There is no future without the past. If the past stands on false props, the future will be false. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Among psychologists of today something like this known as the "illusion of truth" effect. Once we know about the effect we can guard against it. Part of this is double-checking why we believe what we do – if something sounds plausible is it because it really is true, or have we just been told that repeatedly? This is why scholars are so mad about providing references - so we can track the origin on any claim, rather than having to take it on faith. But part of guarding against the illusion is the obligation it puts on us to stop repeating falsehoods. We live in a world where the facts matter, and should matter. If you repeat things without bothering to check all possible sources if they are absolutely true, you are helping to make a world where lies and truth are easier to confuse.
This brings me to the illusion of truth Serbia has been reverberating based on lies and denials regarding the war of brutal aggression it waged against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in early 1990’s, as these countries set upon a path of secession from communist Yugoslavia. for decades.Considering the hard-won independence Croatia has had since the early 1990’s war against its independence from communist Yugoslavia, imposed by Serbia and Serbs, through both Serb paramilitary forces and Serb-controlled remnants of the Yugoslav People’s Army, a future with reconciled absolute truth seems more improbable today than ever before. And without more active attacks from Croatia against this illusion of truth coming from Serbia, the illusion of truth stands to gain more ground and create a future that is based on falsehoods. A tragedy for the people wherever they may be; a tragedy for moral standards humanity should uphold.
Killed Croatian civilians
On Friday 29 September 2017 in Belgrade, Aleksanader Vulin, Serbia’s defence minister, attended the raising of a monument to Milan Tepic, an officer in the former Yugoslav People's Army, who on 29 September 1991 caused an explosion at the military storage facility in Bjelovar, Croatia, blowing it up and in that, killing 11 Croatian soldiers.
Attending Sunday 1 October the installation ceremony for Bishop of Serbian Orthodox Church NikodimKosovic in Sibenik, Croatia, Vulinwas faced with questions from Croatian journalists about the monument to Tepic erected in Serbia. “I could try to explain to you now that four Yugoslav People's Army officers were shot on that day and that a court process is underway against the man that allegedly did this. It makes no sense for us to do all of this. In every civil war there are as many truths as there are sides in the civil war, and now for me to convince you that the Serbian truth is the truth for Croatia or the Croatian truth is the truth for Serbia - that's not correct nor is it possible, nor should this be done”, said Vulin.
Chetniks slaughtering civilians
Vulin’s statement is a blatant lie, a purposeful and focused distortion of the historical and legal facts (also ruled on by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia/ICTY in The Hague) about the war in Croatia.
On Monday 2 October Croatia’s defence minister Damir Krsticevic gave a public, televised, reply to Vulin’s lies that the war against Croatia in early 1990’s was a civil one.
“Today, as vice-president of the government of the republic of Croatia and as its defence minister, but also as a general of the victorious Croatian army, I wish to send this message to all: Two truths do not exist, only one does. The Republic of Croatia did not lead any ‘civil war’, but a just and defensive Homeland War against the brutal greater-Serbia aggression. The Croatian soldier fought during that imposed war within the borders of the Republic of Croatia for peace and freedom and we had defended ourself and won the war. Today we are focused on the future, on strengthening Croatian Army’s abilities and on the development of homeland security system, in order not ever to find ourselves in the situation like we were in in the early 1990’s.”
JNA and Chetniks killed Croat civilians
These words Krsticevic uttered represent the absolute truth. They need to be repeated over and over again if we are to prevent Serbia’s servings of lies that have the potential of creating an illusion of truth. Vulin’s words undoubtedly represent a profound lie and, given that they were spoken by one of Serbia’s ministers, they are taken as representing the views held by that country’s leadership; they are an embarrassment to human decency itself. They wee spoken on Croatian territory, to boot!
Why Vulin was permitted to remain in Croatia after giving the scandalous and evilly premeditated statement to cause Croatia harm is beyond my understanding. The man should have been escorted out! How can Croatia’s leaders even think that reconciliation is possible with Serbia after such a statement!? Such statement demonstrates the deformed and evil state of mind Serbia as a nation was/is in when it comes to matters of truth about its aggression against Croatia. This was not the first time on Croatian soil for Vulin to make statements using blatant lies against Croatia, so one would hope that this time around Croatia’s leadership will finally close its doors, remove the welcome mats at its border with Serbia. One simply cannot even hope to achieve any justice for Croatia’s victims of the brutal Serb aggression, let alone achieve a tolerable reconciliation.
Milorad Pupovac, brother and relative
It is not the first time that Serbs have come out with a lie of magnitudes that destroy the truth of nations. Many from the “West” have already become the victims to Serbia’s peddling in illusion of truth propaganda method, with view, of course, to distance from itself any guilt for the brutal and genocidal war. It’s the same tactic Serbia has used for decades, since WWII in fact, with regards to its factual history of being one of the first European countries, May 1942, to declare itself Jew-free through mass murder of Jews (94%). The lies it used in this, by blaming Croatia and Germany for the mass killings of Serbia’s Jews that occurred under the actions and directives of Serbia’s WWII Milan Nedic government have, it seems lulled the world into believing a lie to be a truth! The same is occurring regarding Serbia’s genocidal role in the war against Croatia! This must not be permitted to acquire a life of an illusion of truth.
Chetniks from Niš, Serbia slaughter Croatian civilians
Political propaganda such as the one Vulin has just used is the stuff that destroys people’s belief in humanity and justice, and generates victims of absolute truth, where victims should not exist. All Croatia’s leaders and politicians should pursue with condemning loudly Vulin and Serbia for attempting to create such an illusion of truth that has the potential of destroying more lives. The idea that the world is not blind to the truth is heartening. Humans are perfectly capable of reasonable judgments, and can use logical capabilities to guard against the effects of repetition of lies. But in an age characterised by competing political narratives and spin, there’s no room to be lazy about repeating the facts. Ina Vukic
        
Croatian civilians in Serbian captivity
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srijeda, 4. listopada 2017.
Serbia’s Spineless Thieves Of Truth by inavukic
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