Kovanje rata u Sisku kroz pisanje lista Slobodni tjednik u razdoblju od 1990.-1993. godine

Psihološki faktor u ratu jednako je važan kao i vojni. Cilj propagande je držati visoki moral vlastitog stanovništva te poticati mržnju prema neprijatelju. U Prvom svjetskom ratu države su prvi puta koristile propagandu kao sredstvo ratovanja da bi je u Drugom svjetskom ratu Goebbels usavršio, zahvaljujući čemu je mobiliziran toliko velik broj Nijemaca. Prije raspada Jugoslavije mediji su pripremali teren za ratove potičući nacionalizam, za što su imali potporu vladajućih struktura. U Hrvatskoj je vladajuća stranka HDZ postavljala svoje ljude na ključna mjesta vodećih medija. Slobodni tjednik, iako je bio privatan medij, također se priključio podupiranju rastućeg nacionalizma te stajao uz vladajuću stranku sve do pada Vukovara kada je počeo optuživati HDZ za izdaju. Hrvatska je u srpnju 1991. ušla u stanje otvorenog rata sa srpskim pobunjenicima. Topnički napadi na Sisak započeli su 2. rujna iste godine i trajali sve do siječnja 1992.kada je potpisano primirje. Do Oluje i konačnog završetka rata u Hrvatskoj, Sisak se nalazio na samoj liniji obrane, samo nekoliko kilometara od okupiranog područja. U ljeto i jesen 1991. događaju se ubojstva srpskih civila, provedena bez ikakvih suđenja i znanja njihovih obitelji. Procjenjuje se da je broj žrtava između 100 i 150, no budući da to nije potvrđeno, u radu smo se koristili brojkom od 55 žrtava za koje su utvrđene okolnosti i datum ubojstva. Analizom sadržaja Slobodnog tjednika utvrđeno je kako je taj list širio ratnu propagandu i kako je intenzitet ratne propagande u u odnosu s intenzitetom ratnih zločina počinjenih prema srpskom civilnom stanovništvu u Sisku. Međutim, ujedno se radi i o razdoblju u kojem su ratna zbivanja bila na vrhuncu, stoga se ne može utvrditi jasnija povezanost.In matters of war, the psychological factor is equally important as the military one. As such, the aim of propaganda is the upkeep of moral of the domestic population, as is the encouragement and nurturing of hatred toward the enemy. During WWI, the involved country-states, utilized planned and systematic propaganda as a means of warfare for the first time. Such methods were later embraced and perfected by Josef Goebbels, resulting in the success of massive military mobilization of the German populace. Before the fall of Yugoslavia, the media set the terrain for the ensuing wars by encouraging and rallying nationalism, with the implicit and explicit support of the ruling establishment. In Croatia, the then ruling HDZ party, implemented their own personnel and members into key positions of the leading media. ST, although a privately owned media, unequivocally supported and enticed the growing nationalism, and the politics of the ruling party, until the fall of Vukovar, where it accused HDZ of treason. Croatia entered the state of open warfare with the Serb insurgents in July of 1991, while the JNA artilery attacks on Sisak commenced on September 2nd of the same year. The artillery shelling continued until January of 1992, when a truce treaty was signed and enacted. Up until operation Storm, and the final end of armed conflict in Croatia, Sisak remained at the front lines of defense, just a few kilometers from the occupied territories. During the period of summer and fall of 1991, the executions of the Serb civilians occur and surface. They were enacted outside any trial or legal proceedings and without the knowledge of the victims' families. The number of victims is, by various concurring sources and testimonies, assessed to be between 100 and 150, but since this information has not been formally acknowledged, this research used the number of 55 such casualties, for which the circumstances and the date of execution were determined. Analyzing the content of Slobodni tjednik, it was determined that this publication used, created and dispersed war propaganda, and that the intensity of such propaganda was in relation with the intensity of war crimes committed against the Serb civilian population of Sisak. However, during this period the armed conflict in general reached it's peak, as such, at this time, we were unable to determine an empirical link