The Catalog of Shame

On the long list of unfulfilled promises which Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic gave to various international negotiators and institutions, there is one made at the end of January to the Helsinki Watch. Slobodan Milosevic's office promised that all cases which this international organization for the protection of human rights recorded will be duly examined and, if it is proved that a citizen of Serbia committed a war crime, he will certainly be "brought before the face of justice". Almost half a year passed since this promise and not one potential "criminal" has been taken to court, even though it is more than clear to those who want to see this done that new "crime catalogs of human shame" were being filled in these parts for months. As a British newspaper observed last week, the Serbs, Croats and Muslims are today writing these catalogs of shame and death together in an incomparably more bloody and brutal way than during World War II.

At the same time when Milosevic's office promised the Helsinki Watch that it would "look into the matter", "Vreme" published a photocopy of a document (report from the front) signed by Lieutenant Colonel Milan Eremija on October 23, 1991. In the report sent to the Command of the First Army District, LTC Eremija described the events in the village of Lovas, where the members of the "Dusan the Mighty" unit maltreated the local Croatian civilians (four people were killed on that occasion), and then used the captured locals to clean the mine fields (17 dead). Since then to date, this report by an officer of the former Yugoslav Peoples' Army, brimming with information about an appalling crime, obviously did not inspire any competent institution. Despite Milosevic's promise, everything is more or less as it was at the time when this weekly published that document and tried to find out it anybody would react: those who would like to try the criminals cannot, and those who can - do not think about it at all, or are afraid to do it.

Croatia, too, is speaking timidly about war criminals in its own ranks, even though must one admit that a similar (demented) policy there showed a greater degree of wisdom - if for the sake of international institutions alone, yet around 20 people from the Croatian armed forces were arrested under the suspicion of having blood on their hands, and legal proceedings have been instituted on several accounts. Regardless of how these trials will end, and whether only the small fry, which got caught in the net (or was consciously sacrificed so as not to try the minds that invented those horrendous crimes), will end up in the dock, the Croatian side will have an advantage in the eyes of the world public and be in a position of trust because of what it has done to date.

"The world is well aware that such crimes were plentiful on the Serbian side as well, and that silence only increases the international organizations' disbelief in the information that is sent from here and bears the seal of Serbia or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", said Dr. Dobrivoje Radovanovic, director of the Criminal Research Institute, in a talk with "Vreme".

The tradition of not punishing war criminals (which is respected in this region) speaks in favor of the fact that it will be very difficult to determine war crimes on both sides. In 1943, during World War II, a state committee was formed to examine war crimes. Five years later it was dissolved by a political decision, though it did not finish its work. Those who are better informed claim that it was suspended when proof of crimes committed by the victorious side started coming in.

The examination of war crimes in the current wars seems to have got off on the wrong foot again. More than three months ago, a state committee was formed, chaired by historian Dr. Milan Bulajic, which was entrusted exclusively with determining "genocide committed over the Serbian people". Dissatisfied with such a formulation which concludes things in advance, some prominent lawyers and experts in this field immediately withdrew.

Even though he is convinced that we shall have to wait a while before we get a true picture of the war and the crimes, Dr. Jovan Buturovic (former Supreme Court judge) opposes the proposals voiced from time to time that the entire matter should be handed over to international courts. He believes they cannot do better than us, but they could help by including in the decisions of the international conference on Yugoslavia the obligation regarding war crimes and genocide, and determine the method of work. Asked will the war's creators and planners ever appear in the docks, and not just the executors, Dr. Buturovic answered: "There is a legal basis for that. The only condition is the rule of law. If the creators do not face justice one day, that would be a negation of a legal state. Do not forget that after World War II Krupp was tried, and he made cannons."

Sociologist Natasa Kandic has probably collected the most material on international wartime rights' violations during the war in Croatia to date. Analyzing the daily writings of BORBA, POLITIKA and the Zagreb VJESNIK from July 1, 1991 to January 15, 1992, she amassed hundreds of indications of what took place and who committed a large number of crimes. A remark was made that newspapers were not the most reliable source for such research, considering that many journalists on both sides could be placed in the category of "media criminals", but Natasa Kandic replied that she was dealing with indications only and that the next step would be to determine the true state of affairs. "It is true," said Natasa Kandic, "that most newspapers wrote only about the crimes committed over one nation, but a lot can be determined on the basis of such reports. Had we had unbiased information, since the beginning of the war, about crimes committed over the civilian population regardless of nationality, today we would have had a committed political public that would pressure the authorities in the right way not to hide anything... It was impossible anywhere to find the information that 20 civilians were killed in Borovo Selo alone and that nobody was investigating this at all, or was allowed to speak. The village of Hrtkovci is an obvious example that something is changing in Belgrade in that respect, and that a political public is appearing slowly that will exert pressure on the authorities in future. We will soon, hopefully, be able to speak openly about the fact that lately over 40 inhabitants of Belgrade were being threatened to leave, that armed individuals or groups forced their way into their flats and that a trail leading to the members of the Serbian Radical Party is visible almost everywhere."

Natasa Kandic also talked with people who have committed mass crimes and who are in prison today. She points out that to most of them there is no difference between people in uniform and civilians who would have to be protected. "It seems that this war has done a lot to change many things in human psychology, and to have somebody's surname experienced immediately as a uniform. When I complete this research, I will turn to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is even more cruel than the one in Croatia, judging by the information provided so far. One may even say somewhat cynically that the war in Croatia was "noble" compared to what is happening in many camps in Bosnia, and not much is known about them. The ethnic purging of territories is almost completely legal, and the persecution and exchange of people are acquiring market traits," said Natasa Kandic.

Although this war deviates from all known international standards, Dr. Radovanovic is, on the basis of hitherto research, close to the conclusion that there were less crimes than imagined considering the press writings. "Both sides are obviously hard put to exaggerate things and to instigate hatred as much as possible as a motive for war operations. The acme of this exaggeration is making up crimes for propaganda purposes, as was the case with the "Vukovar babies". The research published to date gives me the right to state with 75% certainty that there was no massacre and mass crime in Sarvas, even though the press wrote about this for months. Many things stress that one should not hurry to draw conclusions on who is responsible for the deaths of the people waiting in line for bread in Vase Miskina St. and reject the possibility that somebody really did place pressure mines. It will be said one day probably that one's own people were killed and sacrificed often in these wars to achieve a propaganda goal before the world."

Dr. Radovanovic mentioned several possible ways to collect proof about war crimes. The least probable, but the most effective, would be a joint professional team of experts from Serbia and Croatia that would work without prejudice. Everything else would considerably slow down the process of collecting proof or would leave the researchers relying on much more unreliable and indirect sources. Dr. Radovanovic believes that there is no question of the war ending without bringing the "local" criminals before a court of justice. If the excuse prevails that many murderers and criminals did what they did only because they were allegedly offering resistance and protecting the interests of their people, everything will end up by sweeping the dust under the carpet. "If the authorities do not wish to confess to something like this, then the opposition at least could play an honest role and help break this myth that covering up crimes is in the interest of the Serbian people. Obviously the opposition is afraid to do this, even that part which could have the moral strength for something of the sort, because it knows that in that case it cannot count on being a favorite of the nationally oriented and indoctrinated people. Small wonder then that nobody is asking such questions in Parliament," said Dr. Radovanovic.