Embassy of Croatia
Washington, D.C.
Summary of Croatia’s reactions to the terrorist attacks in the United States
· Zagreb, September 11 – Immediately
after the terrorist attack, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic met with the U.S.
Ambassador to Croatia Lawrence Rossin, condemning terrorist attacks in the U.S.
and offering condolences to the American people and the victims’ relatives.
· Zagreb, September 11 - President
Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan sent letters to U.S. President Bush
expressing the condolences and offering Croatian support to American people and
the fight
against terrorism
· Zagreb, September 11 – The
Croatian government issued a statement in which has condemned terrorist strikes
on targets in the US and expressed readiness to act in removing the cause and
consequences of tragedy. Croatia, “along with the American people and all
peoples with the future of peace at heart will continue the struggle to
establish relations in the world in which cities and the common person will no
longer be subject to the darkest form of terrorist insanity”..
· Zagreb, September 11 – in
his comments after the terrorist attack, President Mesic stated that “ the
terrorist attacks on the WTC in New York and other targets are not the usual
terrorist action, but rather a thought-out attack aimed at claiming the lives
of innocent victims…”
· New York, September 11, - President
of the Croatian World Congress on behalf of Croatian people all over the world
sent a letter to President Bush in
which he offered his deepest sympathy to the people of the United states and
condolences to those who lost their dearest.
· Zagreb, September 11 -
The Croatian Ministry
of Health expressed readiness to donate 2500 units of plasma to the US
· Zagreb, September 12 – President
Mesic addressed the nation after terrorist attacks and said that “ global
terrorism must not be tolerated and “ in the war between terrorism and
democracy, between order and anarchy, I am confident order and democracy will
win. Croatia will be on the winner’s side…”
· Zagreb, September 12 – Croatian
minister of foreign affairs, Tonino Picula sent a letter to Secretary of State
Collin Powell in which he expressed the condolences and reiterated the Croatian Government’s readiness to help
American government and American people “ease the burden, and ultimately
overcome the consequences of this great tragedy…”
· Brussels, September 12 –
Croatia joined the EU Council of Ministers in its Declaration condemning the
terrorist attacks on the U.S.
· Brussels, September 12 –
Croatia signed the statement issued by the Vilnius 10 in which they fully
support the U.S. in the fight against terrorism
· Zagreb, September 12 – Croatian
political parties, clerical representatives, associations and individuals
condemned Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the US and offered condolences to the
American people and victims’ relatives
· Zagreb, September 13 - Prime Minister Ivica Racan, minister of foreign affairs Tonino Picula and defense minister Jozo Rados signed a book of condolence at the Croatian American Society in Zagreb, opened after Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the U.S.
· Zagreb, September 13 – Croatian
Prime Minister Ivica Racan received the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Lawrence Rossin and relayed expressions of condolences from the Croatian Government.
According to the government statement, Prime Minister Racan said..” The Croatian
government supports and will participate in all efforts by the international
community to jointly suppress terrorism. Every country must win the war against
terrorism both on the national and global plan..”
· Zagreb, September 13 –
Croatia has intensified its intelligence cooperation with the US
· Zagreb, September 13 – Friday
declared National day of mourning in Croatia – At Thursday’s session the
Croatian Government declared Friday, September 14 a national day of mourning in
honor of those who perished in the brutal terrorist attack against the United
States. Flags will be flying at half-mast and Croatian citizens have been asked
to observe a moment of silence at noon in tribute to the victims of the
horrendous attacks. Prime Minister Racan expressed the utmost solidarity and
sympathy for the victims’ families and the American people as a whole. He said
that the whole world and therefore Croatia as well, are facing the tragic
consequences of the attacks on the cities of New York and Washington, D.C…
· Zagreb, September 13 - Croatian Foreign
Ministry opened toll free victim information hotline .The telephone will be
opened to anybody with inquires about Croatian citizens who found themselves in
New York or Washington on the day of the terrorist attack
· New York, September 13 – American
Croats have already begun the rebuilding of the World Trade Center – President of
the National
Federation of Croatian Americans, John Kraljic wrote New York Mayor Rudolf
Giuliani a letter of support, pledging the assistance of American Croats in the
rebuilding of the World Trade Center. “Let our token gift represent the
beginning of a national cause in which all citizens are asked to participate as
our forefathers participated in the building of the pedestal of the Statue of
Liberty..”
· New York, September 13 –
Croatian Consulate General in New York
confirmed that four American Croats are missing at the World Trade Center
· Washington D.C., September 14 – Croatian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic sent a
letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia,
Lawrence Rossin in which he expressed condolences to all the victims’ families
and all of the American people
· Washington, D.C., September 14 – Croatian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic and his
wife Mrs. Elena Grdesic attended a memorial service at Washington’s National
cathedral in memory of the victims of Tuesday’s tragedy
· Washington, D.C., September 14 –
Croatian Ambassador to the US, Dr. Ivan Grdesic signed the book of condolence in
the Department of State and enclosed a letter from the
Croatian Embassy
· Washington, D.C., September 14 – Croatian Ambassador to the US, Dr. Ivan Grdesic sent a
letter to the mayor of Washington, D.C, Mr. Anthony Williams in which he
expressed the sympathy for the citizens of Washington D.C. and the condolences
to the victims’ families
· Zagreb, September 14 – President
Mesic signed a book of condolence and wrote in the book “ Today we are joined in
grief, tomorrow in the fight against global terrorism". Numerous state officials
and citizens have signed the book of condolence.
· Zagreb, September 14 –
President Mesic offered the U.S. the assistance of the Barbel Medical center
for Plastic and General Surgery
·
Zagreb, September 14 – Zagreb
auxiliary bishop Josip Mrzljak and 20 other priests held a memorial service for
the victims of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the United States at Zagreb
Cathedral on Friday evening. Mrzljak called believers to join in a prayer for
the victims and their families. “We, too, join the civilized world in condemnation.
As believers we must promote tolerance and coexistence and fight hatred, evil
and violence”, Mrzljak said.
· Washington, D.C., September 16 – Croatian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic and his wife
Mrs. Elena Grdesic attended the memorial service at the Croatian Catholic
Mission in Washington D.C. for the victims of terrorist attacks in the U.S
· Zagreb, September 17 – U.S.
Companies took part in the Zagreb autumn fair – despite the recent terrorist
attacks. The U.S. is taking part in the 77th International Autumn Fair
in Zagreb. and present at the ceremonial opening of the fair was Bryan Montgomery,
chairman of the World Trade Center board of directors, who later met with
President Stjepan Mesic
· Washington, D.C., September 17 – Croatian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic sent a
letter to senator Joseph Biden, Chairman of Committee on Foreign relations in
the U.S. Senate in which he expressed his condolences and offered Croatian
support in efforts led by the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.
· Zagreb, September 17, - Croatian
Prime Minister Ivica Racan has reiterated Croatian willingness to contribute to
the fight against terrorism, ”Croatia must give a two-fold contribution: by
cooperating with international factors and by fighting intolerance and any kind
of violence on the domestic front,” he said.
· Washington, D.C, September 18 - in his interview to
the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list,
Ambassador of Croatia to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic said, ”there is no
longer a vacuum. Last week during the consultations at the State Department the
United States clearly demanded from Ambassadors of all states accredited in
Washington for their countries to take a stand-for the fight against the terrorism”…Each
country has a choice and Prime Minister Racan clearly stressed our intention to
help, said Grdesic. “The option the United States will take and the way preparations
will continue will determine the nature of
the actual cooperation with Croatia”, said Ambassador Grdesic.
· Washington, D.C, September 20 – Croatian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Grdesic, and all
Embassy staff donated blood to the American Red Cross
· Zagreb, September 20 – in
an interview with the Croatian Catholic Weekly, Glas Koncila, Zagreb mufti
Sevko Omerbasic stressed the Islam did not approve but condemned terrorist
attacks claiming the lives of innocent people, women and children
· Zagreb, September 21 – “The Zagreb Autumn Fair was the first World Trade Centre (WTC) Association activity after last week’s terrorist attack on the twin towers of the WTC headquarters in New York, and a good place for a new start”, WTC Association Board of Directors chairman Bryan Montgomery stated in Zagreb, according to HINA News Agency
· Bratislava, September 25 – Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster and Croatian President
Stjepan Mesic condemned recent terrorist attacks on the United States and
agreed that cooperation of all countries was necessary in the struggle against
terrorism
· Bratislava, September 25 – Croatian President Mesic proposed several principles for the anti-terrorism coalition the US is creating world-wide, including coordination and collecting data on terrorists and the obligation of extraditing suspected terrorists. At Komensky university, President Mesic also spoke about the role small countries play in the struggle against world terrorism
· Zagreb, September 30 - Croatian Foreign Ministry Hails UN Security Council resolution against terrorism
· Zagreb, October 02 - US Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a letter to Minister Tonino Picula thanking him for the support to the American people and government
· Zagreb, October 04 - Croatian Government issued a statement against terrorism reiterating its strong condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks. The Government recognizes the terrorist attacks as a direct threat and challenge to the basic principles of the international law. The Government offered its assistance and support to the United States and is maintaining a frequent contact with the United States Government
· Blagoevgrad, October 04 - President Mesic presents anti-terrorism coalition charter
· Bled, October 04 - Foreign Minister Picula attended the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Vilnius Group (V-10) where the recent terrorist attack on the US was one of the main topics
· Paris, October 18 - In his address at the 31st General Conference of the UNESCO, Foreign Minister Picula said that "The global fight against the scourge of international terrorism is not a struggle between civilizations or cultures. It is a struggle for elementary human rights, the rule of law and peace in the world. It is based on the values of multiculturalism, respect for human life and dignity, and inter-ethnic and intercultural tolerance"
· Bruxelles, October 20 - Foreign Minister Picula attended the European conference on anti-terrorism. In his speech at the conference Minister Picula said that Croatia clearly stated at this conference as well that its place is with the anti-terrorist coalition.
· Bucharest, October 26 - Declaration on the contribution of the countries of South-Eastern Europe to the international fight against terrorism
· Warsaw, November 06 - President Mesic attended a regional conference on anti-terrorism. It was attended by sixteen heads of state and government and ended in the adoption of a declaration condemning terrorism.
· New York, November 20 - President Mesic and Foreign Minister Tonino Picula attended the 56th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. Croatian delegation held several important meetings of which the most important one was the meeting with the US President Bush. During his meeting with President Bush, President Mesic once again reiterated that Croatia is unambiguously on the side with the global anti-terrorist coalition.
· Strasbourg, November 07 - Croatia signed the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism
· Zagreb, November 29– Croatian Government has decided to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. This decision is a part of Governments’ commitment to anti-terrorism coalition efforts
Several ministries have implemented the decision by collecting medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and other commodity relief to be sent to Afghanistan soon. It's value is more than $50.000.
· · Zagreb,
Washington, D.C. December 11- The Croatian Government held a ceremony marking three months since the terrorist attacks on
the United States.