RAS - The International Serbian Organization not-for-profit non-governmental organization
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The demonstrators blocked the Croatian embassy for most of the day with the help of peace groups, Greek and Cypriot Americans, other Orthodox Christians, and local civic activists.
Seven main presenters addressed the demonstrators and the public in front of the embassy. A coordinated e-mail, telephone and fax campaign bombarded the Croatian Embassy and the White House with messages denouncing “Croatian genocide”, demanding a return home for Serb refugees, and drawing links to World War II Croatiaand its genocidal ruling “Ustashe” regime that slaughtered over 700,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies (Roma).
The protest drew cheers and horn-honking from hundreds of people who walked or drove by, as well as interested looks from surrounding embassies. The demonstrators operated in shifts of up to a dozen at a time, throughout the day, filling a small, approved demonstration space in front of the embassy with signs, Serbian flags and posters, as well as beating drums between the presentations by the speakers.
The event was organized by RAS, The International Serbian Organization, and the STOP Coalition (an alliance with the motto “Stop Terrorizing Orthodox Peoples”). Participants included members of the Cyprus Action Network (CANA), the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), the Jasenovac Research Institute (JRI), and the Washington Peace Center. Reporters attended from local and international media including the Voice of America.
The main presenters included Jim Jatras, of the American Council for Kosovo, who condemned Croatian war crimes and drew parallels to the Kosovo Albanian cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija.
Greek American organizer Alex Aliferis demanded the return home of Serb refugees and called for America to get involved in solving the problem. Alan Ritter of a Washington Citizen’s Coalition spoke of the barbaric Croatian “Ustashe” and the support they received fromthe Vatican during and after World War II.
Veteran peace organizer Peter Petropoulos blasted the criminal roles played by Presidents Bush and Clinton in the Balkans. Jovana Ruzicic and Simonida Uth presented materials from RAS, the new international Serbian organization set up this year to raise activism in Serbian communities around the world.
The protest closed with a speech by Serbian organizer and STOP Coalition leader John Bosnitch, who traveled from Canada to speak at the event. Bosnitch called Croatia a singularly evil example to the world – as “the only country ever to declare a national holiday for an open celebration of genocide against its own citizens”. Bosnitch said that if Croatia were honest, it would re-name the holiday as "Genocide Celebration Day".
Banners posted at the site denounced “Croatian genocide”, “ethnic cleansing of a quarter-million Serbs”, “Croatian racism”, “U.S. collusion in Croatian war crimes” and the parallels with Croatia’s former Ustashe regime. It is the second year in a row that protesters in Washington, DC, have blocked the Croatian Embassy on the day that it celebrates as “Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day”.
Americans listening to the presentations heard messages of support from CANA, which compared the crimes against the Serbs of Croatia to Turkey’s invasion and ethnic cleansing in Cyprus.
August 5, 2009