List of No Quarter

Until recently the only official report of Serbs imprisoned on suspicion of war crimes came from Zadar. The local district court president there, Benko Velcic, said the prisoners were suspected of committing crimes in the Zadar-Knin area and were under a detailed investigation with many witnesses before they go on trial. He said the crimes were such that the abolition law could not be implemented and added that the suspects include just one person suspected of taking part in the massacre of civilians in Skabrnja.

Of the 39 Serbs held in Sibenik, an investigation has been launched against 10 under charges which were handed to them in the UN base in Knin on July 15. All of them have made their defence, all have lawyers - some they chose themselves, others were appointed lawyers (the law says the severity of the crimes makes defence lawyers obligatory). Investigators are now interrogating witnesses.

The Serbs in Sibenik on charges of war crimes against civilians are: Ranko (Bozin) Borjan from Kricak, Stevan (Nikola) Borjan from Kricak, Mile (Steva) Djomilija from Mratovo, Milan (Drago) Cvijetic from Drnis, Smilja (Vasa) Erakovic from Stikovo, Nikola (Pavle) Klisuric from Baljak, Slobodan (Blagoje) Macura from Stanisic who lived in Knin, Milan (Patra) Nenadic from Stikovo, Gojko (Stevan) Trzin from Drnis, Jovo (Todor) Visic from Zitnica, while suspect Nikola (Spiro) Milos born 1960 in Drnis escaped from the UN base in Knin.

All are suspected of "committing punitive acts against the civilian population during the armed conflict between the Croatian army and armed rebel units".

Investigating judge (Sibenik) Igor Ninic said: "All the incriminated persons are suspected of, in the 1991-1995 period in the Drnis and Petrovo Polje area as members of the Serb para-military formations, plundering and burning Croatian property and Borjan abused prisoners".

The only woman in the group Smilja Erakovic (33) is a mother of two and is suspected of, along with Nenadic and Klisuric, going to Maovica village and forcing her way into Croat houses to rob their property and burn them.

Split jail houses Petar Bukarica (42), Slavko Babic (40), Marinko Oliveric (56) and Mienko Prostran (67). They are charged with war crimes against civilians. After the investigation was launched, the case was passed to the Zadar court but the men are still in Split.

Slavko Preocanin (45), Slobodan Despinic (29) and Stevan Todorovic (38) have also been charged with war crimes.

Spiro Ustic (56) and Rajko Radulovic (39) were also charged with those three but they escaped.

The whole operation of turning "suspects" over to the Croatian authorities from the UN base in Knin met with problems and doubts. Activists of the Dalmatian Solidarity Committee, a Split human rights organization, spent the last three days in the Knin base with the civilians who sought shelter there. Their testimony shows the chaos among refugees and the people the Croatians charged with war crimes. They were told that the list of suspects had not been charged from day one - 34 people but none of them had been informed about an investigation. That report proved incorrect - the lists were expanded and even the latest one still lacks six names.

Added anxiety came from a statement that had to be signed by all, even children, 10 hours before the convoy left: "I state voluntarily that I want to leave Croatia for Serbia. I also state that I have been taken care of and in a humane way brought to the border."

The document was prepared by the Croatian Red Cross as a softer version of the statement. Despite resistance, a majority (650 refugees) signed the document during the night. The night before the convoy left, investigation documents were brought to the base for 40 suspects.

Human rights activists said it was sad to see the surprised faces of suspects and their reactions when they read the charges. One 60 year old man denied the charges of rape of elderly women and said if his life meant nothing any more then it was better for the Croatians to shoot him. He's in Split jail now.

In any case, the suspects were handed over to the Croatian authorities during the night of September 15-16. UNCRO Captain Montgomery Friend said UNCRO "secured conditions to make the Croatian authorities keep to the law strictly and got guarantees that UNCRO could attend the trials and visit suspects, and added that the position of these suspects was much better than the ones who were already in jail."

Bear in mind that not one member of the Croatian armed forces has been charged with the plundering and burning of Serb houses in the Krajina. The explanation thought up by the authorities: those acts were committed by civilians dressed in army uniforms. Need I add that not a single Croatian civilian has been arrested?