COLONEL FONTENOT CAUSED NUMEROUS PROTESTS New York, Washington Colonel Gregory Fontenot, commander of the First brigade of the First US Armored Division, whose units are among the first to come to Bosnia in a considerable number, gave interview to "The Wall Street Journal". Speaking about "the parties in Bosnia", Fontenot said: "They think there that I believe them nothing - and that is right. They are the people who were killing children and women, attacking their neighbors. I to offend them? Hell, they offended me by the need to go to Bosnia because of their fighting". The article quotes Col . Fontenot, addressing two of his Afro-American soldiers, to say: "It'll be interesting to hear what all you'll see. Croats are racists. They kill people for their color". US Gen. Nash, one of the leading IFOR's officers, said he was "disappointed and very sad" when he read the Fontenont's statement. " I will investigate the details" Nash says. Sources in Washington claim that Nash sent Gen. Brig. Stanley Cherrie to the area where Fontenot is at the moment, to find out the details. The State Department high official told journalists: "Those are very serious statements, which cause great concern. If those words were properly reported, they are a wrong estimation, an extremely wrong estimation... The direction of his comment is completely wrong and unacceptable". President of Croatian Brother Community, gathering Croats in the USA, Bernard Luketich, sent a letter to the US President Bill Clinton, demanding Fontenot either excuse for his words, or be removed from the position, as he badly insulted Croats, including the US Croats. Also the National Federation of the Croats in America (NFCA) sent letters to president Clinton and editorial of "The Wall Street Journal", protesting due to claims on the racism of the Croats. A.S. TWRA, Dec 29, 1995
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