On behalf of the Croatian Worldwide Association, we would like to thank you for your invaluable support. We have put forth the following action plan to help secure the immediate release of General Gotovina from custody. The fight is not over.
1) Numerous Croatians have asked: “What can I do to help the General?” The Chicago Croatian community has organized a meeting at the Croatian Cultural Center on Friday, December 23rd beginning at 7:00 PM.
We urge other Croatian communities around the world to organize as well. Please e-mail us a contact name and city location at ante@freegeneralgotovina.com. We will be in touch with these organizers. Within these next two crucial weeks, the organizers should be able to provide the community with a report on worldwide efforts and the effect of what we are doing to help the General.
2) Under pressure from the Croatian government, most media outlets have been pressured into not reporting all the facts about the General’s current situation. This is making www.freegeneralgotovina.com a central place for people to gather information. Therefore, we ask that you please continue to sign the petition. If others you know do not have Internet access, copy the text of the petition and obtain handwritten signatures. Please mail the signatures to:
Croatian Worldwide Association (CWA)
P.O. Box 81226
Chicago, IL 60681
3) It is imperative we continue to lobby the U.S. government. Below is the contact information. We need to urge U.S. officials to “drop the indictment and release General Gotovina immediately.”
President Bush - White House: 202-456-1111
(9:00 AM to 5:00 PM U.S. Eastern Standard Time)
Emails: comments@whitehouse.gov
vice_president@whitehouse.gov
Secretary of State Condoeleezza Rice: 202-647-4000
Email: usunpublicaffairs@state.gov
US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton: 212-415-4050
(you are able to leave messages, begin immediately)
Email: usunpublicaffairs@state.gov
US State Department Undersecretary Burns: 202-647-2471
Email: landersls2@state.gov
Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
Republicans: 202-224-4651
Democrats: 202-224-3953
U.S. House of Representatives Top Congressional Staff:
scott.palmer@mail.house.gov
anthony.reed@mail.house.gov
judy.wolverton@mail.house.gov
blaine.aaron@mail.house.gov
tom.mooney@mail.house.gov
amy.steinmann@mail.house.gov
michelle.grossman@mail.house.gov
4) It is imperative that we also lobby the Croatian government. Please send e-mails to: Prime Minister Sanader: predsjednik@hdz.hr
5) Massive demonstrations are currently being planned this Sunday, December 11th in SPLIT. Please encourage your relatives and friends who live in the homeland to attend and show their support for General Gotovina. The international community needs to witness that Croatians are united in support of General Gotovina’s immediate release.
6) We can also help by contacting local media. On the front page of the website, there is a “Gotovina” fact sheet. Please feel free to forward all of our texts to media contacts. If we continue to show the media the truth about Croatia’s struggle for independence, this will aid in General Gotovina’s release and freedom. Visit website pages and send comments to CNN, MSNBC, FOX, NY Times, Washington Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. These are a few examples of who to contact. You can be the best judge of where to send depending in which city you live in the world.
7) We must come together and request that Croatian citizens stand up and speak out at the next elections in Croatia. Prime Minister Sanader and his government have betrayed their campaign promise to defend and free the general. They still promised this, but they promised he wouldn't be sent to The Hague. Their actions have endangered the long-term territorial stability, legitimacy and international standing of the Croatian state. They have sold our beloved general and great war hero down the river, where he will be crucified by the politically motivated Hague tribunal. Regardless of your political stripe--left, right or center--the current government must be held accountable and punished for its cowardice and treachery. Democracy, patriotism, the rule of law and most importantly, basic justice, demand this.
8) Due to the fact that www.freegeneralgotovina.com has become such an important source of information at this critical time in Croatia's history, the Internet traffic and reader interest has been immense. Many Croatians have urged us to modernize www.freegeneralgotovina.com into a first-rank, professional Internet Web site. All of us at the CWA work on a strictly voluntary, non-paid basis--and we are more than happy to keep it that way.
We are proud to donate our labor, time and energy on behalf of Croatia, General Gotovina and those who sacrificed in the Homeland War. But a newly modernized, constantly updated Web site requires financial resources. We ask for your help. If everyone can donate a small amount of money, say $5 or $10, we can then pool together enough funds to thoroughly upgrade our Web site. To ensure that none of the money is misused in any way, we will post the donation amount along with the name of every individual who contributed. We will also post the total bill for the needed professional Web site services, so that everyone can see what the Web site actually costs to be maintained. If there is any excess money leftover, the CWA will send it to General Gotovina through a check to be used at his discretion, either for his defense fund or to help his family during this difficult hour.
So please donate whatever small amount you can. Or, if you like to send a wire transfer, please email: ante@freegeneralgotovina.com and we will provide you with account information.
Thank you,
Jackie Prkic
President
Croatian Worldwide Association (CWA)
P.O. Box 81226
Chicago, IL 60681
Ovo je težak trenutak za Našu domovinu, general Ante Gotovina je izdan, moramo biti jaki, moramo ga osloboditi!
Ima jedan čovik tvrđi nego stina,
Ime mu je Ante, Gotovina
Cili svoj život Hrvatskoj je dao
I nikada nije na koljena pao
Učia si škole po stranome svitu,
Kako postat čovik, kako dobit bitku,
Sta si uz rame savkoga vojnika,
Za domovinu ti si ponos i dika!
Ante, Ante, svi smo za te,
Svi smo za te jer si heroj rata,
Ti si Ante legenda hrvata!
Vodia si sve, bljeske i oluje,
Protjerao četnike, neka svatko čuje,
Žalia nisi, ni truda ni znoja,
Zato ti je zahvalna domovina tvoja!
Ante, Ante, svi smo za te,
Svi smo za te jer si heroj rata,
Ti si Ante legenda hrvata!
Ante ante, život za te,
Život za te jer si Heroj rata,
Ti si Ante legenda hrvata!.....
Drži se, pravda mora pobijediti..
Post je objavljen 11.12.2005. u 22:36 sati.