Susak Gone Sour

The agreement to end the war did not satisfy the aspirations of many in Croatia. The people who aren't happy are the people who come from areas that now, according to the agreement signed in Dayton, belong to the Bosnian Serb Republic (RS). The greatest bitterness is shown by people coming from the Posavina area. "We are bitter, betrayed and tricked," said a letter to Franjo Tudjman from Croatian parliament deputies whose origins are in these parts.

The Croat National Council in Bosnia also rejected the trade of territories and recognition of the Serb entity. The Posavina is the most painful issue to them. They explained that "Milosevic said several times that he and Tudjman had agreed on the area long ago" and traded for Serb areas of western Bosnia which Croat forces captured recently. Tudjman is also reported to have been pressuring the Bosnian Croats in his negotiating team to accept the agreement, which, according to tem, was the reason why Moslem-Croat Federation President Kresimir Zubak resigned.

"We are aghast but not surprised," said Ante Djapic, president of the Croatia Party of Rights. "This was all about the division of Bosnia and it turns out that all sides are equally to blame. This is just a preparation for a new war."

The Istrian Democratic Alliance said that a temporary peace has been signed with Serbia reaping the greatest profits and Bosnia losing the most along with Croatia.

Dobroslav Paraga's Party of Rights reacted similarly: "This is Milosevic's political and military triumph. He won and Croatia lost. This is a shameless capitulation before Belgrade and America."

"The Serbs in Bosanski Brod celebrated and fired shots in the air while the Croats are grieving," said Zdravko Tomac.

The Croatian Peasants' Party said the agreement rewards the aggressor. Croatia's Social Liberal party is also unhappy: "Milosevic achieved a vital step in creating Greater Serbia: crossing over the Drina and access to the southern part of Croatia's Adriatic. We fell the agreement is bad for the state of Croatia and the Croats in Bosnia." The party wants a referendum on the agreement.

Croatia's independent democrats (Mesic, Manolic) also rejected the basic principles of the agreement. Mesic said the trade of the Posavina for western Bosnia has already been agreed, "and it seems something similar has happened with Prevlaka, only this time Tudjman did not specify how much of the coast Croatia is to lose. "If Bosnia remains united, what good are these agreement ," Mesic said and concluded that the Karadjordjevo agreement (Milosevic-Tudjman) was present in Dayton in great measure. He added that the Erdut agreement should be viewd in the same manner, and that "every document Hrvoje Sarinic signs is surely detrimental to Croatia".

The only party in Croatia that welcomed the agreement without reservation was Pupovac's Independent Serb Party.

Ivan Lovrencic, the most prominent Croat writer in Bosnia, also protested the agreement. He said Croat refugees from Bosnia were being handed flyers offering them new homes in the areas of Kupres, Drvar, Sipovo, Glamoc and Bosansko Grahovo. The flyer ends with the words: "Make yourself at home here where we have lived since the seventh century".