to Croatian News
From: Tomislav Kuzmanovic
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 10:12 AM
Subject: Fw: Searching for a Storm interview (in English)
Dear friends,
Another update. The link below sends you to an interview of my
friend, Jack Baric, and a discussion of his film about Operation
Storm, the subject matter of my case before the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), referred to above. It's
world premiere is this weekend in Croatia. While my client is not
profiled, only the first (and really target) defendant is, his
interview gives a great synopsis of the BS we face when we deal with
the alphabet soup of UN/Nongovernmental, "human rights" and other
organizations/witnesses that did nothing from 1991-1995 while the only
entity capable of ending it all, Croatia, in the end, after having
armed and liberated itself, still suffers from the repercussions of
taking its territory back. The general position of the
"internationals" is that there was no aggressor, that everybody was
the same, that "those people" have been fighting without end for
centuries: mythology (and more accurately an excuse for inaction) at
its best. Meanwhile, the average every day person, the vast majority
civilian, no matter their ethnic background, suffered needlessly the
most.
You wouldn't believe how the "neutral" UN in Croatia engaged in, among
other things, black market selling of petrol to the occupying Serbs,
human sex trafficking, spread unsubstantiated and unproven allegations
of human rights violations to cover up for their lack of backbone and
political will and to make "all sides equally guilty", etc., etc.
The interview is about 7 minutes long. It's worth watching. Jack
does in 7 minutes of interview what is difficult to do in written
form: explain quite simply the whole basis for why I'm here defending
General Markac, and to some extent, Croatia's honor and dignity.
There's one thing to remember, though. "Trial" here isn't what you
and I know it to be in the US. Anything goes, including hearsay,
double hearsay, even triple hearsay, admission of documents without
the foundational basis of the author or a records custodian. The
Court can and does interrupt to ask questions all the time, witnesses
are allowed, after all their testimony is complete, "to add anything
to what you have said either in direct, cross or in response to
questions from the bench," etc. It's a bit like the wild west, which
makes it extremely challenging and exhilarating, but when you consider
that someone's liberty is at stake, also disgusting and frustrating.
We'll see how much we'll be able to get away with using the rules to
our advantage in the defense phase of the case.
Please feel free to send to anyone. Thanks for your time.
Yours from wet and dreary Holland,
Tom
Tomislav Z. Kuzmanovic
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Ste 2600
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Below is link to an interview with Jack Baric, director of Searching
for a Storm. The first few seconds are in Croatian, but the interview
is in English.
http://www.jutarnji.hr/zagrebdox?bcpid=13393037001&bclid=13319342001&bctid=14086965001
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 10:12 AM
Subject: Fw: Searching for a Storm interview (in English)
Dear friends,
Another update. The link below sends you to an interview of my
friend, Jack Baric, and a discussion of his film about Operation
Storm, the subject matter of my case before the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), referred to above. It's
world premiere is this weekend in Croatia. While my client is not
profiled, only the first (and really target) defendant is, his
interview gives a great synopsis of the BS we face when we deal with
the alphabet soup of UN/Nongovernmental, "human rights" and other
organizations/witnesses that did nothing from 1991-1995 while the only
entity capable of ending it all, Croatia, in the end, after having
armed and liberated itself, still suffers from the repercussions of
taking its territory back. The general position of the
"internationals" is that there was no aggressor, that everybody was
the same, that "those people" have been fighting without end for
centuries: mythology (and more accurately an excuse for inaction) at
its best. Meanwhile, the average every day person, the vast majority
civilian, no matter their ethnic background, suffered needlessly the
most.
You wouldn't believe how the "neutral" UN in Croatia engaged in, among
other things, black market selling of petrol to the occupying Serbs,
human sex trafficking, spread unsubstantiated and unproven allegations
of human rights violations to cover up for their lack of backbone and
political will and to make "all sides equally guilty", etc., etc.
The interview is about 7 minutes long. It's worth watching. Jack
does in 7 minutes of interview what is difficult to do in written
form: explain quite simply the whole basis for why I'm here defending
General Markac, and to some extent, Croatia's honor and dignity.
There's one thing to remember, though. "Trial" here isn't what you
and I know it to be in the US. Anything goes, including hearsay,
double hearsay, even triple hearsay, admission of documents without
the foundational basis of the author or a records custodian. The
Court can and does interrupt to ask questions all the time, witnesses
are allowed, after all their testimony is complete, "to add anything
to what you have said either in direct, cross or in response to
questions from the bench," etc. It's a bit like the wild west, which
makes it extremely challenging and exhilarating, but when you consider
that someone's liberty is at stake, also disgusting and frustrating.
We'll see how much we'll be able to get away with using the rules to
our advantage in the defense phase of the case.
Please feel free to send to anyone. Thanks for your time.
Yours from wet and dreary Holland,
Tom
Tomislav Z. Kuzmanovic
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Ste 2600
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Below is link to an interview with Jack Baric, director of Searching
for a Storm. The first few seconds are in Croatian, but the interview
is in English.
http://www.jutarnji.hr/zagrebdox?bcpid=13393037001&bclid=13319342001&bctid=14086965001
Frank Vinko Mustac
Mar 13, 2009, 9:07:49 PM3/13/09
to Croatian News
Hey Tom,
I always enjoy coming across one of your writings, whether on the
Internet or elsewhere.
Below is an excerpt from my interview article with "Searching for a
Storm" documentary film dirertor Jack Baric, which will appear in the
next issue of the Croatian Chronicle newspaper (http://
www.croatianchronicle.com) .
I just wanted to mention one observation I had about the ICTY court
that makes it inherently unfair besides all the things you cited, and
that is the "subpoenaing" of evidence.
It seems the prosecution via threats by the EU to stop EU accession
negotiations can strong arm Croatia to hand over any piece of evidence
the prosecution wants, like "artillery logs," but the defense cannot
very likely even count on the ICTY court to make nonbinding requests
of countries like Serbia or the United States to hand over documents
or war-time communication intercepts that would be invalubale to the
defense of indictees.
Anyway, here's the article excerpt below.
Frank Vinko Mustac
Headline: Searching for a Storm
Sub-Headline: New Documentary Film Tells Story of General Ante
Gotovina and the UN Court
By Frank Vinko Mustac
A great number of his fellow countrymen call him a hero, but the
United Nations ICTY prosecutor’s office indicted him as a war
criminal.
Among those who would place him among the bravest Croats in history,
many also cannot shake the gnawing feeling that he has been served up
as a convenient political scapegoat and sacrificial lamb for his
nation.
The personal life story of former Croatian Army Lieutenant General
Ante Gotovina and his case before the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia evoke intense emotions from both those who
point the finger of guilt at the ex-soldier, and others who espouse
the man’s innocence for his role in leading a military action called
“Operation Storm” in August 1995 that liberated Croatian territory
occupied by Serb rebels since 1991.
Allied with military forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gotovina with the
Croatian Army advanced into Bihac, thereby relieving its inhabitants
from a prolonged Serbian siege. Serb forces were driven back even
farther, which created conditions that ultimately led to the Dayton
Peace Accords signed in November 1995.
Gotovina’s story has also stirred the passions of Jack Baric, a
California filmmaker and son of Croatian immigrants, driving him over
the course of more than two years to create a documentary movie aptly
titled “Searching for a Storm.”
The film premiered on February 27 at the ZagrebDox International
Documentary Film Festival in Croatia. A sold-out first screening
prompted festival organizers to schedule another showing the next day.
Speaking to the Croatian Chronicle by phone on March 3 from his home
in San Pedro, California, following his return from Zagreb, Baric said
that he was interviewed by almost all the major Croatian media
outlets, and that “Searching for a Storm” became the lead story on the
evening news broadcasts.
“I thought it was unbelievable,” Baric said describing the film’s
reception in Zagreb. “It was really above and beyond anything I
expected.”
...
(For the complete story, subscribe to the Croatian Chronicle newspaper
by visiting: http:http://www.croatianchronicle.com/subscribe.html)
On Feb 28, 5:43 pm, "CroRadio.net" <iv...@cyberdude.com> wrote:
> From: Tomislav Kuzmanovic
> Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 10:12 AM
> Subject: Fw: Searching for a Storm interview (in English)
>
> Dear friends,
>
> Another update. The link below sends you to an interview of my
> friend, JackBaric, and a discussion of his film about Operation
> Below is link to an interview with JackBaric, director of Searching
I always enjoy coming across one of your writings, whether on the
Internet or elsewhere.
Below is an excerpt from my interview article with "Searching for a
Storm" documentary film dirertor Jack Baric, which will appear in the
next issue of the Croatian Chronicle newspaper (http://
www.croatianchronicle.com) .
I just wanted to mention one observation I had about the ICTY court
that makes it inherently unfair besides all the things you cited, and
that is the "subpoenaing" of evidence.
It seems the prosecution via threats by the EU to stop EU accession
negotiations can strong arm Croatia to hand over any piece of evidence
the prosecution wants, like "artillery logs," but the defense cannot
very likely even count on the ICTY court to make nonbinding requests
of countries like Serbia or the United States to hand over documents
or war-time communication intercepts that would be invalubale to the
defense of indictees.
Anyway, here's the article excerpt below.
Frank Vinko Mustac
Headline: Searching for a Storm
Sub-Headline: New Documentary Film Tells Story of General Ante
Gotovina and the UN Court
By Frank Vinko Mustac
A great number of his fellow countrymen call him a hero, but the
United Nations ICTY prosecutor’s office indicted him as a war
criminal.
Among those who would place him among the bravest Croats in history,
many also cannot shake the gnawing feeling that he has been served up
as a convenient political scapegoat and sacrificial lamb for his
nation.
The personal life story of former Croatian Army Lieutenant General
Ante Gotovina and his case before the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia evoke intense emotions from both those who
point the finger of guilt at the ex-soldier, and others who espouse
the man’s innocence for his role in leading a military action called
“Operation Storm” in August 1995 that liberated Croatian territory
occupied by Serb rebels since 1991.
Allied with military forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gotovina with the
Croatian Army advanced into Bihac, thereby relieving its inhabitants
from a prolonged Serbian siege. Serb forces were driven back even
farther, which created conditions that ultimately led to the Dayton
Peace Accords signed in November 1995.
Gotovina’s story has also stirred the passions of Jack Baric, a
California filmmaker and son of Croatian immigrants, driving him over
the course of more than two years to create a documentary movie aptly
titled “Searching for a Storm.”
The film premiered on February 27 at the ZagrebDox International
Documentary Film Festival in Croatia. A sold-out first screening
prompted festival organizers to schedule another showing the next day.
Speaking to the Croatian Chronicle by phone on March 3 from his home
in San Pedro, California, following his return from Zagreb, Baric said
that he was interviewed by almost all the major Croatian media
outlets, and that “Searching for a Storm” became the lead story on the
evening news broadcasts.
“I thought it was unbelievable,” Baric said describing the film’s
reception in Zagreb. “It was really above and beyond anything I
expected.”
...
(For the complete story, subscribe to the Croatian Chronicle newspaper
by visiting: http:http://www.croatianchronicle.com/subscribe.html)
On Feb 28, 5:43 pm, "CroRadio.net" <iv...@cyberdude.com> wrote:
> From: Tomislav Kuzmanovic
> Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 10:12 AM
> Subject: Fw: Searching for a Storm interview (in English)
>
> Dear friends,
>
> Another update. The link below sends you to an interview of my
> for a Storm. The first few seconds are in Croatian, but the interview
> is in English.
>
> http://www.jutarnji.hr/zagrebdox?bcpid=13393037001&bclid=13319342001&...> is in English.
>
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