General Gotovina December 2005
December 2005
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 postponed their meeting in order to coordinate efforts with communities throughout the US, Australia and Canada. Stay tuned for more details.
We urge other Croatian communities around the world to organize as well. Please e-mail us a contact name and city location at contact@croatianworldwideassociation.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
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:
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) 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.
6) 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.