Stand By Your Man

The abolition and promotion were done outside normal procedures in the Yugoslav Army (VJ) without a recommendation for the promotion. The VJ, especially its judiciary has been snubbed, many officers said. All this is being carefully hidden from the public and the VJ information service is persistently silent.

Ivanovic had lots of reasons for concern in August last year while he was still the Novi Sad corps commander. He paid a surprise visit to the Subotica garrison carrying orders to dismiss Subotica garrison commander Colonel Miodrag Jovanovic on suspicion that he had abused his position and sold VJ property. Military inspectors discovered a number of willful and illegal acts committed by Ivanovic in Novi Sad at the same time, and he was suspended by First Army commander General Jevrem Cokic. Naturally, there was no statement. Ivanovic was no longer in the barracks and the rumor was that he had been sent on compulsory leave, that he was sick, abroad or even arrested, which many who knew him had predicted all along.

Colonel Jovanovic was arrested because he didn't have the powerful friends his superior did. Top state leaders were informed of the suspension because of the importance of the post. Presumably, Lilic went to the Novi Sad garrison himself to check out the claims of crimes committed by Ivanovic. Informed sources said Lilic was hoping Ivanovic's subordinates wouldn't dare accuse their suspended commander in front of the supreme commander, which would help dismiss the criminal charges. Practically, the VJ top brass would get a slap in the face for raising charges against honest men based on rumors. The idea was to compromise the First Army command. The unexpected happened: Lilic heard a lot about Ivanovic's crimes and it was much worse than what he already knew. That, however, didn't stop him from pardoning the General.

VJ sources carefully gathered evidence, raised criminal charges against Ivanovic and submitted everything to the military prosecutor who obviously didn't dare react immediately. Ivanovic, a good friend of retired General Zivota Panic, disregarded laws and orders from superiors as the corps commander. Despite regulations banning "the rental of equipment for use outside VJ units and institutions" Ivanovic ordered Colonels Jovanovic and Pavle Milenkovic to issue 2.3 million rounds of rifle ammunition, thousands of mines, missiles and artillery shells from their arsenals and just over 200 tons of fuel. He abused his position and exceeded his authority, the charges said. The Tropiki restaurant in Backa Topola was the place where Ivanovic handed 4,100 rounds of pistol ammunition to Mile Jerkovic, owner of the BM company. Actually, Ivanovic sent Jovanovic empty forms signed by a certain Nemanja Music who was to receive the ammunition. The forms were stamped with the official Bosnian Serb army seal. Jovanovic followed orders and used those forms to justify the issuing of ammunition to Jerkovic.

What was the deal? Why did Ivanvoic give the problematic Jerkovic the sought after pistol ammunition. What did he get in return? Ivanovic liked restaurants and spent a lot of time in them, especially the Chinese restaurant in Novi Sad. He just signed the bills and Jerkovic's company paid them. Jerkovic is Ivanovic's old friend. He's known as a war profiteer. Ivanovic was given a brand new Opel Vektra by Radomir Maric, a German businessman originally from Serbia, for his war efforts and the General sold his old car to Jerkovic who paid handsomely for the wreck.

Ivanovic caused great damage to the VJ when he disobeyed orders to withdraw an engineers unit from the RSK (45 men, 25 vehicles, 12 heavy machines) where it was building a road. He ignored warnings for six months. Witnesses said the General used the unit to build something for (paramilitary leader Zeljko Raznjatovic) Arkan's training center in Erdut.

Ivanovic's links with paramilitary formations are interesting, especially with Arkan and the Erdut center. The charges said Ivanovic disregarded regulations on the use of vehicles and allowed VJ officers to take VJ cars outside the FRY, mainly to Erdut, up to August last year. He was criticized for allowing stolen and hijacked cars across the border into the FRY with VJ plates. The rumor mentions Erdut center jeeps and an Opel Omega owned by the RSK parliament.

Ivanovic was also generous; he made a gift of a VJ tractor to someone in Ilok, he gave his secretary an army garage, he ordered army engineers to build 300 concrete pillars and a wire fence in the police training center in Sremska Kamenica. The prosecutors said this was an abuse of position but the favor to the Serbian police seems to have carried great weight when he was pardoned.

If he was pardoned to prevent embarrassment, which is understandable, there would have been no promotion. He would have been quietly retired or sent somewhere unimportant. This wasn't just a matter of concern for Lilic and the supreme defense council, in its effort to protect the VJ's reputation. This is confirmed by the fact that they could have, but didn't, pardon General Vlada Trifunovic and his honorable officers who saved the men of the Varazdin corps. There they had three opportunities to pardon those men.

Many VJ officers believe the pardon and promotion are a slap on the wrist to the army, to let it know who's the boss.

Some say the Serbian police is behind it. The police was greatly influential in the army once and is trying to gain more power. Or perhaps many fear Ivanovic could voice a number of accusations in court. So, the pardon seemed to be the most acceptable alternative.