PLAV - BY RECIPE OF PLJEVLJE

Police Provocations in Northern Montenegro

The violent action of the police at a football game in Plav was carefully prepared. Obviously, it would suit some people perfectly to reestablish the times in northern Montenegro, when citizens who belong to minority groups used to live in fear

Podgorica, June 1, 1996

Based on curt information published in state media, one could not even suspect that anything disturbing had happened in Plav, at the Sunday football match between the local team "Jezero" and the club called "Komovi" from Andrijevica. "In a quick and efficacious operation, the police prevented a fight between the players and spreading of the incident which occurred at the football match in Plav", regime-controlled daily Pobjeda reported a day after the match. However, it was impossible to conceal the truth for long. Data about the intervention of the police which, according to the official version, "prevented incidents of greater proportions" soon became accessible thanks to films on video tape made by amateurs. Twenty citizens were hurt, a few of them with severe bodily injuries, beaten up and intimidated children, himiliated and insulted parents, bitterness and fear

• these are only the initial obvious results of the intervention of the forces of law and order at the football match in Plav.

The football match of the second football league between the "Jezero" from Plav and "Komovi" from Andrijevica, was to decide which team would qualify for the higher rank of competition and because of its significance it was proclaimed to be "a match of high risk", which implies increased securuty measures. That is why, apart from the local police, as an additional security measure, Montenegrin Ministry of internal affairs engaged a special platoon from Berane under the command of Damjan Turkovic, head of the Security Centre over there. Data show that security of the participants of the match was guarded by an impressive force: 32 local policemen and 30 members of the special unit fully equipped, with additional twenty policemen in civilian clothes scattered on the stands were expected to guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen.

The first skirmishes, verbal at first, started just before the game started, when a hundred odd fans from Andrijevica arrived in buses escorted by the police and took places behind the goal. They immediately began shouting various cheering slogans, but others as well which had nothing to do with sports. Songs could be heard which echoed around Plav a few years ago when it was raided by different para-military units and when Arkan's supporters and Seselj's Radicals organized their promotive gatherings here. "From Topola to Ravna Gora", "Get ready, Chetniks" roared the stadium, along with exclamations "This is Serbia". The answer of fans from Plav was equally thunderous: "This is Montenegro", they responded just for the sake of informing the opposing party. The tension was at its height when girls - handball players from the local club came out into the field before the game to welcome the audience: "We will fuck the Turkish women", a group of fans from Andrijevica chanted, which caused a thunderous revolt of all the people at the stadium. The special platoon of the police was at about ten metres from the fans of the guests and it was a sufficient barrier to prevent a close contact between the "warring parties". It is strange that although in their immediate vicinity, members of the special unit failed to try to appease the passions and silence the (mildly speaking) inappropriate cheering of the guests from Andrijevica.

What happened just before the end of the match was a sight already seen in football fields of the Montenegrin football league. Domestic players, dissatisfied with the result and the referee, started to play roughly, and the guests from Andrijevica responded in a similar manner. The highly strung atmosphere turned into a fight and soon they were all chasing up and down the field. Nevertheless, it seemed that the referee would be able to somehow bring the match to the end, and that is why the operation of the special unit surprised those present. Although no sign was given for interruption of the match, thirty policemen of the special forces rushed into the field of the Plav stadium. An amateur video film convincingly proves that the intention of the policemen from the special unit was not to separate the playersw who were in conflict: the target of policemen's rubber batons - which had a shocking effect on everyone - were exclusively players of the domestic team who tried to save thmeselves by jumping over the fence and running towards the locker-rooms. "They first hit me on the head with a baton, and then a policeman kicked me in the head", testified Mirsad Nekovic who had, to his misfortune, been the first target of the forces of peace and order. Beating up of the players of the local team caused a violent revolt of their fans, because it was suspected that the "method of selection" was based on ethnic origin, but noone wished to come in a close contact with the well trained special platoon.

The sight which followed eerily resembled the events at the stadium in Brussels. About twenty policemen jumped over the fence between the audience and the field and set out to "clear up the grounds". A group of young fans of the Plav team waving the club's and Montenegrin flags were the first they ran into. A stout member of the special unit took a young boy by the hair and lifted him off the ground. Then he threw him into the hands of a group of policemen. They waved their rubber batons, treaded over them with their boots. Panic-stricken when the policemen entered the field, people desperately tried to find the exit. Some sought safety by jumping from a few meters high stands, the others tried to get away by jumping over the fence between the stands and the field. The loosened iron fence fell when the crowd rushed into it. Screams and shrieks of children trapped under the fallen fence could be heard. In his attempt to save the children who cried for help under the iron fence, Fahrudin Cirikovic had a finger torn off. Many suffered severe injuries, Nedzad Jarovic had both legs broken...

As if they were not satisfied with the effects of their action, members of the special forces continued to search for "perpetrators of the incident" in the streets of Plav. They entered cafes, searched nearby houses, stopped passers-by and checked their identity. A teacher who protested against such a procedure was beaten up. "Acting of the police, especially members of the special platoon caused revolt and exasperation of the citizens of Plav", says Sadrija Balic, President of Plav municipality.

Video material about the events in Plav exists because a few citizens had wished to record the important game. The Social Democratic Party of Montenegro (SDP) was the first to react to the events, since it is in power in this municipality. The National Party and the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro followed. After an insight into the video tape shot in Plav, the Social Democrats believe that everything is quite obvious. "We demand that the responsible officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs be relieved of duty as soon as possible: Damjan Turkovic, head of the Security Centre in Berane who was directly in charge of the action of members of the special unit, Milos Paunovic, head of the Security Department in Plav, and Radoje Puric, police commander in Plav", the statement of the SDP says. Zarko Rakcevic, President of the SDP, believes that there is quite obvious evidence that the police "flagrantly exceeded authorization and caused a strained political situation in Plav". "In just twenty minutes of police intervention, our entire policy of interethnic tolerance was ruined", Sadrija Balic, President of Plav municipality says. For five and a half years since we are in charge of local administration, citizens of Plav have not permitted anything to jeopardize peace, good and humane interethnic relations. Who needed this to happen and to what purpose", Sadrija Balic wonders.

There are many direct and indirect proofs that the incident at the football match was staged for the sake of playing a political game. Damjan Turkovic, head of Security Centre in Berane who was directly in charge of the action of the police, is well known to the Montenegrin and even the international public for a long time. Turkovic is a "man of confidence" of the Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior, obviously in charge of special tasks. In May 1992, as deputy of the head of Security Centre Herzeg-Novi he participated in the action of Montenegrin police in arresting refugees from Bosnia and extraditing them to Karadzic's policemen. The action was strongly condemned by the international community as violation of the charter on human rights, and Momir Bulatovic, President of Montenegro, later assessed it as a "tragic mistake". People who led the action were not punished, though, but on the contrary they were promoted. Damjan Turkovic was appointed to a higher post - to head the Security Centre in Berane.

Besides, testimony of Branko Rakocevic, captain of the Plav football team "Jezero" and one of the rare Orthodox on the team, heavily accuses the police and the State Security Service. He claims that he was offered money in foreign currency by the administration of the rival team "Komovi" to fix the match, and that he was presented the detailed scenario of the events which actually took place in Plav. "They said they would bring a special unit, that they would beat us up. They threatened they would get me dismissed from my job with the help of their connections and the Democratic Party of Socialists. They said it was all directed by the State Security Service and Mr Turkovic and that I simply had no choice", Rakocevic says and presents certain very interesting details. "During the match, just before my co-players and citizens of Plav were beaten up, a policemen had warned me to take shelter. I was close to the gate of the field when he told me although there was no cause for anything of the sort: 'We will intervene in a couple of minutes, take shelter'. This means that they had planned in advance to interrupt the game", Rakocevic claims.

Statement of the Ministry of the interior of Montenegro publicized with a delay of two days, just added oil to the fire. The police completely denies allegations of the citizens of Plav and claims that use of force was justified in order to prevent "spreading of the incident", and that the only guilty party for the event at the stadium were "the players, the fans and the 'Jezero' club administration". He mentions that in squaring accounts with the citizens of Plav nine policemen were hurt and that numerous criminal charges were brought "against those who caused the incident".

The police version of the truth obviously is not a hand of reconciliation offered to the citizens of Plav which caused another revolt and new bitterness in the municipality in Northern Montenegro. Reluctance to punish those who have exceeded official authorization does not seem to be the result of professional loyalty of the Minister to his subordinates. There is a lot of living and filmed evidence which shows that the incident was caused by the violent action of the police - beating applied selectively against the citizens of Plav, mostly Muslims. An extraordinary session of the municipal assembly was convened in which the statement of the securuty department about the events at the Plav stadium was rejected. A protest rally was held in front of the police station and dismissal of the head of the Security Department was demanded.

Many people in Plav fear that this could be just the beginning of a scenario planned to cause instability and distrust of the citizens. If the Minister of police fails to fulfill the demand for dismissal of heads of the police it will be a reliable proof that the action indeed was well planned and timed to instill fear in Northern Montenegro. Someone would obviously find it convenient to reestablish the times when ethnic minorities in the north had no choice: loyalty to the ruling party was a certificate to safety. As if there is still a wish to create space among the intimidated where a powerful rescuer of peace, order and interethnic tolerance would appear. For instance: the Democratic Party of Socialists, the power of the state.

Drasko DJURANOVIC AIM Podgorica