Death On The Danube

Adamovic fell into the river, and his body still hasn't been found. Fishermen watching the military patrol boats going up and down the river say that they are disturbing the mud in order to facilitate the search for Adamovic's body. However, a lot of mud will have to be moved before the murder of Radisa Adamovic is cleared up.

The Command of the 3rd Army which is responsible for this small town on the YugoslavRumanian border issued a statement with the following information: ``On 12. 6. 1994 at around eight o'clock, during an illegal attempt at crossing the YugoslavRumanian border along the Danube river from the Rumanian side, and fleeing from border stone `D 27', Adamovic Radisa (son of Zivorad Adamovic) was killed... On returning from Romania Adamovic Radisa was cautioned to stop, a warning was shouted and then shots were fired in the air. Adamovic just stepped up speed. Abiding strictly by the rules of the border service, the border patrol fired a shot and killed him... Around 1,000 liters of petrol were found in the boat. The investigative judge of the 3rd Army Command and members of the Serbian Police carried out an investigation at the scene of the incident.''

This statement caused a lot of bitterness among the citizens of Golubac. When they heard it on the Radio Belgrade news program, they barricaded the Djerdap highway and demanded that the truth be made public, namely, that on the day in question, Radisa Adamovic had not crossed the state border on the Danube illegally, that he had not crossed the border that day at all, that soldier N.N. did not caution Adamovic either by calling out, or by firing in the air. They do not consider it an irrelevant fact either that there were 800 liters of petrol in the boat and not 1,000 as claimed in the statement. The story told by eyewitnesses is longer, different and more dramatic.

It all started on Sunday morning, at about seven o'clock. The patrol which included Sreten Paunovic, a soldier on contract from the vicinity of Golubac and another soldier whose identity is being kept secret, stopped a boat steered by Zoran Mihajlovic Bubreg from the village of Rdoseva, near Golubac, in the vicinity of Usljanske Livade, a place where the fuel was brought from Romania by boats and then loaded onto cars and tractors. The patrol got into Bubreg's boat and confiscated his fuel, and ordered him to go back to the blockhouse. Mihajlovic says that his boat broke down on the way to the blockhouse. Danube fishermen who have turned to smuggling fuel use this trick in order to prolong negotiations with the patrolonce the police patrol and now the military. Negotiations then end on a friendlier note.

Zoran Mihajlovic Bubreg says that the three of them then started back towards the bank. Patrol leader Sreten Paunovic sent soldier N.N. to fetch a military vehicle from the blockhouse in Veliko Gradiste, in order to transport the petrol.

At the same time, about a kilometer away from Golubac, Radisa Adamovic was woken up by Pasa, a Rumanian, who came to tell him that he had brought the fuel. Radisa got into his boat and headed towards the Rumanian, while his wife took the car to Usljanske Livade, to take over the fuel. Zorica says that when she arrived, there were some fifteen boat owners and the military patrol there already. Sreten Paunovic was in charge. ``This guy is making problems, but he'll be leaving in half an hour,'' said the boatmen. She didn't see her husband's boat and decided to return home. Radisa Adamovic had decided to unload the fuel at the wharf, close to his house.

Rade Radenkovic, one of the witnesses, said that Sreten Paunovic had pointed his rifle at him, but after seeing that there were only nets in the boat, did not make any more trouble. He took soldier N.N. over to the bank. ``A young man. You'd never think he would kill anyone. He said he came from Vucje near Leskovac, and that he was going home in a few days,'' said Radenkovic. ``I guarantee that they were drunk and pointed their rifles at all of us,'' claims Ljubisa Mitrovic Bube, another witness. ``I don't know, but that Sreten Paunovic isn't all there when he's sober,'' said Zoran Mihajlovic, the man whose fuel was confiscated. ``I don't know about Paunovic, but I wouldn't say that about this boy who fired. He looked all right while I was driving him,'' said Rade Radenkovic. No one has said anything bad about the young man whose name the army is keeping secret. Dragoljub Dimitrijevic Faun who was sitting in his boat by the bank, saw him in the vicinity of the cafe ``Klub 93,'' some 800 meters from Usljanske Livade, and then again some 200 meters from Adamovic's house, and offered him a drink. ``No thanks,'' said the soldier and continued on this way. There are many witnesses who claim that the soldier disapproved of Paunovic's inflexible behavior.

At that moment Radisa Adamovic had started with his boat toward the wharf, to unload the canisters, and his wife had started off to help him. Dragoljub Dimitrijevic Faun was in his boat, some 200 meters Adamovic's house.

``I saw a soldier and tried to warn Radisa. I don't know if he heard me, but he turned the boat and stepped up speed in the direction of Golubac. The soldier ran across the road and fired. It never occurred to me that he was firing at my husband. I had crossed the road when he fired the second bullet and when he fired the third bullet I realized that he was firing at someone. He reached me and I begged him not to fire. I said that Radisa was the father of a threemonthold baby boy. I kept looking back at my husband to see if he knew what was happening behind his back. The soldier pointed the rifle at me and said: ``Get out of my way woman, or I'll kill you,'' then he turned and fired in Radisa's direction and I saw the bullet hit the water about half a meter behind the motor. Rasa didn't turn around, and when the soldier fired the next bullet he fell backwards, his head all covered with blood. I ran back to the cafe calling for help. When I returned the body was no longer in the boat. The soldier was standing on the bank and looked absolutely normal. I am sure he was sober and sane. I know by the eyes,'' said Zorica. ``I said: `Man, what have you done?' and he said: `Why did you warn him?'''

Witness statements have been compared with the military announcement and the part which says that the ``patrol was abiding by the rules of the service,'' and that the soldier had made ``a verbal warning and had also fired in the air.'' Witnesses Dragana Jankovic, Zorica Adamovic and Rade Radenkovic are positive that Radisa Adamovic did not cross the border line and that no warning was issued.

The Adamovic home is full of grieving relatives and friends. The children feel that something tragic has happened, but still don't understand. The news are on. The representatives of the 3rd army garrison in Gradiste are talking. The military investigation has reached the conclusion that the soldier from Vucje fired seven shots. The people make cynical remarks. They claim that only three shells were found, squashed by car wheels. The rift of mistrust between the inhabitants of Golubac and the state is widening.

``We were witnesses when Rumanians killed their citizens under Ceausescu, people who were trying to reach our side, and now the same thing's happening to us,'' said Radisa Radenkovic, the man who brought the soldier to the bank, and who has saved nine Rumanians from the freezing Danube. Radenkovic wonders if there isn't something big in the background of the whole affair. Why is the military now doing the job of the police, and confiscating petrol? ``A month ago those soldiers sometimes helped us unload the canisters, and we were never afraid of them. We feared the police,'' said Zoran Jovic. ``Even with the police we didn't have much trouble. We just accepted them as part of the risk,'' adds Jovic and continues to wonder of someone hasn't pushed the army into muddy waters on purpose.

Bitterness over the military report is growing into general suspicion. The locals are wondering if Radisa Adamovic's death was not planned. Rade Radenkovic recalled that Paunovic had said a month ago that ``things couldn't go on that way,'' and that there would be shooting. Sinisa Adamovic claims that on the morning of the murder Paunovic had turned him back from Usljanske Livade with the words: ``Get back. Things'll happen today. There'll be shooting.''

Miodrag Ilic Bata, Zorica Adamovic's brother suspects racket, because none of those whose petrol was confiscated have been able to trace it. Jovica Miloradovic from Golubac said that he had already given the army three liters of petrol and that of the ten liters/hectare promised by the state to farmers, he only got seven. He was told at the municipality that three liters were earmarked for the army.

No one in Golubac denies that they are smuggling petrol. In fact, they wouldn't mind if the state organized the whole thing, even if they had to pay taxes. ``Why shouldn't we lower the price and continue to supply Stig, Petrovac, Arandjelovac and Pomoravlje with petrol,'' asks Zoran Jovic. Before Radisa Adamovic's death one liter of petrol cost 1.7 DEM. Then fear entered the people's lives, and no one dares bring petrol over from Romania. In three days the price jumped to 2 DEM. Belgrader Dr. Zoran Sremcevic who works in Golubac wonders if that is the reason. Someone wanted the price to be hiked. Somebody wants a monopoly on the oil business, someone who doesn't want to see the price lowered.

After the military report, the inhabitants of Golubac no longer trust the state or the army, and while waiting for the truth to emerge, the stories are becoming fantastic. Stories characteristic of a country under sanctionsstories of oil smuggling, murder, negligence, irresponsibility, crime... The military boats continue to stir up the mud, in the hope of finding Radisa Adamovic's body.