Who is Major Vojkan, the man who calls himself a "humanitarian worker"?

Unofficially, he is said to be the main organizer of the forced displacement and mistreatment (ethnic cleansing) of Muslims from that region and, thanks to the seizure of their property, one of the wealthiest people in Bijeljina.

Otherwise, he considers himself a "humanitarian worker". The following information was received from the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Fund: based upon the information which this organization gathered in the field this July and upon conversations with refugees and displaced persons, Durkovic's Commission works in the following manner: late at night, two or three armed and uniformed men presenting themselves as the Military Police or National Security enter Muslim houses in Bijeljina and Janja.

Then they take out their documents and announce that the family must move out or that the men have been ordered to perform forced labor.

In the first case, they would pack those that they order to leave their homes onto buses (160 people were expelled on June 16), drive them to the front lines in the direction of Tuzla, let them cross the lines and leave them to their fate.

The Humanitarian Law Fund has testimonies available in which it is claimed that Durkovic personally followed such buses in his white "Mercedes".

However, the procedure for carrying off men for forced labor is much more complicated.

Without exception, although the old and young men are captured, the primary criterion is material wealth.

It all begins in the grade school in the village of Hase.

They gather the Muslims there and ask them whether they have businesses, real estate, cash, etc. Insofar as the interrogators are not satisfied with the answers they have received, they use beatings and other forms of coercion.

There is the well-known case of a seventy year old man who was forced to stand against a wall for hours with his arms raised in the air.

Personal possessions (money, better articles of clothing), even wedding rings, are also taken from the men.

Who does all of this?

According to information from the Humanitarian Law Fund, they are said to be the "panthers" of Major Ljubisa Mauzer, mainly refugees from Tuzla and Zenica, who are involved in all of this mostly by their own free will.

After the "treatment" in Hase, those ordered to perform forced labor are transported by trucks (they are not allowed to sit during the trip) to the village of Lopare, 28 kilometers from Bijeljina, where they are sorted out into groups for agricultural labor or to dig trenches on the front lines.

Witnesses which the Humanitarian Law Fund has interviewed state that the mistreatment ends there; Commanders of the Army of the RS forbid interrogation and physical punishment. One forced labor shift lasts between twenty and thirty days, but it is not clear whether or not the workers will be returned to their homes.

Instead, they might be expelled to Tuzla.

In every case, Durkovic appears during the middle of the shift with a list of those who are to return to their homes. Witnesses claim that only those whose possessions personally interest him appear on the lists.

On August 12, out of a group of 75 Muslims, 30 were separated from the rest and brought to the "Rodoljub Colakovic hunting club".

There, Durkovic obtained consent for the transfer of their possessions (houses, cafes and the like) from them or members of their family, which was notarized by refugee attorneys from Zenica and Tuzla.

It is known that the smallest amount which he accepted for "release" was two thousand DEM.

All of those who "relinquished" some of their possessions in such a manner can count on safety for the next month or so, until the next raid by the "Military Police".

When they are left with nothing, deportation follows.

After the release of reports on the expulsion of Muslims from Bijeljina and Janja by the Humanitarian Law Fund, "Major" Durkovic appeared at the offices of the Fund, accompanied by Deputy Tesic of the RS Assembly, in order to protest the use of the term "ethnic cleansing" to describe these activities.

Not once did he dispute that money and other possessions were taken from the Muslims.

He instead explained that everything that was taken was Serbian; that it could not be allowed to be taken to the Islamic fundamentalist state across the front lines.

He saw all of his actions as helping people, i.e. taking them to places where it will be better for them, explaining that it is clear to all that Semberija is not Muslim land - their land is somewhere else. Regarding the reports released about the deportations, he maintains that they should not be released without his approval. In the end, he sensed that workers at the Humanitarian Law Fund are also contaminated by Islam and that its members "did not care about Serbian interests".

He claimed that he was a "humanitarian soldier" to whom people simply give money without his asking for it. From all of this it can be inferred that "Major" Vojkan Durkovic is behind the organized expulsion of Muslims from Semberija.

However, who stands behind him?

The Humanitarian Law Fund's research indicates that Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) leaders in Bijeljina believe that such actions are carried out under orders from Pale, which are intended to force Muslims to leave this region by systematically worsening their living conditions. It is estimated that 5000 still live there (Bijeljina and Janja). But, many of them are buying falsified Serbian identity cards (price: 500 DEM) and are quietly leaving for other countries via the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, unnoticed by anyone.