Should croatia apologize?

See the following opinion article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/292201

My wife is Serbian and I hear this often from her and her family and friends. But I've never heard the other side - and I'm curious.

I know Serbia isn't exactly an innocent victim in more recent history, and has its own share of things to apologize about. And yet, the argument makes sense to me.

Any thoughts?

Originally posted by joneschr
See the following opinion article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/292201

My wife is Serbian and I hear this often from her and her family and friends. But I've never heard the other side - and I'm curious.

I know Serbia isn't exactly an innocent victim in more recent history, and has its own share of things to apologize about. And yet, the argument makes sense to me.

Any thoughts?

I don't think it is just a matter of saying I'm sorry just to be integrated. The decent thing to would be to act just like Germany did: an honest self-evaluation and deep sense of regret for embarking in of the most dark periods of our times.
To say sorry just to wash their image doesn't seem to be the right thing to do. Let them say they're sorry when they truly are sorry.

I also liked this part of the article:

because Yugoslavia did not align itself with the Soviet Union, Western democracies had little interest in exposing the genocide.

Normally one doesn't read that.

Yeah, I hear what your saying, but at the same time, requiring a statement does at least stir self-reflection. If you honestly believe there is is no need for an apology, will you lie in order to join union with other countries?

yeah. maybe desmond tutu could help.

baskets full of eyeballs and all that.

Originally posted by joneschr
Yeah, I hear what your saying, but at the same time, requiring a statement does at least stir self-reflection. If you honestly believe there is is no need for an apology, will you lie in order to join union with other countries?

Yes it does stir some self reflection but the power of self-denial is just too great. Other Germany I don't know of any other country that has repented and repented in an honest way for their past crimes. Yes, you may find some exceptions, but the level of self-excuse is just too great.

If you honestly believe there is is no need for an apology, will you lie in order to join union with other countries?

In principle I wouldn't, but life's just too complicated for me to give you an answer that I feel is 100% true.
What would you do?

Edit: This article of your is a basket of truths that normally don't get to see the light of day. The following comment surprised me in a positive way:

One of the startling things during the Balkan Conflict of the 1990's was the incredibly biased press coverage here in America. The Serbs were demonized like Nazis and the total unfairness and irony of that bias was lost on the American public. The Croatian government's actions in the past pretty much set the stage for the extremes that followed on both sides. The "history" of the most recent conflict needs to reflect reality and the world needs to hear what was done to the Serbian nation by it's neighbors who, to this point, have had the luxury of pretending to be the victims of unsolicited aggression.

This may actually be the best article I've read in a while. And it has nothing to do with the article itself it has to do with the comments. Damn those guys are good!

Have you read the comments by the way?

I just read a few - the comments were all over the place. I haven't found a lot of good in the comments facility on yahoo. Youtube is another example.

Originally posted by joneschr
See the following opinion article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/292201

My wife is Serbian and I hear this often from her and her family and friends. But I've never heard the other side - and I'm curious.

I know Serbia isn't exactly an innocent victim in more recent history, and has its own share of things to apologize about. And yet, the argument makes sense to me.

Any thoughts?

Seems rather like the feuding tribes in Afghanistan: if apologies are called for, everyone involved in the bloodshed needs to apologise to everyone else.

Originally posted by joneschr
See the following opinion article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/292201

My wife is Serbian and I hear this often from her and her family and friends. But I've never heard the other side - and I'm curious.

I know Serbia isn't exactly an innocent victim in more recent history, and has its own share of things to apologize about. And yet, the argument makes sense to me.

Any thoughts?

I think this is just another weapon used by hypocrites who don't actually care if the apology is meaningful or not. I don't even know what how meaningful an apology in the name of a nation is. It's time to move on.