Trifunovic Is Free!

The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Zoran Lilic, has on Wednesday, January 17, using his constitutional rights as head of state, pardoned and released from further jail sentences general Vladimir Trifunovic, colonels Sreten Raduski, Berislav Popov, and abolished two more officers of the former Yugoslav National Army (JNA), colonel Vladimir Davidovic and lieutenant colonel Milos Lukic. Tanjug made the announcement late in the afternoon.

Only half an hour after the news had been broadcated, Tanjug issued another one: Supreme Defence Council of Yugoslavia meeting was held in Belgrade whose members suggested a draft law suggestions to stop legal procedings against those who avoided mobilization when the war began. It is obvious that both initiatives - to pardon Varazdin officers and amnesty for "deserters" - were launched and agreed by same people who are members of the Supreme Defence Council. President Lilic made his decision of pardoning them - obviously - on the session of the Supreme Council of Defense, where other local heads of states sat, even though it was a question of his exclusive constitutional jurisdiction and signed the document after the news was spread by Tanjug. Anyway, it was long ago when Yugoslav state news agency Tanjug made us happy with the news.

Tomorrow, at 3 o'klock p.m., journalists, lawyers and relatives gathered in front of the gate of the Zabela prison to greet Trifunovic, Raduski and Popov who were serving their time in the prison for more than 18 months. It goes without saying that those journalist and newsrooms who had been attacking Trifunovic long before he was tried, were absent.

Such an act puts an end to an unnecessary and shameful trial, which had, owing to pressures of the anonymous forces from the furthest depths of darkness, dragged on for almost four years, from April 1992. The first trial, with a board presided by colonel Milos Saljic, was concluded with an acquittal verdict on June 17, 1992. The military prosecutor lodged a complaint, and the Military Supreme Court repealed the verdict and returned the case for new court proceedings. Colonel Saljic shortly afterwards left the military judiciary system and became a lawyer. The second trial was held a year later, from April 12 until June 17, 1993, before a board presided over by captain Djordje Dozet. The indicted were acquitted again, only so that the Military Supreme Court could repeal the verdict once again and return the case for a third trial. Judge Djordje Dozet, like his predecessor, shortly afterwards left the military judiciary system and became a lawyer. The third trial, in front of a board presided over by colonel Radomir Gojovic, was concluded on December 26, 1994 with convictions: general Trifunovic was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and colonels Raduski and Popov to 7, that is 6 years; colonel Davidovic was sentenced to 18 months, and lieutenant colonel Lukic to one year.

General Trifunovic and his colleagues were charged with the criminal activities of undermining the military and defense capacities of the country, since they had - as was pronounced in the indictment - on September 22, 1991 "without authorization and contrary to the explicit orders of higher command", handed the garrison in Varazdin over to the enemy. General Trifunovic became commander of the Varazdin corps of the Fifth Army directly prior to the Slovenian war. The corps should, in war times, number 30.000 men, and in peacetime 4550. Trifunovic found only 1820 men there in some fifty or so scattered objects. During operations in Slovenia (June-July 1995), general Trifunovic managed to, in record time, lead the armored units of the corps from Varazdin to Istria and the Italian border, only to - after a truce was agreed upon - later return them to Varazdin. September finds him with a total of around 300 people, of which 60 officers, since in the meantime, JNA had massively ethnically cleansed itself. Around the middle of September, the garrison in Varazdin was surrounded by forces of the Croatian police and the national guard, many times superior in number to his, which cut off their water, electricity, telephone lines and supplies. General Trifunovic had, on a number of occasions, asked for instructions of his command: should he wait for reinforcements and breakthrough in order to pull the remaining men out and what his actions should be. For days, by radio-links, they kept promising help: he should hold on, reinforcements are on their way; it later turned out that those promises were false. The surrounded men of the Varazdin garrison fiercely answered all attacks with artillery fire, which brought about the fact that General Trifunovic, in absentia, was sentenced by the court in Varazdin to 15 years of prison as a war criminal. When he deduced that all resistance had become futile, general Trifunovic destroyed all documents, and (as much as could be accomplished) put the corps armament out of working order (74 tanks, 61 armored transporters, 256 other vehicles, artillery etc.) and came to an agreement with the Croatian side for a safe passage for himself and his men. General Trifunovic later stated that one high JNA official expressly told him: "We needed you dead, not alive".

Although the most important thing being that innocent people do not remain in jail any longer, this pardon shall be accompanied by a taste of injustice: the verdict should have been repealed and the people released as innocent.

First to appear on the jail gate was Trifunovic himself. A nervous guard told journalist to stay away from the gate. He was irritated by BK TV journalist who was interviewing Branko Stanic, Trifunovic's lawyer. "We will demand the verdict should be repealed and the people released as innocent", Stanic said to journalists. Colonel Sreten Raduski's son was impatiantley wainting in front of the jail. he was visiting his father every weekend. He thinks his father was innocent. "My father spent only a month in Varazdin. He barely could remember the streets and barracks there. Despite that, the state was determined to sentence him and others. It took three tries before they achieved their goal", the son said. "Thank God this is over! We almost lost all our hopes that they will be set free. My father sent me the message from jail not to wait for him and get married. He was not present at the wedding".

At 3,30 h the three walked out from the prison. Two other prisoners, followed them under surveyance of the warrants, to wish them "good buy and good luck". General Trifunovic, shattered and excited started to answer the journalists' questions. At the very begining he thanked President Lilic for this act but added immediately: "I did not ask for mercy. Only the guilty ones could ask for mercy, those who innocent need not mercy. We were and we are innocent". While General Trifunovic was talking, Raduski and Popov were standing aside. After three winters, three New Year and Christmas Eves, they were set free. After a while they started to speak too. While in jail, they worked as bookkeepers, and during spare time, they were mixed with other prisoners, many of which were sentenced for heavy criminal acts and murders.

We followed them to Belgrade, to the office of their councelor. In the office we heard more about their life in prison. General Trifunovic was trying to contact his wife, currently in Germany. She works in a laundry there trying to save some money to pay fees and lawyers. One of the first to call the office and greet the released officers was Dragoljub Micunovic, leader of the Democratic center.

The only one who spent the first night at home was Sreten Raduski. His new daughter-in-law was waiting to meet him. General Trifunovic, whose family are refugees, stayed at modest room at the Bristol hotel. Collonel Popov returned to his family who had found some modest shelter in Belgrade, since they lost everything in this war.