Word: croatia
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Tudjman came to power in Croatia at a critical time in the history of the former Yugoslavia. He won the elections in Croatia by preaching a fiery, intolerant nationalism, rallying Croats to the point of view that only Croats knew how to govern Croats, and that Croatia was for them alone. At a time when ethnic unrest was being stoked on the Serbian side by Slobodan Milosevic, Tudjman jumped in on the other side and denounced Serbs as eagerly as Milosevic denounced other nationalities...
Tudjman did successfully lead Croatia to a break from Yugoslavia, holding off a much more powerful Yugoslavian Army. But in so doing, he perpetrated human rights violations on the Serbian population of Croatia, displacing many, forcing them to swear to loyalty oaths and dismissing them from jobs...
...elected president, he declared Croatia's independence. The following year, Croatia was internationally recognized. The Croatian will for independence, of which Tudjman became the embodiment, was answered with violence. The Yugoslav People's Army and Serb paramilitary forces attacked Croatian citizens first hesitantly and then in a more open war. Croatia simultaneously faced open aggression and the tasks of political maturation. Tudjman took on both these major challenges to the newborn nation...
...achievements are difficult to assess. Saved lives cannot be counted. Freedom cannot be quantified. Nevertheless, his achievements are also among the most significant ones in the history of Croatia. They are the foundations for a democratic and prosperous future. Franjo Tudjman has laid out these foundations, and for those he will be remembered...
DIED. FRANJO TUDJMAN, 77, Croatian President credited with gaining his country's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991; in Zagreb, Croatia. His nationalist policies fueled wars with Bosnian Muslims and the Serbs...