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During and after World War II, Slovakia underwent massive political, economic, social and state constitutional changes. Being the part of the international events of the “hot” and Cold War, it had been brand marked by the two nondemocratic, totalitarian regimes – fascist and communist. After the Slovak Republic, which was in 1939 – 1945 a satellite state of the Nazi Germany, Slovakia became a part of the reconstructed Czechoslovak Republic with its specific system of “the limited democracy”. The communist coup d’état in February 1948 had brought the country under the rule of another totalitarian regime, spreading from Moscow to all states of the Soviet block. Though, the Czechoslovak society in 1968 tried to reform the communist system, it was unsuccessful in the same way as some other Soviet block countries, which also attempted to disengage the chains of the Soviet imposed regime. This period of the modern Slovak history has been – mainly after 1989 – a subject of numerous studies. Nevertheless, it is still researched only partially, some problems more other less. At the most is missing the synthesis of the contemporary history of Slovakia. The Institute of History of SAS is trying to fill this gape with a project Slovakia in the 20th century granted by the state Agency for Support of Science and Research. The part of this project will be the collective monograph (as the volume V) dealing with the history of Slovakia in 1945 – 1968, and its authors plan for the future also the next, sixth, volume of this synthesis. The book Chapters from the Slovak Contemporary History, which now the reader has in his hands, is also aimed at the presentation of some key or important problems of the Slovak war and postwar history. But it is not the only goal. The publication is also a tribute to the 70. life jubilee of an outstanding Slovak historian Michal Barnovský. His forty-five years of scientific career in the Institute of History have enriched the Slovak historiography in the field of the contemporary Slovak history. In which researched themes and to what extend, the reader may find in the introductory article and in the selected bibliography of Dr. Barnovský. The book begins with chapters showing the multiplicity of the history of the Slovakia and the Slovak question during World War II. The first one (author Jozef Bystrický) describes the role, which the Slovak army played in the plans of the Czechoslovak Ministry of National Defense (MND) in London in 1943 – 1944. Various documents, especially the Directives from 1943, enclosed the views of the London exile, how to engage the army of the Slovak state in the rising against its regime and in military resistance against the Nazi Germany. Though, the Military Headquarters in Slovakia preparing and then in August 1944 realizing the uprising had had to take in account the specific situation on the Slovak territory at the given moment, the MND instructions and directives influenced highly positive the contents, character and the quality of the military-technical arrangements for the rising. The second chapter of this Slovak state points at issue deals with the specific phenomenon of the regime propaganda. In this connection the author Marína Zavacká analyses a Slovak state journal Vĺča (The Young Wolf) for boys of age between 6 and 10, members of Wolf corps of the Hlinka’s Youth organization. It served as a regime-sponsored source of officially approved children’s role-models, including patterns of deeds to be followed. The study summarizes different propagandist vehicles used for making up heroic stories, ranging from social sacrifice to the sacrifice of life. Following four chapters concentrate on several important problems during the period of “the limited democracy”. One of the crucial questions of those times was the position of the Slovakia in the newly reconstructed republic and the search for the model of the future co-existence of the Czechs and Slovaks. Marek Syrný in his text examines this complicated problem from the point of view Democratic Party (DP), which arouse from the Slovak National Uprising as the strongest noncommunist political subject in Slovakia. The idea of its leaders was the Czechoslovakia as de facto federal state. The decline of this DP plans was pronounced in the course of discussions to the three Prague agreements, which had been till February 1948 more and more influenced by the struggle for power between democrats and communists. The next chapter by Slavomír Michálek shows one of the key problems of this period in the sphere of the foreign policy: the aims and the activities of the Czechoslovak delegation at the Paris Peace Conference 1946, which were concentrated on the preparation of the treaty with Hungary. Beside the participation of the two leading figures of the delegation – Jan Masaryk and Vladimír Clementis – the author follows especially Juraj Slávik. Slovak born Slávik, who during his professional life belonged to the influential personalities of the Czechoslovak policy and diplomacy, participated at the finalizing the peace treaty texts regarding Hungary. Although the Slovaks felt the Hungarian problem as the most important for them, there had been another national community in Slovakia which postwar destiny radically changed. The German minority had been evacuated by German authorities, before the Red Army had crossed the Slovak borders (the chapter written by Milan Olejník). After the war had ended many of the Germans returned home, but there they fell under the decrees of President Beneš. Due to them they lost the Czechoslovak citizenship, underwent political, economic and social discrimination and 32-tousand of them were expelled. In 1948 to the rest of them the citizenship was returned, but the minority rights they have been lacking until 1989. The last chapter covering the period 1945 – 1948 belongs to the commentated document in which the French Consul General in Bratislava E. M. Manac’h informs his government about the key political phenomena in Slovakia during the Czechoslovak crisis in February 1948. The commentator of the material – published in Slovak translation and in French original – Pavol Petruf stresses, that E. M. Manac’h stated that the events between 21 and 27 February 1948 had shown the communists, in comparison to their democratic opponents, as better prepared for solving the batte for power. Couple of problems connected with the the communist coup d’état in February 1948 are the subject of another chapters. Miroslav Londák in his text analyses the changes of the economy system in Czechoslovakia and Slovakia, which had taken place in the first, “founding” period of the new regime. They resulted into the socalled socialist economy, based almost entirely upon the state ownership and directed by the centrally composed five years plans. The author also points out the specifics of the development in Slovakia and the determinants of its socialist industrialization. Another sector of economy – the agrarian one, is the topic of the chapter written by Viera Hlavová. The strategy of the communists immediately after the war was to get peasants on their side and therefore they had rejected the cooperatives of the Soviet type. But after the February 1948 the primary task became to re-orient the small agrarian production to the large-scale socialist one, to form state agricultural enterprises and, in the same time, to fight the “capitalist elements” in the country. The village had been transformed according to the Soviet mode, without respecting the specifics of the Czechoslovak and Slovak agriculture. The same regime changes as upon the Slovaks, dropped down upon the members of the Hungarian minority. In addition to it – as Soňa Gabzdilová-Olejníková states – immediately after the coup d’état the exchange of the inhabitants between Czechoslovakia and Hungary continued, the plans were made for the second stage of re-Slovakization and there was no hope for in the Czech lands deported Hungarians to return back to Slovakia. In this respect the situation changed with incorporation of the principles of so-called proletarian internationalism into the mutual relations between the communist parties of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The communist coup d’état influenced also the Slovak postwar emigration, which had been concentrated at the free and independent Slovakia. As Karel Kaplan in his chapter analyses, this Slovak exile was for a long time devided, but after the February 1948 Karol Sidor – one of the leading figures of the Slovak autonomist émigrés – successfully formed the Slovak National Council Abroad, the umbrella organization of the Slovak political exile. The direct influence of the exile states in his text also Vladimír Varinský, who surveys the formation of The White Legion organizations in Slovakia. Although it was possible, that some of these organizations provoked the State Security, the newest research shows that the main cause of their secret existence and activities was a spontaneous resistance of the people against the practices of a new regime. And the reaction of the communist establishment was persecutions. The most brutal form of them had been the framed political trials and the two of them from the beginning of the 50ties depicts in his chapter Jozef Leikert. Based upon the archival research, but mostly upon oral testimony he analyses them from the point of view of their insider, journalist and writer Ladislav Mňačko. He witnessed these trials as the daily news Pravda journalist and influenced the public in accordance with the regime propaganda. But later on he came round to realize its fabricated character and confessed his part of guilt. In the shadow of the “founding” period of the communist system with its totalitarian practices and persecutions stays the sometimes natural development – though politically and ideologically distorted – of various phenomena in the Slovak society. One of them, the development of the Slovak science from its half-amateur stage to internationally accepted partner, shows in her chapter Elena Londáková. She concentrates on the Slovak Academy of Sciences, but deals also with the complex of the state and party policy towards the science and its various branches. On the outside and from the point of view of communist leaders the “founding” period represented a successful establishing of the communist system. But already in this time there were the signs of the crisis, which is immanent to this type of regime. Jiří Pernes in his text summarizes the various opinions regarding its beginnings. Unlike Karel Kaplan, who talks about the crisis in 1953 – 1957, Pernes inclines to take in account deeper tokens of it, which perhaps started the crisis development already in the early 50ties. With the chapter of Václav Vondrášek the themes of the publication move chronologically to the history of the 60ties. He surveys the activities of the Hlinka’s Peoples Party exile at the turn of 50ties and 60ties and the countermeasures of the communist establishment in Slovakia. The efforts to unify this exile abroad, watched the communist regime in Czechoslovakia with suspicion. As the reaction, the State Security activities towards the potential followers of this exile branch started to intensify. So much more that in connection with the further restriction of power of the Slovak national institutions and worsening of the economic situation the discontent in Slovakia had grown. This special Slovak national discontent created also one of the differences in perception of the “Prague Spring” in the Czech and Slovak societies. As the author of this chapter, Stanislav Sikora states, during the attempt to reform the Soviet type of socialism in 1968, both state building nations in Czechoslovakia had their own conceptions of the democratization process. While in the Czech lands the priority was the general democratization of the political system, Slovaks felt it as the opportunity for the further national emancipation. But the newest studies also show that also the Slovak society was more diversified than this traditional characteristic says. The next chapter of the book treats the staffing transgression of the communist regime into the activities of the Slovak Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession in 1948 – 1989. Jan Pešek in his text analyses the communist regime attempts to rule over all spheres of the society, including the churches. In the case of Slovak Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession the establishment used the traditional election of all church and laic authorities for its own purposes. With various practices influenced the elections to the benefit of persons, willing to cooperate with the regime. In this way the ability of the Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession to resist the pressure of the communist system had been markedly weakened. Also the following chapter treats a specific issue. Jan Rychlík surveys the travel relations between Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1980 – 1989. The point is that in connection with the strikes in Poland and forming the independent trade union Solidarity, the Czechoslovak authorities started to be afraid of the free travel possibilities between two countries. There were two causes for this fear: political and economic. The author very precisely documents the official measures and economic circumstances, which for more than a decade regulated the travel transfer between the Czechoslovakia and Poland. The last chapter of the book by Juraj Marušiak bridges the history and contemporary development. It is an analysis of the perception of the past by the Slovak society and of its influence on the development after the November 1989. The author concentrates on the perception of the two totalitarian regimes – that of the war Slovak state and of the communist period. He comes to conclusion that in the Slovakia the roots of democratic tradition are not strong enough, which should be the result of the political system before 1918. Both totalitarian regimes of the 20th century used these behavior patterns of the population and on the other hand a great part of the people identified themselves with these regimes.
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The author of the book pays attention to four major problem areas in the modern history of the Slovak nation, the society and the country. The research is focused on the Slovak history in the first half of the 20th century and, particularly, the period of the Czechoslovak Republic between the two World Wars. In chapters of Part 1 entitled Slovak Society within Changes of Historical Time the author tried to classify relatively short period of interwar Slovak history in wider historical interrelations. In the first chapter he examines the problem of periodization of the Slovak history within the context of history of the other Central European nations, and points at the open methodological questions of the Slovak history research ensuing from insufficient investigation of the changing collective identity of the Slovaks. The next two chapters of Part 1 are devoted to historical heritage of the Slovaks and its peripetia related to generation of Ľudovít Štúr, as the first politically oriented and functioning generation in the modern history of the Slovaks, and following generations up to the origin of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The topic of the following chapter is the examination of historical traditions and stereotypes of the last two centuries which support, eventually weaken the renewed democratic political system in Slovakia after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 and the origin of the independent Slovak Republic in 1993. Next two chapters research a historical memory of the Slovak society relating to the autoritarian Slovak Republic between 1939 and 1945 and to the Slovak National Uprising of 1944, being the symbol of anti-fascist struggle and democratic future of Slovakia. The last chapter of Part 1 deals with the simplifying contradiction between the civil and national principle in the history and the present time, as manifested in expert discourse as well as in journalism upon renewal of the democratic regime after 1989. In Part 2 entitled Politics and Its Faces on Interwar Party Arena the author is concentrated on domestic policy in interwar Czechoslovak Republic. The first chapter deals with violation of some democratic rules in the first decade of existence of the new Czechoslovak State. The further two chapters are concerned with the question of relations between the Agrarian Party, as the largest government party and Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party in the time of functioning in the joint government coalition in the second half of twenties of the former century and the conflict relations between two head personalities of the Slovak agrarians Milan Hodža and Vavro Šrobár. The subject of the author’s study is also the trend of authorities to keep the cult of the first president of the Republic T. G. Masaryk already during his lifetime in dimensions unusual for the European democratic countries. The last but one chapter of this part of the book examines the fragility and weakness of the Slovak democracy which had fully manifested itself in autumn months of 1938 after adoption of Munich Agreement by the Czechoslovak government. The People’s Party had managed then, also due to inability of the weakened democratic parties to remove in a short time the parliamentary democracy and to set down an authoritative rightist regime in Slovakia. The loyal service of the Slovak intellectual Vladimír Clementis to the Communist movement and regime, for which he was “rewarded” by death penalty and execution in 1952, is depicted in the last chapter of this part of the book. Part 3 of the book entitled Political Echoes of Ethnic Colourfulness of the Republic in Interwar Period is devoted in its five chapters to one of the most remarkable features of interwar Czechoslovakia and its consequences – to question of more or less conflict coexistence of nations and ethnic groups living in this Republic. The examination of regional aspects of the ethnic problem in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, is treated in the first two chapters of this part of the book. The next two chapters are concerned with policies of the national minority parties in the Czechoslovak Republic and participation of the German minority parties in the government coalitions of the interwar period. Based on the research the author comes to the conclusion that the proportional electoral system of interwar Czechoslovak Republic enabled in principle equitable representation of national minorities in the Parliament, and some German minority parties took an active part in the government policy since mid-20’s up to spring 1938, when the political game was energetically encroached by a strong external factor – Nazi Germany. The last chapter is devoted to interwar sources and inspirations for, in final consequences, unsuccessful attempt of radical “solution” of Hungarian question in Czechoslovakia after World War II. The final part of the book entitled Slovakia in the Modern Central European History includes the chapters with a various themes concerning the position of Czechoslovakia and, in its context, of Slovakia in the Central European area: a sharp critique of Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty of 1935 from the point of view of radical rightist and nationalist newspaper Nástup, differences in views on postwar future of Central Europe by two prominent exile politicians – the former president Edvard Beneš and the former prime minister Milan Hodža during World War II, complex interwar and war geopolitical challenges for Czechoslovakia faced with by E. Beneš, as well as the CzechoslovakHungarian and Slovak-Hungarian disputes about the southern border of Slovakia since the Trianon Peace Treaty of 1920 up to the Paris Peace Treaty in 1947. The influence of the modern Central Europe history on international position of the Slovak Republic after attaining of its independence in 1993 is outlined in the final chapter of this part of the book. To the book is added, as a historical document, a politological reflection of the spring 1968 entitled Socialism and National Democracy drafted as a contribution to a discussion on the future of the Slovak society in the period of the so-called Prague Spring, that is, before occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact armies.
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The book Rok 1968 Eto vaše delo is based on lecture cycle, organised by the Slovak Institute in Prague in cooperation with the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute for Contemporary History of the ASCR. The aim of this lecture cycle was to remember about the 40th anniversary of the reform process in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The lectures presented by Slovak historians, were extended and collected as papers, that are part of this book. The aim of the particular papers is to analyse the main aspects of the reforms, further their ideological roots, as well as their political, social and economic casualties. The authors intended to reflect the immanent development of the autonomous reform process in Czechoslovakia, taking into account both political, constitutional, national-political, socioeconomic, cultural and confessional issues. The opening paper written by Professor Ivan Laluha is an authentic testimony about the gradual maturation process, that was proceeding the reforms in the field of economic theory, which is the main field of interest of the author. The author’s goal was to outline the efforts undertaken in order to achieve a further development of reforms in the constitutional and national-political sphere. Jozef Žatkuliak is analysing the genesis of the ideas proposing a new, federal constitution for Czechoslovakia. The key focus of Slavomír Michálek’s study is based on the American political context of the Czechoslovak attempt for reform of Socialism. There is no doubt, that, during that time, the United States of America and the Soviet Union were trying to reach an agreement and that both sides were conducing a bipolar détente politics. On the one hand, in Washington there was a kind of sympathy for the reform process taking place in Czechoslovakia, but on the other hand, it was perceived as an internal problem of the Soviet Bloc. Two following studies writen by Stanislav Sikora are dealing with the ideological background of the Prague or Bratislava Spring, involving a critical analysis of the term „Socialism with human face”. In his study, Miroslav Londák is explaining the main principles of the economic reform in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s by going to the roots and anatomising the process of industrialisation of Slovakia since 1948. Furthermore, Londák is paying close attention to the efforts of Slovak economists undertaken in order to replant the special economic needs of Slovakia; these efforts were closely connected with the preparations for a federalization of the Czechoslovak state. The study of Jan Pešek is dealing with the process of a limited regeneration, under conditions of the Communist regime, of Churches. Elena Londáková is broaching the issue of reform movement in culture. She emphasised, that it were above all the exponents of cultural life, who acted as the pioneers of the reform movement and, in the same time, as the main critics of the whole social and political system.
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The formation of the Czechoslovak Republic was confirmed officially on October 28 and 30, 1918 by passing two constitutional acts – the Proclamation of the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague and the Declaration of the Slovak Nation in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. The implementation of Czechoslovak independent statehood, however, required another two years of consolidation in the territory of Slovakia, a period which ended by signing the Treaty of Trianon in June 1920. The period between these two milestones – October 1918 and June 1920 – was exceptionally demanding for Slovakia and its leading politicians. The author presents in her work “Slovakia on its Path to Democracy“ the complex problems that emerged immediately after the proclamation of the Czechoslovak Republic and that were closely connected with the process of integration of Slovakia into the new state. The crucial problem was especially the great gap caused by different levels of development of Slovakia and the Czech lands. It was exactly this feature that gave rise to new problems in the process of integration of the two territories. The Office of the Minister Plenipotentiary for the Administration of Slovakia was temporarily in charge of the consolidation of the new political situation. The Minister’s task was made more difficult by the efforts of Hungary to regain the territory of Slovakia or at least a part of it. This “war after the war” complicated the proper functioning of the administration and of the democratisation process in Slovakia, which was lawfully initiated and codified by the Revolutionary National Assembly. Many of its provisions could be implemented in the Czech lands only, as Slovakia had to be put under martial law in March 1919 because of new war events, with a military dictatorship being introduced in June 1919. Supplying the citizens with basic needs became more difficult, which led to an increase of post-war social tensions, disgruntled minorities, and even more complicating consequences on the domestic political scene. The author, besides describing the first steps that were made after the creation of the Czechoslovak Republic and the ideological and programmatic trends of Slovak policy, analyses some key issues that the Ministry Plenipotentiary had to face. These were closely linked to the changes in administration, staffing and funding, and the overall authoritative character of the post-war regime in Slovakia. Along with the national, economic, and social difficulties, they influenced the outcome of the general elections in 1920, which did not favour the Slovak middle-class parties, but made leftist parties victorious. In this context, the author focuses on certain prominent personalities of this era: especially Vavro Šrobár, Milan Hodža, and Juraj Slávik. They were representatives of the new Slovakia not only as government ministers, but also as leading politicians of the Agrarian Party, which played an important ideological, political, and economic role in Czechoslovakia from its beginning to its end. It is obvious that some problems that emerged immediately after the formation of Czechoslovakia (e.g. the struggle for Slovak autonomy and official recognition of Slovak national identity) and were not properly resolved, continued to reproduce themselves. They polarised the Slovak political scene to an unfortunately large degree, reappeared after twenty years in a more radical form, and proved fatal to the Republic as a whole and to Slovakia in 1938.
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The aim of the presented collection of 29 chapters and essays is to sketch a comprehensive picture of Slovak society, reflecting the interactions between its political and cultural elites, as well as the coherence of historiography and historical consciousness in the 20th century. It might be stressed that these relations weren’t static, although in their frames, some resistant stereotypes arose which are still very popular in some parts of Slovak society. The stereotypes, auto-stereotypes and myths never failed to exist; just the contrary – they were going through a process of specific evolution, influenced by numerous fundamental, state-political and constitutional changes, that attended the life of Slovak society in the past century. These changes, or better, ruptures with global social impact had not only positive, but also – and this seems to be the majority of the cases – negative consequences for the situation of particular generations living in Slovakia. Simultaneously, their determined all spheres of cultural life of Slovak society, much like the Slovak historiography influencing both its internal development and its perception by the public. The presented work is divided into four thematic parts. First of them is dealing with both the direct and the indirect impact of political events and decisions taken by the administration on citizens, i.e. particular parts of society. This is the reason, why the tragic issue of the so-called social engineering and Holocaust is also taken into consideration. The author is supposing, that the discrimination and persecution of certain groups of population defined by their nationality, religious, racial or class identity afflicted not only individual victims, but, taking into account its global impact, it was a tragedy for the whole society. In particular it devastated the moral, cultural and religious values of the society and its constitutional consciousness. Culture also suffered by these socio-political processes. The culture and its prominent representatives enjoyed a specific position within the public life in Slovakia, since they were either substituting the absenting “national policy” or they were an active part of this policy – representing and defending universal ideals of humanity proclaimed by themselves or, in other cases, representing the political elites. This contradicted engagement and existing intellectual disunity were symptomatic especially during the existence of non-democratic, i.e. totalitarian political regimes, which afflicted the most part of the decades of Slovak history in the 20th century. As a logical consequence, it resulted not only in disappointment and frustration of Slovak cultural elites, but also in lost of confidence by the citizens in what they have represented. The situation of the Slovak historiography that, as a professional scientific discipline and in its institutional form was going through a process of intensive development just in the frames of communist regime was some kind similar. Just as the culture, the Slovak historiography was also strongly influenced and eventually deformed by the political reality. Slovak professional historiography was facing two main challenges: on the one hand it had to reflect scientific problems and questions and, on the other hand, there was a necessity of defending its own social status and position within the social hierarchy. This position only partly resulted from the scientific outputs of the Slovak historiography, since the role it had to play was strictly defined by the communist state. During that time, the Slovak historiography was going through a difficult development including hopes, unfulfilled illusions, disappointments, disgraceful moral and professional failures, but also happier stages such as significant achievements or civil resistance against the political regime and its leading figures. From today’s perspective, taking into account these phenomenons, the biggest detriment the Slovak historiography had to suffer seems to be the multiple interruption of natural continuity of its development and the visible lack of confidence on the side of citizens that it is permanently trying to regain. On the other hand it should be pointed out that in spite of unfavorable political and social conditions in the past the Slovak professional historiography achieved remarkable scientific results that allowed, after 1989, to be a part of European scientific community. Fourth thematic part of the presented book is dedicated to chosen historical personalities playing significant role in the modern history of Slovakia. Also reflected are chosen historians, which in their professional career and work were able to harmonize their scientific abilities with their civic attitudes, regardless of the risks.
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U kontekstu naglog uspona fašizma u Evropi i njegove pobede u pojedinim zemljama, jedno od pitanja koje se postavljalo u beogradskoj javnosti, odnosilo se na mogućnosti njegove pojave i u Jugoslaviji, i u skladu sa tim, na analize uslova koji u zemlji postoje za eventualni razmah fašističkih ideja. Nasuprot dominantnom stavu da u zemlji nema fašističkih pokreta, levičari su registrovali njihovo prisustvo, posebno izraženo u rasističkim obeležjima. Demokratskoliberalno stanovište je odbacivalo ove teze sa obrazloženjem da se fašizam uglavnom javlja u gradovima, a da u zemlji seljaka fašističke ideje mogu da nastanu samo kao plod kafanskih razgovora. Po mišljenju intelektualaca ove struje, socijalni uslovi u Jugoslaviji nisu bili pogodni za njegov razvoj, a ideje pojedinih pokreta koje su „ličile“ na fašizam, uglavnom su ocenjivali kao marginalne i potpuno bezopasne. Minimizujući fašističku opasnost u zemlji, liberalno stanovište ni u Ljotićevom pokretu nije videlo sklonost ka fašizmu, već samo njegove „primese“, „loš surogat“ i „neozbiljna oponašanja fantasta“, sklonijih diktaturi nego temeljima ove ideologije. Ambivalencija konzervativnih krugova ispoljavala se i u ovom pitanju. Fašističke ideje su odbacivane kao i teze da su prisutne u zemlji, ali su se istovremeno za Jugoslaviju tražila rešenja koja su uzor pronalazila upravo u njima. Desničari su odricali da su i sami nosioci fašističkih ideja, ali ne zato što se sa njima nisu slagali, već što su verovali da su „novi nacionalizmi“ – fašizam i nacionalsocijalizam – specifično italijanski i nemački produkt, dok je ideologija Zbora, iako sastavni deo globalne pojave „novog nacionalizma“, autentična domaća tvorevina.
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Knjiga koja je pred čitaocem je pokušaj da se u potpunosti sagleda kontekst srebreničkog masakra, kao pojedinačno najvećeg i najmonstruoznijeg zločina počinjenog tokom jugoslovenskih ratova 1991- 1999. godine. Taj zločin ostaje kao opomena čovečanstvu o neophodnosti stalne spremnosti za prepoznavanje politike koja planira takve zločine. Do njih nikada ne dolazi preko noći. Uprkos činjenici da međunarodno humanitarno pravo i korpus ljudskih prava nikada nisu bili razvijeniji, do najvećeg stradanja nedužnih civilnih žrtava došlo je upravo u XX veku. Do masovnog stradanja civila došlo je čak i nakon holokausta nad Jevrejima u Drugom svetskom ratu, što je međunarodnu zajednicu ponukalo na osnivanje dva ad hoc krivična suda, jedan za Jugoslaviju i drugi za Ruandu. Njihovo postojanje ubrzalo je i stvaranje stalnog Krivičnog suda, takođe u Hagu. Zločin u Srebrenici dogodio se pune četiri godine nakon početka rata na teritoriji bivše Jugoslavije. Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini je od početka 1992. godine bio genocidan, jer je politika zvaničkog Beograda podrazumevala etničko čišćenje. Ono je kroz različite forme nasilja i zastrašivanja, odnosno terora, imalo za cilj da, Bošnjake, sa teritorija na kojima su stolećima živeli, prvenstveno onih duž reke Drine, otera, kako bi se stvorile čiste srpske etničke teritorije. Etničko čišćenje nisu izmislili Srbi. Međutim, uznemirava činjenica da se ono odvijalo, uprkos svim informacijama kojima se raspolagalo o masovnim ubistvima, maltretiranju, uništavanju kulturne baštine, pljačkama privatne imovine, masovnom nasilnom transferu ljudi i sl.
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Tehnologija je oduvek zaokupljala ljude, bilo iz praktičnih razloga (kako da sebi život učine lakšim), bilo iz radoznalosti (u smislu proširivanja granica ljudskog znanja). Kako tvrde umetnici/kritičari iz kolektiva Critical Art Ensemble, razmišljanja o svrsi i budućnosti tehnologije su se povezivala sa promišljanjima budućnosti ljudskog roda uopšte, i ona se najčešće odvijaju u dva smera: s jedne strane, tehno-utopisti koji smatraju da razvoj nauke i tehnike čovečanstvu može doneti neslućena dobra, blagostanje i lek protiv svih zala, a sa druge, tehno-distopisti, koji smatraju da je tehnologija izvor svih zala, i da se od nje ne može očekivati ništa dobro. Tehno-utopisti pravi procvat doživljavaju sa industrijskom revolucijom, kada vera u provi đenje ustupa mesto veri u kapitalizam. (Božja ruka provi đenja je nešto kasnije amputirana i prišivena kiborgu kapitalizma Adama Smita.) Naravno, sa dolaskom industrijske revolucije, težište se definitivno pomera u korist nauke i tehnologije: mislioci sa levice (Kondorse, Sen-Simon, Marks), kao i sa desnice (Kont, Spenser) su delili optimizam u vezi svetle budućnosti, uprkos različitim pristupima – tako je Sen-Simon predvi đao socijalizam saveta, dok je Spenser očekivao pojavu buržoaskog Natčoveka.
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Poslednje dve decenije XX veka vratile su nacionalizam na evropsku političku pozornicu, pre svega u istočnu i centralnu Evropu. Pojava nacionalizma u postkomunističkim istočnoevropskim zemljama bila je rezultat krize identiteta kao posledica kolapsa komunizma i njegovog vrednosnog sistema na kojem je taj identitet počivao, te nesposobnosti i nespremnosti za transformaciju (Jugoslavije) i nespremnosti za tranziciju. Probuđeni nacionalizam u Srbiji bio je karakterističan, pre svega, po teritorijalnim aspiracijama, odnosno osvajačkim pohodima van granica Srbije. Instrumentalizacija vlastitog naroda u cilju mobilizacije za ratne pohode u Hrvatskoj i Bosni, a potom i na Kosovu, tehnologija i karakter ratovanja, srpski nacionalizam krajem XX veka čini najsličnijim nacionalsocijalizmu. Srpski nacizam je izraz palanke, kaže srpski filozof Radomir Konstantinović, pokušaj povratka duhu plemena, istorijska regresija. Svaka apsolutizacija mita, pa naravno i ksosovskog, vodi netrpeljivom nacizmu. Srpski nacizam s početka osmadesetih XX veka počeo je reaktiviranjem kosovskog mita, koji je "postao izvor i oblik zla sopstvenom apsolutizacijom". Ivo Banac ga definiše kao "novi oblik srpskog integralnog nacionalizma s naznakama fašističkih i komunističkih utjecaja. Premda prividno podupire parlamentarnu demokraciju, Miloševićeva ideologija povezuje protudemokratske ideje i s leva i s desna.
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Knjiga „Medijska priprema rata u Hrvatskoj“ predstavlja deo kontinuiranog nastojanja Helsinškog odbora za ljudska prava u Srbiji da dokumentuje stvarne uzroke raspada Jugoslavije. Materijali i dokumenti sakupljeni u ovoj knjizi doprinose razumevanje političkog i društvenog konteksta koji je prethodio ratu. Zbog toga ovo izdanje Helsinškog odbora spada u korpus nezaobilaznih izvora za istraživače koji se bave aktuelnom istorijom balkanskog regiona. Presudom “Vukovarskoj trojci”, a pre toga presudom za Dubrovnik, te onoj Milanu Martiću, hrvatski rat je dobio i svoj sudski epilog. Posebna optužnica protiv Slobodana Miloševića podignuta 17. septembra 2002. godine i to za učestvovanje u udruženom zločinačkom poduhvatu, koji je “nastao pre 1. avgusta 1991, a trajao je najmanje do juna 1992”, nažalost, nije dobila svoj sudski epilog.
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Cilj ove studije je analiza uloge Operativne grupe Jug Oružanih snaga SFRJ (Gardijske motorizovane brigade i dodatne jedinice) tokom dejstava u Slavoniji, Baranji i zapadnom Sremu u cilju zauzimanja Vukovara, i nakon tih operacija (od septembra do 24. novembra 1991). Dva su bitna aspekta ove analize. Prvo, u izveštaju se istražuje struktura oružanih snaga SFRJ, doktrina komande i kontrole (nad oružanim snagama i unutar njih), disciplina i ostali važni aspekti. Drugo, u izveštaju se analizira na koji način je Operativna grupa Jug oružanih snaga SFRJ u jesen 1991. izvodila operacije u Slavoniji, Baranji i zapadnom Sremu (i Vukovaru), uključujući odnose između Gardijske motorizovane brigade i drugih oružanih grupa koje su dejstvovale na vukovarskom području pre, za vreme i posle evakuacije vukovarske bolnice. Da bi postigla svoj cilj na najefikasniji način, studija je podeljena na dve velike celine. Svaka celina se sastoji od više delova. Da bi se olakašalo čitanje, svaki deo počinje sažetim prikazom. Skraćenice su navedene i objašnjene posebno u Glosaru.
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Ova knjiga je nastala tokom dramatičnih godina za srpsku politiku. U martu 2003. ubijen je premijer Đinđić – sve ukazuje na to da je ubica poticao iz „Crvenih beretki“ pod komandom Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova, uključujući njihove kontaktie u beogradskoj mafiji – pri čemu su možda bili uključeni i veći delovi državnog aparata. Posle više predsedničkih izbora bez rezultata, zbog premalog odziva birača, parlamentarni izbori od 28. decembra 2003. bili su iznenađenje za one koji su mislili da je Srbija na putu normalizacije. Pobednici su bile stranke koje su podržavale ranijeg predsednika Miloševića i još radikalnijeg Vojislava Šešelja – iako su obojica sedeli na optuženičkoj klupi u Hagu. Šešeljeva radikalna stranka postala je najjača, sa 28% glasova – i jedino ju je koalicija četnika, monarhista, liberalnih reformskih ekonomista i prethodnog predsednika, levičarskog nacionaliste Koštunice, sprečila da preuzme vlast; Koštunica se, pak, isključivo zahvaljujući goroj alternativi, predstavljao kao umeren.
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Imperijalne težnje Trećeg Reicha i Italije bile su pokretač Drugog svjetskog rata, a ideološku orkestraciju činili su rasna teorija, »evolucijski opravdavana« borba za životni prostor i anti-boljševizam. Emocionalni naboj davali su osvetoljubivost i želja za revanšizmom prema pobjednicima iz Prvog svjetskog rata te tradicionalni kršćanski antisemitizam. Europa se politički trebala vrtiti oko osovine Berlin–Rim, a činile bi je još neutralne i profašističke države te satelitske države ograničenog suvereniteta. Pored Židova i Roma, u Europi su rasno inferiornima smatrani i Slaveni općenito, posebno Česi, Poljaci, Rusi i Slovenci jer su ujedno bili i smetnja realizaciji njemačkog Lebensrauma. Rusi i Poljaci su tako, uz Židove, brojčano najveće žrtve nacističke projekcije Trećeg Reicha. Svima njima sudbinu je određivala nacistička genocidna ideologija superiornog arijevstva kao pogonskog goriva njemačkog imperijalističkog plana koji je u njima vidio samo biološki potencijal za ropsku eksploataciju.
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Z desetidílné kroniky Josefa Holečka Naši mám nejraději hned první svazek Jak u nás žijou a umírají z roku 1898. Je obsažným poetickým obrazem venkovského života v polovině 19. století naplněného ještě i napětím mezi feudálním a selským světem, dramatickými osudy protagonistů. Nic pro historiky, zdá se na první a asi i další pohled, ve skutečnosti jde o pramen mluvný a sdělný, jen ho náležitě číst a vést s ním rozhovor, v němž je dějepisec naslouchajícím a dozvídajícím se. Zdrojů poznání, jak u nás žili a odcházeli – i ti včerejší, a zvláště ti včerejší – je téměř neomezeně, vzhledem k lidské mnohosti i jedinečnosti, jen je umět vřazovat do heuristiky.
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U oružanim sukobima u Hrvatskoj (1991.-95.), Bosni i Hercegovini (1992.-95.), i na Kosovu (1998.-99.), najmanje 130,000 ljudi je izgubilo život, milioni su bili prinuđeni da napuste svoje domove, a stotine hiljada kuća su razorene. Prelaz iz stanja oružanog sukoba i državne represije u period mira i izgradnje demokratskih institucija zahteva od ovih društava da se odrede prema masovnim kršenjima ljudskih prava iz bliske prošlosti. Skup mera koje vlasti i civilno društvo preduzimaju radi suočavanja sa ovim kršenjiima prava čini kompleks tranzicione pravde, čiji su osnovni elementi utvrđivanje činjenica, suđenja, reparacije, i institucionalne reforme (lustracija). Ovaj izveštaj se bavi suočavanjem s posledicama ratnih događanja i zločinima počinjenim u periodu od 1991. do 1999. godine. Izveštaj je nastao na inicijativu Fonda za humaritarno pravo (FHP), u saradnji s Istraživačko dokumentacionim centrom (IDC-BiH) i Documentom (Hrvatska). Odnosi se na Bosnu i Hercegovinu, Hrvatsku, Srbiju, Kosovo, i Crnu Goru – u daljem tekstu “post-jugoslovenske zemlje“. U toku 2006. godine, u skoro svim post-jugoslovenskim zemljama suđenja za ratne zločine su dobila na zamahu, ali u drugim oblastima tranzicione pravde jedva da je bilo značajnijih pomaka u odnosu na prethodni period. Nedostajali su konkretni koraci vlasti koji bi vodili ka uspostavljanju tela za utvrđivanje činjenica, na državnom ili regionalnom nivou. Vrlo malo je urađeno kako bi se lica koja pretenduju da obavljaju javnu funkciju podvrgla ispitivanju njihovih postupaka za vreme oružanih sukoba. Napokon, dolazak do reparacija –bilo na osnovu zakona ili sudskim putem – još uvek je teško ostvarivo za mnoge žrtve kršenja prava iz devedesetih godina. SUĐENJA ZA RATNE ZLOČINE: Suđenja za ratne zločine su od samog završetka rata predstavljala najvažniji oblik tranzicione pravde koji se primenjuje u post-jugoslovenskim zemljama. U ranom posleratnom periodu nosilac procesuiranja ratnih zločina u regionu bio je Međunarodni krivični tribunal za bivšu Jugoslaviju (MKTJ), prvenstveno zbog toga što nacionalna pravosuđa nisu zatakav zadatak bila spremna. Iako svojim osnivanjem i delovanjem nije uspeo da spreči neka od teških i masovnih kršenja ljudskih prava, kao što je zločin u Srebrenici u julu 1995. godine, tribunal je doprineo obuzdavanju nasilja u još nedovršenom procesu dezintegracije bivše Jugoslavije, procesuiranju odgovornih na najvišim vojnim i političkim funkcijama, te pripremi pravosuđa i javnosti u regionu zasuđenja za ratne zločine. Uspostavljanje specijalnih tužilaštava za ratne zločine, odnosno specijalizovanih veća ili sudova za ovu vrstu slučajeva, u periodu 2003.-05., dovelo je do poboljšanja istraga i suđenja za ratne zločine, u Hrvatskoj, Srbiji, i Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH). U 2006. godini je nastavljen pozitivan trend iz prethodnih godina, naročito potcrtan daljnjim napretkom u saradnji tužilaštava iz BiH,Hrvatske, i Srbije. Ipak, u sve tri zemlje bili su vidljivi značajni problemi u procesuiranju ratnih zločina,uključujući nedovoljnu podršku političkih struktura krivičnom gonjenju osumnjičenih za ratne zločine bez obzira na nacionalnost, kao i neadekvatne mere za podršku i zaštitu svedoka. U Hrvatskoj su pred županijskim sudovima tokom godine održana ukupno 23 suđenja, od čega 18 protiv pripadnika srpskih snaga, a pet protiv pripadnika vojno-policijskih snaga Republike Hrvatske. Doneseno je pet nepravosnažnih presuda, a tri presude su potvrđene od strane Vrhovnog suda RH. Sudovi u BiH su doneli 23 presude u prvom stepenu, i 17 pravnosnažnih (drugostepenih) presuda. Broj započetih i predstojećih suđenja pred Većem za ratne zločine pri Sudu BiH nadmašio je broj suđenja pred svim drugim sudovima. Procesuiranje za ratne zločine započelo je i u Republici Srpskoj, u kojoj je prethodno vladala nekažnjivost za počinioce ratnih zločina. U Srbiji su 2006. godine održana suđenja za ratne zločine u sedam predmeta. Na Kosovu je 2006. godine održano samo jedno suđenje za ratne zločine, protiv šestorice kosovskih Albanaca optuženih za zločine protiv drugih Albanaca. U avgustu je veće, sastavljeno isključivo od međunarodnih sudija, osudilo trojicu bivših oficira Oslobodilačke vojske Kosova (OVK)na sedmogodišnje kazne zatvora, a sud je nakon izricanja presude doneo odluku o puštanju osuđenih na slobodu do pravnosnažnosti. U Crnoj Gori 2006. godine nije održano nijedno suđenje za ratne zločine, kao ni u prethodne četiri godine. Velika praznina u kažnjavanju ratnih zločina proističe iz činjeni-ce da mnogi počinioci ratnih zločina u BiH sada žive i stekli su državljanstvo u Srbiji o Hrvatskoj, gde im je ustavom ili zakonom zagarantovano neizručivanje. Istovremeno, BiH nije voljna da prepusti suđenja ovih lica pravosuđu Hrvatske i Srbije. UTVRĐIVANJE ČINJENICA: U post-jugoslovenskim zemljama ne deluje nijedno zvanično telo koje bi na sistematski način, na nivou pojedine države ili država naslednica bivše Jugoslavije, utvrđivalo činjenice o kršenjima ljudskih prava i humanitarnog prava u proteklom periodu. U 2006. godini, parlamentarne stranke u BiH su po prvi put uzele učešće u konkretnim aktivnostima koje potencijalno vode ka osnivanju državne komisije za istinu, tako što je radna grupa sačinjena od stranačkih predstavnika napravila nacrt zakona o komisiji. Vlada BiH je u junu osnovala Komisiju za utvrđivanje činjenica o stradanjima Srba, Hrvata, Bošnjaka, Jevreja i ostalih u Sarajevu u periodu 1992-95. Iako je vlada utvrdila jednogodišnji rok za završetak rada ove komisije, u periodu između njenog osnivanja i kraja 2006. godine nije otpočeo rad na prikupljanju informacija. U drugim post-jugoslovenskim zemljama nije bilo ozbiljnijih rasprava unutar parlamenta ili vlada o osnivanju bilo kog tipa komisije za istinu. Umesto toga, na skupovima nevladinih organizacija učesnici su razmatrali moguće osnivanje regionalnog tela koje bi utvrđivalo činjenice o prošlosti i omogućilo žrtvama da neposredno iznose svoja iskustva. U 2006. godini, u raspravama koje su u parlamentima Srbije i Hrvatske vođene o događajima iz vremena rata, dominirala je jednostrana nacionalistička interpretacija ratnih događanja. Naročito je ovo bilo primetno u Srbiji, gde predstavnici umerenih stranaka nisu reagovali na brojne istupe nacionalističkih ekstremista. Krajem 2006. godine, u regionu je bilooko 17.000 nerešenih zahteva za pronalazak nestalih lica. Odnosi između predstavnika raznih komisija za nestala lica, na nivou post-jugoslovenskih zemalja još su opterećeni nepoverenjem. Još su češće i oštrije kritike koje udruženja porodica nestalih javno upućuju na račun državnih tela. Sve ovo doprinosilo je utisku o ispolitizovanosti jednog eminentno humanitarnog pitanja, i umanjivalo je efikasnost napora za traženje nestalih lica. Komisija za traženje nestalih Federacije BiH je 2006. godine ekshumirala oko 2.250 posmrtnih ostataka ne području Republike Srpske, a Kancelarija Republike Srpske zatraženje nestalih i zarobljenih lica je ekshumirala 126 tela. U Hrvatskoj je u toku 2006. godine ekshumirano 180 tela. Krajem godine još uvek se 2.050 državljana Republike Hrvatske vodilo kao nestalo, a uz to vlasti Srbije su tražile nešto više od 400 svojih državljana koji su nestali tokom sukoba u Hrvatskoj. Na Kosovu je krajem 2006. godine bilo 2,137 lica za kojima se i dalje traga, a nadležne agencije su u toku godine ekshumirale 59 tela. LUSTRACIJA: Bosna i Hercegovina ostaje jedina od post-jugoslovenskih zemalja u kojoj je, iako u ograničenom obimu, mogućnost da lice obavlja javnu funkciju uslovljena ispitivanjem njegovih postupaka za vreme oružanih sukoba. Između 1999. i 2002. godine, Misija Ujedinjenih nacija je ispitivala postupanje 24.000 aktivnih policajaca u prethodnom (ratnom) periodu; 4 odsto policajaca je kao rezultat procesa uklonjeno iz službe. Između 2002. i 2004. godine u BiHje sprovedena sudska reforma, u toku koje je Visoki sudski i tužilački savet odlučio da oko 200 sudija i tužilaca, od 1.000, ne treba da budu ponovo izabrano. Iako u Srbiji postoji zakon koji na sveobuhvatan način predviđa utvrđivanje činjenica o aktivnostima lica za vreme oružanih sukoba i u periodu komunizma, zakon nikada nije bio primenjen. U periodu 2004.-06., većinu poslanika u parlamentu činili su poslanici Srpske radikalne stranke, Demokratske stranke Srbije, i Socijalističke partije Srbije, koje su u vreme donošenja zakona o odgovornosti za kršenje ljudskih prava (2003.) bile protiv njegovog usvajanja. REPARACIJE: U toku 2006. godine, u post jugoslovenskim zemljama primenjivane su sledeće vrste reparacija: naknade (na osnovu zakona i na osnovu sudskih odluka), restitucija, utvrđivanje sudbine nestalih, i otkrivanje spomen-obeležja. Povrat i obnova imovine, te novčane reparacije suuglavnom najpre obezbeđeni za pripadnike većine, odnosno žrtve na pobedničkoj strani rata, dok u odnosu na pripadnike manjine proces još uvek traje, ili tek treba da počne (u Hrvatskoj je desetinama hiljada Srba sudskim putem oduzeto stanarsko pravo s obrazloženjom da su napustili stanove, a vlada nije pokazala spremnost da im obezbedi pravičnu restituciju ili kompenzaciju). Spomen-obeležja se takođe podižu u znak sećanja na žrtve većinskog naroda. U koncipiranju i primeni zakona o reparacijama, u svim post-jugoslovenskim zemljama upadljivo su privilegovana vojna lica, odnosno članovi njihovih porodica, u odnosu na civile. U svim delovima bivše Jugoslavije, izvestan broj civilnih žrtava rata i osoba čija su ljudska prava ozbiljno kršena u prethodnom periodu nastojao je da ostvari naknadu štete sudskim putem. U Srbiji su, u njihovo ime, nevladine organizacije za ljudska prava podnosile tužbe za naknadu štete, i u većini slučajeva sudovi su presudili u korist žrtava. U drugim zemljama,broj tužilaca je bio relativno mali, zbog nepostojanja delotvornih sistema besplatne pravne pomoći i zakonskih rešenja kojima bi se žrtve izuzele od plaćanja sudskih taksi i troškova postupka u slučaju gubitka spora. U svim post-jugoslovenskim zemljama karakter spomen-obeležja i način na koji se podižu jasno reflektuje političku i društvenu klimu u datoj sredini. U Srbiji, spomen-obeležja izražavaju potrebu većinskog dela društva da interpretira ulog u Srbije u ratovima 1990-ih, inače žestoko kritikovanu u međunarodnoj zajednici i u drugim delovima bivše Jugoslavije, kao jednoznačno pozitivnu. U Hrvatskoj i na Kosovu, gotovo potpuno odsutstvo spomen-obeležja o stradanjima manjinskog (srpskog) naroda izražava rasprostranjen stav da uloga pravedne žrtve isključivo pripada većinskom (hrvatskom, odnosno albanskom) narodu. U Bosni i Hercegovini postoji nešto veća spremnost da se,kroz simboličku formu spomenika, prihvate svedočanstva o stradanju “druge strane”, iako takvi primeri predstavljaju izuzetak pre nego pravilo. U Crnoj Gori, tenzija između vlasti koja je zagovarala samostalnost Crne Gore, s jedne strane, i onih sektora u društvu koji su naklonjeni Srbiji, s druge strane, prelama se i kroz praksu podizanja spomen-obeležja. Ono što je zajedničko spomen-obeležjima u svim delovima bivše Jugoslavije je prihvatanje, na simboličkom nivou, privilegovanog položaja vojnih žrtava u odnosu na civilne.
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Žrtvama se smatraju osobe koje su, pojedinačno ili unutar skupine, pretrpjele štetu koja uključuje fizičku ili mentalnu povredu, emotivnu patnju, materijalni gubitak ili ozbiljnu povredu njihovih temeljnih prava putem akata ili propusta koji predstavljaju teška kršenja međunarodnog prava o ljudskim pravima ili ozbiljne povrede međunarodnog humanitarnog prava, u skladu s Rezolucijom Opće skupštine Ujedinjenih naroda 60/147 Temeljna načela i smjernice o pravu na pravni lijek i reparaciju za žrtve teških kršenja međunarodnog prava o ljudskim pravima i ozbiljnih povreda međunarodnog humanitarnog prava. Gdje je to primjereno te u skladu s unutarnjim pravom, pojam žrtva uključuje i članove uže obitelji ili štićenike neposredne žrtve i osobe koje su pretrpjele štetu u nastojanju da pomognu žrtvama u nevolji ili da spriječe njihovu viktimizaciju.
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Dnevničko-memoarski zapisi Đorđa Gunjevića, ratnog pomoćnika povjerenika Vlade za Pakrac zaduženog za zdravstvo i socijalnu skrb, tekst je koji ukazuje na sudbinu pojedinca u vihoru Domovinskoga rata, ali i na sudbinu zajednice. Gunjević je svoj posao pomoćnika povjerenika, koji je potrajao nešto više od mjesec dana, radio u ekstremno teškim ratnim uvjetima u Pakracu. Glavna točka njegovog posla bio je Medicinski centar, velika i ugledna zdravstvena ustanova, koja je bila samo dvjestotinjak metara udaljena od položaja pobunjenih Srba. Tko je bio u Pakracu i vidio gdje je Medicinski centar, a gdje su bili položaji pobunjenika, zna da im je bolnica bila kao na dlanu, doslovce na puškomet, i zna da nisu morali ni nišaniti da bi je pogodili. Pakrac je od kraja kolovoza, pa sve do potpisivanja Sarajevskog primirja bio jedna od žarišnih točaka u Domovinskom ratu. Istina, nikad toliko pod lupom javnosti poput Vukovara ili Dubrovnika, ali kada je početkom 1992. godine potpisano Sarajevsko primirje, Pakrac je, baš kao i obližnji Lipik, bio jedan od najrazrušenijih hrvatskih gradova. U takvim nemogućim okolnostima trebalo je nekako djelovati i koliko je to bilo moguće održavati red u Medicinskom centru u kojem je i pri kraju rujna 1991. godine još uvijek bilo više od 300 pacijenata, od toga njih 275 na Psihijatriji. Gunjević je osmislio, a u dogovoru s Ministarstvom zdravstva i svojim pakračkim suradnicima i suradnicama proveo važnu, rizičnu, humanu, ali i nužnu operaciju - evakuaciju Medicinskog centra. Nagrada za to bio mu je, zbog njegove nacionalne pripadnosti, „boravak“ u Pakračkoj Poljani, pod zapovjedništvom Tomislava Merčepa, jednoj od najtamnijih i najsramotnijih točaka Domovinskog rata. Tako se je klatno sudbine u Gunjevićevu slučaju gibalo vrlo brzo: od vrhunca zbog uspješne evakuacije do propasti i razmišljanja o samouništenju na Pakračkoj Poljani u samo nekoliko dana. Gunjevićevi zapisi nisu, međutim, samo knjiga o njegovoj osobnoj sudbini. To je knjiga o tome koliko jedna zajednica može u ratu brzo propasti, odnosno, preciznije rečeno, koliko brzo može biti prisiljena na propast. U samo nekoliko dana Pakrac se našao na popisu mjesta u Hrvatskoj koja su krajem ljeta i početkom jeseni za vrijeme pobune i agresije na Hrvatsku, mimo svoje volje, civilizacijski propadala. U samo nekoliko dana stanovnici Pakraca morali su zaboraviti kakva je to civilizacijska tekovina tekuća voda iz vodovoda, što je to organizirani komunalni život, morali su naučiti što znači šištanje plina iz uništenih instalacija, kako izgleda život u gradu u kojemu ne funkcioniraju socijalne službe, u kojemu se broj zaposlenih u Medicinskom centru naglo smanjuje sedam puta, u kojem se više ne mogu isplaćivati mirovine, ne zato što nema novca, nego zato što to fizički nije moguće. U svemu tome, i u svojoj dramatičnoj osobnoj sudbini, Gunjević nalazi lijepe riječi i riječi poštovanja za mnoge svoje sugrađane. Nekima od njih bit će ugodno čitati ove zapise. Ima među njima ljudi raznih struka, raznih nacionalnosti. S poštovanjem se prisjeća svojih kolega iz zdravstva, primjerice Katice Bergman, dr. Nikole Zelića, dr. Luke Vrbana i Slave Jankovića, dr. Ivice Kosteckog. Sa sjetom se prisjeća svog kolege iz Povjereništva Stjepana Širca. Nekima, pak, vjerojatno neće biti ugodno čitati Gunjevićeve zapise. I opet, tu ima ljudi raznih struka, raznih nacionalnosti, kako „ njegovih“ Srba, tako i Hrvata. Začuđujuće je, međutim, da Gunjević pronalazi riječi poštovanja, pa i simpatije, čak i za neke ljude koji su ga držali u zatočeništvu u Pakračkoj Poljani. Gunjevićeva priča na kraju je ipak imala sretan završetak, koliko je to moguće u ratno doba. Ostao je živ, kuću je obnovio, a Grad Pakrac ga se sjetio i dodijelio mu priznanje. Njegovi zapisi isključivo su - njegovi. Rezultat su začudne, gotovo nevjerojatno činjenice da je rokovnik u kojemu je 1991. godine bilježio što je radio kojega dana uspio sve „preživjeti" i koji je poslužio kao temelj za rekonstrukciju događaja i prizivanje događaja iz sjećanja. Njegova sjećanja, zabilježena oporim stilom, lišenim lirike, točna su koliko sjećanja pojedinca, bez obzira na pomoćna sredstva, mogu biti. No, ona su, osim osobnog svjedočanstva jednog doba i jedne sudbine, i poziv svima drugima da pokrenu vlastita sjećanja i iza sebe ostave memoarski zapis na jedno burno, ratno doba.
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