Apology
With regard to our wars and war crimes, the ones who apologize the most are the leaders of newly established states. As a rule, they apologize to the people, their own or the other people, during visits or some other important political events. These apologies are short-term and, therefore, they are remembered for a short time. This may be because there has not yet been a single politician who earned the trust of victims from the “enemy side” by his apology or praise from “his own people”. Nevertheless, some words, even though they do not express compassion or apology, remain in the memory. Words said by the President of Croatia, Josipović, on the occasion of marking the 20th anniversary of the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia, had a significant impact on me; he said that Croatia is a better country today and it is due to the better relations between Serbs and Croats. This is the essence of the peace building, reconciliation, justice, and prevention of recurrence of crimes – this is how I see transition from repression and injustice towards the respect for human rights and victims. In the case of Serbia, without acknowledging Albanians, Bosniaks, and Croats, and their better treatment by Serbs – the ones sitting in the government and us “ordinary” people – there can be no better Serbia. This positive approach could help us in defining a “new opinion” about Kosovo.